The Songs shot in Shimla

Recall the song "Tu Kahan Yeh Bataa" from the film Tere Ghar Ke Samne starring Dev Anand and Nutan. Dev Anand is looking for Nutan in the quiet night with mist all over. The picturisation of that song made the audience glued to their seats. This song was shot in Shimla which made Shimla a hot destination for the Bollywood filmmakers. There was another song Dekho Rootha Na Karo which was also shot in Shimla.

In this Blog I look at the other famous songs shot in Shimla or nearby locations.

Song of Tere Ghar Ke Samne 1963

Song of Tere Ghar Ke Samne 1963

 Another song Tera Mujh Se Hai Pehle Ka Naata Koi from Aa Gale Lag Jaa starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore reminds the amazing chemistry between the duo as they skate through the slopes of snow-clad Shimla. Shashi Kapoor’s heart-warming smile and trademark head movements make you fall in love with both the white mountains and the idea of romance.

Song of Aa Lag Ja Gale 1973

In 1973’s Daag, helmed by eternal romantic Yash Chopra, Rajesh Khanna crooned "Mere dil mein aaj kya hain/Tu kahen to main bataa du" to Sharmila Tagore against the backdrop of the mountains.

Song of Daag 1973

In 1974, Dulal Guha directed Dost, in which, right at the outset of the film, the audience saw a pensive Dharmendra on the Kalka-Shimla toy train, with the theme song, "Gaadi bula rahi hai/Ceeti bajaa rahi hai", playing in the background. He hops off the train at Taradevi.

Song of Dost 1974

 It is the title song of the 1974 J Om Prakash’s directorial debut movie Aap Ki Kasam starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz. Anand Bakshi penned the lyrics and Rahul Dev Burman who received his only Filmfare Awards nomination for this movie, composed the music. The song was shot in Kufri a beautiful place near Shimla.

Song of Aap Ki Kasam 1974

In Jab We Met, Shimla was the place where Geet (Kareena) stayed after she broke up with her boyfriend Anshuman. The song is picturized in the town with a scene where Sahid Kapoor drives his car on the mall road while searching out for Kareena.  Moreover, the movie also features the iconic toy train of Shimla when they head back to Kareena’s native place

Song of Jab We Met 2007

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The song “yeh vaada hai” is a romantic track from the movie Raju Chacha featuring Ajay Devgan and Kajol. The song is mainly picturized in the woods of St. Bedes and the forest road of Shimla for a romantic touch.

Song of Raju Chacha 2000

The track “behti hawas sa tha wo” has different locations of Shimla town featuring the road near victory tunnel and even the Shimla bypass. The hill station was described as Aamir Khan’s hometown, so had numerous scenes shot in and around Shimla.

Song of 3 Idiots

The story behind the song"Chahoonga Main Tujhe Saanj Savere"

The Filmfare Award in 1965 went to Dosti(1964) for five categories including three categories namely – music director, singer and lyricist gone to Dosti for the song Chahoonga main Tujhe Sanj Savere –The song was brilliantly rendered by Melody King Mohd. Rafi Saab and was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and written by Majrooh Sultanpuri.
Laxmikant Pyarelal were the upcoming Music director Many of their earlier films were not successful at the Box Office only Parasmani was successful. Dosti was their first Super Hit film and the music was also super hit. The song Chahoonga main tujhe sanj savere tune was composed much earlier than any Parasmani song by the duo with Lata Mangeshkar in mind. They could not find a situation in their early films to use the song properly.
Originally the lines of the song written by Mazrooh were Chauhingi Mein Tujhe Saanjh Savere, Phir Bhi Kabhi Ab Naam Ko Tere, Awaz Mein Na Dungi.
Dosti was a small budget movie of Rajshri Films and getting Mohammad Rafi and Lata the Established singer was out of the budget for the composer but they thought of approaching Rafi to sing songs for Dosti.
They were very apprehensive when they drove to Rafi’s mansion early that day not knowing if the great singer would agree to sing for a low-budget movie and for such young, struggling music directors such as LP. 
 During the musical sitting of Dosti, Laxmikant sang this song out for Rafi at the very tail end of their session before departing Rafi’s house as a song they kept in their pocket as a reserve. Rafi was completely bowled over by the tune of Chahoonga  main tujhe , he agreed to sing songs for Dosti for the sake of singing this song. LP replied that there was no situation in the movie for this song. They did not want to use it. Rafi insisted persistently and said that he would sing all the songs for free if Chahoonga main tujhe was included in the film.  LP returned back and had to make the writer, producer, director re-write the story to include Chahoonga  main tujhe as a primary song in the film.
The movie was released and took India by storm in 1964. Rafi sang 5 solo songs in this film, all the songs were hit Rafi Saab had given his golden voice to many unknown actors, even in Dosti two boys played the part of friends were Sudhir Kumar and Sushil Kumar. All of the songs lip-synced by Sudhir Kumar (Mohan), the blind boy.  Even as a unique coincidence Dosti is the only movie in Hindi Cinema which made a record for the biggest hit without heroine. 
Rafi Saab was honoured by the Government of India with the coveted Padmashri Award as well as National Film Award for the Best Male Playback Singer for this song “Chahooga main Tujhe“

Song of Dosti 1964

Hasrat Jaipuri - A Love Letter written in Real Life becomes Immortal in Reel

Do you know that the immortal song Yeh Meraa Prempatra Padh Kar” sung by Mohammad Rafi in Sangam was actually written for the real girl living next door to Hasrat Jaipuri in Jaipur. In an interview, Hasrat Jaipuri informed this truth but It is not known for sure whether the love letter was actually delivered to her or not?
Hasrat Jaipuri was born on 15th April 1922 at Jaipur. He began writing verse when he was around twenty years old. Around the same time, he fell in love with a neighbourhood girl name Radha. His love was silent but his emotions were not, he thought of expressing them by writing a letter in poetic form. The words were Yeh Mera Prem Patra Padh Kar, ki tum Naaraaz Na Hona. Ki Tum Meri Zindagi Ho.
There was a situation in the film where Rajendra Kumar had to sing a song, for that situation Hasrat Jaipuri suggested the words to Raj Kapoor and informed him of the real incidence also the veteran film producer-director Raj Kapoor liked it enough to include it in his Sangam (1964 Hindi film) and the song ended up becoming a 'hit' song in India.
Hasrat Jaipuri the great Lyricist started his Film career with the immortal song Jiya Beqaraar Hai for the film Barsaat in 1949. It was also the first film of Shankar Jaikishan, That was the beginning of a lifelong association." Yet, there was an unstated agreement that Jaikishan would often prefer Jaipuri to pen lyrics for his tunes, while Shankar would turn to Shailendra. 
He wrote  a whole range of songs like "Sayonara sayonara" (Love In Tokyo)," Aao twist karen" (Bhoot Bungla)." Ajhoon na aaye baalma" (Sanjh AurSavera), "Duniya Bananewale"(Teesri Kasam) to Romantic songs like Yeh Mera Prem Patra (Sangam)."Zindagi ek safar hai suhana" (Andaz), "Teri pyari pyari soorat ko" (Sasural), "Pankh hote to ud aati re" (Sehra), "Tere khayalon meinhum" (Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne), " Tu kahan yeh bataa" (Tere Ghar KeSaamne), Sau Saal Pehle Mujhe Tum Se Pyaar Tha (Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai) and Bahaaron Phool Barsao (Suraj )
He worked in  350 films and 2000 recorded songs, his last releases were Saazish with Jatin-Lalit and Sher Khan (with Bappi Lahiri), and at the time of his death, he was working on a few small films and a book of Shaayari.
He won innumerable awards, honours and mementoes. Among them were two Filmfare trophies (for `Baharon Phool Barsaoo’ from Suraj and `Zindagi ek safar hai suhana’ from Andaz) and two awards - the Doctorate from the World University Round-Table and the Josh Mahilabadi award from the Urdu Conference for his literary work as a poet. Also the Dr Ambedkar award for a film song, `Jhanak jhanak tori baaje payaliya’ from Mere Huzoor, which was written with a blend of Hindi and Brij Bhasha. Apropos that, the poet once said, "Hindi and Urdu are like two great and inseparable sisters"
He died on 17th September 1999. He still remains the King Of Romance.

In this Blog I have selected some of my favourite Romantic Songs of Hasrat Jaipuri Ji.

Song of Barsaat 1949

Song of Patita (1953)

Song of Chori Chori (1956)

Song of Sasural 1961

Song of Junglee 1961

 

Song of Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai  1961

Song of Maya 1961

Song of Professor (1962)

Song of Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963)

Song of Asli Naqli (1963)

Song of Sangam (1964)

Song of Brahmchari (1968)

Song of Andaz 1971

Dev Anand's dreams that couldn't be Fulfilled

Dev Anand was a workaholic, he believed holidays are a waste of time. He couldn't sit idle, His favourite pastime was writing. He began writing his autobiography in Scotland and finished it within a year. He was a dreamer and his philosophy was that if a person does not dream then he is like a dead. 
When Dev died in London he was not there for vacation but for a routine check-up and had plans to go location hunting in London, Wales, Scotland and then Europe for his new film. He had two dream projects in mind. One was the Hindi film Hare Rama Hare Krishna Aaj and other was an English film "Song of Life".
Dev Anand in an interview told that Song Of Life is not the story of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar or his family. The basic storyline is somewhere close to Pandit Shankar's life in that it has a musician father, an American wife and a daughter born out of wedlock, said Anand. "I have a lot of affection and respect for Pandit Ravi Shankar and am not naming him anywhere either in the film or in the credits," The two-hour film would have at least three American characters and three Indians in the lead.
Dev Anand told to media that after Guide  None of his films were in English and he wanted to position his next film as an American musical,"

Pt Ravi Shankar's Daughters

Pandit Ravi Shankar was close to Anand brothers. He started his career as a music director with Chetan Anand.in 1946 and also gave background music in Aandhiyan in 1952.
On his 88th Birthday Dev Revealed “I have the script for Hare Rama Hare Krishna Aaj which takes forward the story of the earlier film. It is not a remake of Hare Rama Hare Krishna. I don’t believe in remakes. I believe in moving forward. Every scene every character except mine would be new. If Dev Anand played Prashant in 1971 he will play Prashant in 2012 as well.”
Besides these two films, Dev Anand had many scripts ready but after the "Chargesheet" he was to start Hare Rama Hare Krishna Aaj.

G P Sippy- A carpet merchant to the maker of Sholay

Gopaldas Parmanand Sippy started off as a carpet merchant, turned a construction magnate and then plunged into filmmaking in 1951 with the Dev Anand film Sazaa. In a career spanning over five decades, Sippy had produced 17 films and directed six. In his heydays, he was known as Mr Blockbuster. But Sholay remains his landmark best.

He made Shahenshah in 1953, which was India's first full-length Gevacolor film and India's third full-length colour film. The film was made at a budget of Rs. 3 million and was made in 14 months.. After that, he made 12 O Clock with Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman in 1958.
He got the real big success with Mere Sanam (1965). starring Asha Parekh, Biswajeet, Pran, Rajendra Nath and Mumtaz. The film was a hit at the box office, especially because of the musical score by Majrooh Sultanpuri, O.P. Nayyar and the Asha Bhonsle-Mohammed Rafi combination. 
In 1968 released his super hit film The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Rajshree, Pran, Mumtaz, Jagdeep, Sachin and Asit Sen. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan. The film became a box office hit and won several awards, including Filmfare Best Movie Award 
The next year in 1969 his another hit film Bandhan starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz.released. 
It received five out of five stars in the Bollywood guide Collections and grossed 2,80,00,000 at the box office in 1969.

The next milestone film was Andaz 1971, it was directed by his son Ramesh Sippy and with this film emerged Salim Javed. Followed this super hit film another super duper hit came to Seeta Aur Geeta in 1972, once again directed by his son Ramesh Sippy and screenplay by Salim Javed.

In 1975 released the magnum opus Sholay all-time hit film. Once again directed by Ramesh Sippy and screenplay by Salim Javed. It was a big budget film Ramesh Sippy said in an interview that he did not have enough money to finance the film at that time and had to depend on his father late GP Sippy for it. He added it was pure luck that he asked for Rs 1 crore and got Rs 3 crore as his dad had just had a hit with Seeta Aur Geeta.

He continued to produced films till Hamesha 1997, in between he gave us films like  Shaan (1980), Saagar (1985), Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman 1992.

He remained the President of the Film Federation of India (FFI) for many years, first 1972 - 73, 1985 – 86 and then 1988 - 1992. He was the Chairman of the Film and TV Producers Guild of India for several years and won the Filmfare Award in 1968 and 1982.

 He died on December 25, 2007 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Song of Sazaa 1951

Song of Marine Drive (1955)

Song of 12 O'Clock (1958)

Song of Bhai-Bahen (1959)

Song of Mere Sanam (1965)

Song of Brahmachari (1968)

Song of Andaz (1971)

Song of Seeta Aur Geeta (1972)

Song of  Sholay (1975)

Song of  Saagar (1985)

60 Years of Madhumati

Madhumati was released on 12 September 1958. It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of all time. It was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation. Directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles, with Pran and Johnny Walker in supporting roles.  
 It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Bimal Roy who made Devdas in 1955 with the same star lead was looking for a hit. His 1955 film Devdas was commercially unsuccessful, jeopardising his company Bimal Roy Productions; he needed a commercial success to survive. The film opened at the Roxy theatre near Opera House  Bombay.“It was a fabulous evening, glamorous and glittering, just like the film premieres on screen.” Like all great movies, this one too inspired a genre of its own, the re-incarnation genre. 

The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. Salil Chowdhury won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen is one of the most popular songs by recording artist Mukesh and is regularly played at dandiya functions. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhury. Shailendra wrote the lyrics and Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle, Sabita Chowdhury, Ghulam Mohammed and Dwijen Mukhopadhyay provided the vocals.
It is one of the greatest Hindi movies ever made. It’s top notch in terms of cinematography, directing, music, acting and dancing. I rank it among Top 10 Hindi films.Bimal Roy's classics like Sujata, Bandini, Do Bigha Zameen or Devdas, still bears the mark of a master craftsman. And it’s good entertainment value.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The film begins on a dark and stormy night (a recurring motif in the film: all the most dramatic events occur on stormy nights). Two friends – an engineer, Devendra (Dilip Kumar) and a doctor (Tarun Bose) are travelling by car along a mountain road when a fallen tree forces a halt. The driver advises the two men to take shelter in the nearby mansion while he goes off to find help. Devendra and his friend go off to the mansion, which turns out to be a spooky place, dusty and seemingly deserted.

The film was shot at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule at a location in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were filmed in Ghorakhal near Nainital. When the negatives were developed, most of the footage was found to be fogged. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand was not possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri. The art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to match the location in Nainital.A large part of the film was filmed in Aarey Milk Colony, a small forested area in Mumbai. A scene in which Dilip Kumar looks for Vyjayanthimala in the woods was filmed in Igatpuri. The foggy effect was recreated using gas bombs.
Commercially it was the biggest hit of Bimal Roys's career. It wiped out his losses of Devdas released in 1955. The fact that it scored over movies like Kala Pani, Sadhana, Phir Subah Hogi, all released the same year, speaks for its power to captivate the audience and hold its attention for long. More than anything, Madhumati, forever, will be remembered for its music.

Think of gems like ‘Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Hasin’, ‘Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Keh Raha Hai’, ‘Aaja Re Mai To Kabse Khadi Is Paar’, ‘Chadh Gayo Paapi Bichua’, ‘Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi’, ‘Toote Hue Khwabon Ne’ and ‘Ghadi Ghadi Mera Dil Dhadke’, and you know instantly what melody stood for.

Madhumati' is primarily an entertainer but one doesn't think of it as a masala film, and there's a lot to like about it. Wonderful visuals and songs, very good performances, a nicely developed romance, and it's strong on atmospherics as well. It fully delivers on its promise and is quite a charming film.

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Jaiksihan ‘s forte was romantic and western tunes

The association of Raj Kapoor, Shankar Jaikishen, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri which started with Barsaat continued till the end. The Shankar Jaikishan were among the top music directors of Golden Era of Bollywood. They created the music appealing both to the common man (rickshaw puller) as well as purists. The eight-minute Awaara song “ Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi” is a milestone in Hindi Film music. A lovely duet by Lata  Rafi and chorus.
Shankar was elder to Jaikishan but he always respected Jaikishan. Shankar was master of instruments. He would play at ease Harmonium, Sitar or Tabla and normally conducted orchestra irrespective of who composed the song. Shankar used to decide on the theme Raag for each movie well in advance. Most of the dance based and classical based tunes were by Shankar.  Jaikishan's forte was romantic and western tunes.SJ composed their best not only for Raj Kapoor home productions but also in all the movies in which Raj Kapoor had starred 
Jaikishan was one of the most stylishly dressed, handsome personalities. His wardrobe was the best in the world. His personal letter to his wife Pallavi Jaikishen became the lyrics of another romantic evergreen song sung by Rafi Saab in Sangam. This song also was responsible for the breakup of the duo, as Jaikishen told the media for the first time, that the song was his own creation.
Jaikishan introduced the music of all countries in their compositions. From the  Jazz to Arabian music, from Rock to Indian classical and romantic as well as Ghazals. They were good in every type of song. Till then Bollywood  music was classical for the purists 
70% of Shailendra songs were composed by Shankar. Similarly, most of the songs of Hasrat Jaipuri was composed by Jaikishen. Until the split, it is difficult to find out who composed what as they worked together as a team.
Jaikishan was also the best in giving Background Music. It was Jaikishan who used to work on background music of SJ movies as per their mutually agreed division of work, it may be an over-simplification to presume that therefore, whatever went in background scores was solely Jaikishan's creation. Since SJ had a common pool of tunes in their stock, made by either of them during their numerous music sessions/sittings (Riyaz), it was perfectly legitimate and natural for Jaikishan to have used tunes created by Shankar also wherever needed. This is also one of the reasons why he was able to finish this job in a few days' time. It is understood that in RK films, Shankar and Jaikishan both used to work on the background scores. On the other hand, both Shankar and Jaikishan were equally proficient in scoring western music based songs.
During their career, S-J won Filmfare Best Music Director Awards nine times. The last three awards were won in three successive years, thereby making S-J the first composers to score a hat-trick of these awards.
Jaikishan died in 1971 due to cirrhosis of liver, a disease caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. At the time of his death, the duo enjoyed an unparalleled popularity which was underlined by a massive turnout at his funeral procession.

Here are some of the great Romantic Songs of Shankar Jaikishan

Song of Barsat 1949

Song of Shri 420 (1955)

Song of Chori Chori (1956)

Song of Love Marriage (1959)

Song of Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)

Song of Junglee(1961)

Song of Sasuraal (1961)

Song of Asli-Naqli (1962)

Song of Dil Tera Diwana (1962)

Song of Professor (1962)

Song of Dil Ek Mandir  (1963)

Song of Sangam (1964)

Song of Aarzoo (1965)

Song of An Evening In Paris (1967)

Song of Brahmachari  (1968)

The Musical Journey Of Asha Bhosle

Asha Bhosle(Born on 8th Sep 1933) is world's most recorded artist. She had sung over 12,000 songs, she was officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. She sang her first film song '"Chala Chala Nav Bala" for the Marathi filmMajha Bal (1943).
Her Hindi film debut when she sang the song "Saawan Aaya" for Hansraj Behl's Chunariya (1948).

Asha and Lata

Initially, she sang songs in low budget B- or C-grade films. She used to get the assignments only when reputed female singers of that time like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, and Lata Mangeshkar refuse singing for the bad girls and vamps, or songs.  Her earliest songs were composed by A R Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain, and Ghulam Mohammed, and most of these songs failed to do well. The first time she sang in a big banner film was in Bimal Roy's Parinnta 1953 The song of that film  "Gore gore haathon me mehandi racha ke"..but none of the songs was picturised on the heroine of the film Meena Kumari.
Another big banner film was RK Films Boot Polish in 1954,  Raj Kapoor signed her to sing "Nanhe Munne Bachche" with Mohammed Rafi.

It was O. P. Nayyar gave Asha a break in CID (1956). For the first time, she sang for a heroine in Big banner.The song O Leke Pehla  Pehla Pyar is basically sung by Mohammad Rafi and Shamshad Begum but in the second version, Asha sang for Shakeela the heroine of the film. After that O P Nayyar took her in  B. R. Chopra's Naya Daur (1957),  Her duets with Rafi like "Maang Ke Saath Tumhara", "Saathi Haath Badhana" and "Uden Jab Jab Zulfein Teri", penned by Sahir Ludhianvi, earned her recognition. It was the first time she sang all the songs for a film's leading actress. In 1957 another hit film released  Tumsa Nahin Dekha and the song Dekho Kasam Se Kahate Hain Tum Se became another hit that year.
In 1958 came Howrah Bridge the song "Aaiye Meherbaan" picturised on Madhubala was super hit. With this film, she established her status and received the patronage of such composers as Sachin Dev Burman and Ravi whom She sang for his first movie Vachan (1955). The melodious lullaby from the movie Chandamama Door Ke! became an overnight hit among young mothers in India.  
Sachin Dev Burman and his favourite singer, Lata Mangeshkar, were not on good terms from 1957 to 1962.During this period, S D Burman used Asha as his lead female voice. She and Burman gave many hit songs in movies such as Kaala Pani, Kaala Bazaar, Insaan Jaag Utha, Lajwanti, Sujata and Teen Deviyaan (1965).In 1958 Kaala Pani she gave voice to Madhubala once again recall the duet song "Achcha Ji Main Haari Chalo Maan Jaao" 
In the 1960s she was among the top singers, In fact, when Geeta Dutt was in her bad phase due to family problems she took place of her and became No 2 after Lata. The song "Ab Ke Baras" in Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963) consolidated her position as a lead singer.  With O P Nayyar she gave hit songs in  Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Kashmir Ki Kali (1964). Recall the songs "Main Pyaar Ka Rahi Hoon" (Ek Musafir Ek Haseena), "Deewana Hua Baadal" and "Ishaaron Ishaaron Mein" (Kashmir Ki Kali). Mere Sanam, another great hit of 1965, has several beautiful songs sung by Asha and composed by Nayyar. Jaayiye aap and Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera. Both solos present two distinct emotions. Asha does full justice to both. The former is a haunting love number while the latter is a seductive one.
With Ravi she gave hits from  Gumrah (1963), Waqt (1965), Hamraaz (1965), Aadmi Aur Insaan (1966) 
In 1966, Bhosle's performances in the duets from one of music director R.D. Burman's first soundtracks, for the movie Teesri Manzil, won popular acclaim. Reportedly, when she first heard the dance number "Aaja Aaja", she felt she would not be able to sing this westernised tune. While Burman offered to change the music, she refused, taking it as a challenge. She completed the song after ten days of rehearsals, and "Aaja Aaja", along with such other songs as "O Haseena Zulfonwali" and "O Mere Sona Re" (all three duets with Rafi), became successful. She went on to record a variety of songs with him – cabarets, rock, disco, ghazals and classical.
Madan Mohan, another composer bewitched by Lata, keeps aside a challenging song for Asha from time to time. How can one forget the enchanting and seductive Jhumka gira re in Mera Saaya (1966)? Though Lata sang the hit title song, Asha's formidable rendering of Jhumka gira re made it a chart-topper too.
. Asha has another highly popular seductive number, Parde mein rehne do, in Shikar. The 1968 film, with Shankar-Jaikishen's music, runs more than 50 weeks in Mumbai, and is one of the biggest hits of the 1960s

In the 1970s, Asha and Pancham's youthful Western songs took Bollywood music by storm – the raunchy cabaret "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (Caravan, picturized on Helen), the rebellious "Dum Maro Dum" (Hare Rama Hare Krishna, 1971), the sexy "Duniya Mein" (Apna Desh, 1972) and the romantic "Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne" (Yaadon Ki Baaraat, 1973). Pancham also recorded many hit duets with Asha and Kishore Kumar such as "Jaane Jaan" (Jawani Diwani) and "Bhali Bhali Si Ek Soorat" (Buddha Mil Gaya).
The 1975 hit Khel Khel Mein is yet another R D Burman favourite. It had fun-filled duets like Khullam khulla pyar karenge, but its most outstanding number was the mournful solo Sapna mera.

 In the 1980s, she travels across the US, Canada and Britain to give concerts that draw thousands of South Asians. Unlike other singers, including Lata Mangeshkar who remains stiff, she moves around. Her concerts are always lively.In 1981 she scales epoch-creating heights with the Rekha-starrer Umrao Jaan (1981). Khayyam's soft, lingering songs like In aankhon ki masti mein and Dil cheez are among the best film songs ever composed.
By the mid-80s Asha was not singing enough.With the rise of singers like Anuradha Paudwal and Alka Yagnik, her career starts sliding but she simply cannot be written out. RD burman was also not getting films.RD reinvents his and Asha's career with an astounding score in the 1987 Gulzar film Ijaazat. The hauntingly sad song Mera kuch samaan sounds sadder by Asha's passionate rendering. 
  The 1990 film Lekin is produced by Lata and her brother Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The film, whose score is composed by Hridaynath, sees Lata singing more numbers. But Asha also gets an opportunity to transform the intricate song Jhoote naina into a masterpiece.
 Composer A R Rahman ropes her in to sing in Ram Gopal Varma's Rangeela (1995). The songs  "Rangeela Re" and Tanha Tanha were especially famous. After that in Daud (1997), the O Bhanware number with Yesudas reminds listeners that Asha is still in command over her voice. In 1999 film Takshak composed by Rehman, One of the best songs in the film, Rang de, goes to Asha Bhosle.
In 2001 a new composer Sandeep Chowta got her to sing the song  Kambakth Ishq number in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), She was at her seductive best.In the same year, her duet with Udit Narayan, Radha kaise na jale, in the Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan (2001) wins her more fame.She got  Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001.
Asha Bhosle has won seven Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards of 18 nominations.After receiving the award in 1979, Bhosle emulated her elder sister and requested that her name not be considered for the nominations hereafter.She was later given a Special Award for Rangeela in 1996, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001

Asha has won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer twice:

• 1981: Dil Cheez Kya Hai (Umrao Jaan)
• 1986: Mera Kuch Samaan (Ijaazat)
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Nowadays Asha is busy with her Restaurant business. She is a skilled cook. Her family, friends and colleagues in the industry swear by her delicious meals, especially her prawn Patties and Paya curry.

In fact, prompted by her love of food, Asha has started her restaurants in Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi,Qatar, Kuwait, and Birmingham and Manchester in UK.  Called Asha’s, the restaurants serve signature dishes inspired by Asha’s childhood and RD Burman’s favourite meals, with the singer’s all-time hits playing in the background.

Songs of Asha Bhosle

Song of Pareenita (1953).

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Song of Howrah Bridge 1958

Song of Kaala Pani 1958

Song of  Sujata 1959

Song of  Bandini (1963)

Song of  Kashmir Ki Kali (1964).

Song of  Mere Sanam 1965

Song of Teesri Manzil,1966

Song of Mera Saaya (1966)

Song of Shikaar 1968

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna 1971

Song of Caravan 1971

Song of Yaadon Ki Baaraat, 1973

Song of  Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye, 1974

Song of Don, 1978

Song of Umrao Jaan 1981