Asha Bhosle, is 90 and says she can belt out 18 numbers at one go even today. And that's just what Bhosle is about to do at her March 9 concert to celebrate her 90th birthday.
«If I will live more, I will go almost everywhere in Maharashtra and do shows. The name of my show is 'Woh Phir Nahin Aati Hai'. I will also not come again… You should never regret that you haven't seen that person. People say we did not see Kishore Kumar and other singers (perform). But now you can say we have seen Asha Bhosle,» the legendary singer said at a press conference on Wednesday.
Singing, she said, is her passion. She would sing even as a child but took to professional singing due to circumstances, Bhosle said.
«I got the name and fame, people started recognising me. Even though when I am not working, I keep singing. I keep practising. I never left singing, that's why my voice is okay even today.»
Maintaining one's voice is akin to «taking care of your body», she said.
«I don't practise for others. I practise for myself because I like it.»
«I sang my first song when I was 10 years old and it's been 80 years. I want to thank you all, (I don't know) how you have tolerated my voice for 80 years? I almost sing 18 songs at this age. I am always on stage,» Bhosle said.
Her first film track was «Chala Chala Nav Bala» for the 1943 Marathi film «Majha Bal». From peppy numbers such as «Piya Tu Ab To Aaja» and «O Haseena Zulfon Wali» to soulful ghazals like «Dil Cheez Kya Hai» and the classical «Tora Man Darpan Kehlaye», she has some