Having effortlessly transitioned into acting, Fouzia's debut film swiftly captured global acclaim, earning accolades at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival
First of all, this is the first time I have come to the Khaleej Times office. It's been 17 years since I last celebrated my birthday. So I decided to celebrate my birthday in Dubai because I love this city. I have a lot of fans in the UAE who used to watch me on television or in shows and wish me, so this year, I thought why not go and celebrate my birthday with them? And here I am!
I believe that behind every successful person, there is another person, be it a brother, son, father or anyone else. In my case, I have my son Anand Bhosle. He is my backbone. Today, I am here because of him. He will never see me bow down. Then there are my twin grandchildren... we started this restaurant (in Wafi Mall) in Dubai when they were only 8 months old, so they have been lucky for us.
If I have to choose someone it would be Sunidhi Chauhan. She imitates me a lot, though she lacks my range. Nevertheless, she knows how to express herself and whatever she sings, she sings well.
Initially, we used to fear senior singers (of copying them). But I never imitated anyone, I had my style. I could have sung like my sister (Lata), my voice is quite similar to hers. But when two people had the same voice it was obvious that they (music directors) would choose my elder sister. So I thought that I should bring my individuality to my sound which should be different from hers. In any case, we were poles apart when it came to our personality. I used to cut my hair, wear jewellery and colourful saris, while Didi is very traditional. I am very talkative and she's not. But I have to stress that if I had not changed my style I wouldn't be here today.
I was the first one to do remixes. Do you remember the album Rahul and I? I sang for the remixes in my original voice but improvised. I am the one to show them (the next generation) the path. Remixes are following the current trend in music. So it's okay for them to do it. Not many singers these days are classically trained. That's why their lifespan in the profession is limited.
Among old songs you have songs for any mood like happiness, joy, sadness. We had legendary lyricists like Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel. Besides the lyrics, we also had good music directors and wonderful singers and the three would combine well. So it was a blend of these three factors, and on top of that, we had to inject the song with our individual feelings, expression and style. That's the reason past songs still live in people's memory.
Massive. Composers knew classical music, they were maestros. That's why you will still hear radio stations blasting R.D. Burman's songs even these days. In those days, music directors would compose tunes based on an artiste's vocal capabilities. I remember once asking R.D. Burman why he was giving me so many difficult songs to sing, and his reply was, 'Because you can sing it. That's why I compose them, but if you don't want to, then I will compose an easy tune for you. I compose because I know you can deliver - you and Kishore (Kumar)'. We three were a powerful combination.
He was a very fun loving person, but eccentric because he was a genius. He was a singer, music director, songwriter, filmmaker and actor. There were so many qualities to him, and he was a very jovial person, he used to make everyone laugh - it's very difficult to be sad yourself and make others laugh.
I recollect S.D. Burman telling me, 'Asha, think you are Helen (the actress) when you are singing for her character'.
She has an enviable collection of saris, and is always so well turned out for events with her trademark bindi and necklace in place. "I don't like saris which are made of very fine material and I don't like saris which are long/lengthy," explains Asha. "I'm not among those women who bring the entire store down to select a sari. My sister used to do that! She would spend the entire day in a shop to select a sari of her choice. I am not like that, I don't spend much time on selection. I just go through a couple of saris before zooming in on my choice. I mostly go for shades in turquoise or white. I like saris with exquisite border styles." And what about matching jewellery? "Actually, I don't have a large collection. Whatever I wear is gifted to me by my children or daughter-in-law."
"I used to love cooking from childhood. I remember those early days in Kolhapur when all my sisters and I used to get together to cook whenever there was a festival or other auspicious occasions. So that's how my love for cooking started. But I seriously got into cooking only after my children were born. Whenever I would be invited to someone's home for dinner, I used to request them to share their recipes with me. But these women would never pass on the actual recipes. Nevertheless, I used to memorise them, like my lyrics, and try them out. Sometimes the dishes would turn out good, but not always. But I never gave up and kept on trying till I perfected the recipes."
"Khaleej Times is a reputable paper in this region. They write and publish the truth. They don't dwell on gossip. I have tremendous respect for the people working here, who are concerned about maintaining the values and the standards of the newspaper. I thank them and want them to continue with the good work."
Having effortlessly transitioned into acting, Fouzia's debut film swiftly captured global acclaim, earning accolades at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival
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