The demise of Asha Bhosle on Sunday marks a profound loss for the Indian film and music industry. Hailing from the illustrious Mangeshkar family, she began her career in the 1950s and went on to lend her voice to songs across languages over an extraordinary eight-decade journey. In Tamil, her first outing came with a composition by Ilaiyaraaja, after which she recorded around 20 songs in the language over nearly two decades. Though limited in number, her Tamil discography tells a story of remarkable range and versatility—here’s a list that captures just that:
Asha Bhosle's tryst with Tamil film songs started in 1987, when Ilaiyaraaja gave her the chance to be the voice of Shanthipriya in the popular 'Shenbagamae' song from Enga Ooru Pattukaran. The song features a young woman's confession of love, and Asha flawlessly pronounced the Tamil lyrics, penned by Gangai Amaran. A song composed to folk beats, the veteran's rendition of the song perfectly conveyed the yearning of a woman in love.
As the voice of Aishwarya's Meera in the 'Oh Butterfly' song from the titular film, we hear Asha Bhosle after a brief introduction to the melody by SP Balasubramaniam. As the actor enjoys the beauty of the butterfly onscreen, we experience a duet that makes men want to fall in love and women revel in self-love. A modern melody, the song is still adored for the singer's careful and restrained pronunciation of the word 'butterfly'.
What do you do when grief hits you, and the one you loved the most is no longer there to heal you? You hear 'Nee Paartha Paarvai' from Hey Ram in Asha's voice as she attempts to heal what she didn't break. In the film, the song acts as a goodbye note from Aparna (Rani Mukerji) to Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan). With Asha's voice melodiously playing in the background as Saket Ram reminisces about happy memories of his Aparna, it shows us that the singer knew to use her chirpy voice to render melancholy like no other.
Meant as a song for friends having a gala time before a wedding, 'September Madham' marked a refreshing shift in Asha’s Tamil repertoire. While the song is composed with fast beats to capture the essence of enjoyment, there's an underlying tone that signifies the conflict between the leading couple. And in that scenario, Asha Bhosle's voice comes as a vibe, alongside Shankar Mahadevan, as the duo remind us marriage is not for beginners.
Asha dabbled into jazz music in Tamil with 'Vennila Vennila' from Iruvar. Seductive and quirky, the song's use of trumpets along with Asha channels the sultry side of her voice to intoxicate listeners as Aishwarya Rai does her bidding onscreen. The heavy use of instrumentation could have overshadowed the vocals, but Asha turns restraint into strength, using her voice sparingly yet effectively, proving that sometimes, less truly is more.