By Mabel Pais

The golden voice of Asha Bhosle, having been dubbed “the last empress of music,” will be ringing in the concert halls of America at Newark, New Jersey; San Jose, California; and Boston, Massachusetts in August 2017.

The diva will be accompanied by talented singer Javed Ali and her granddaughter Zanai Bhosle who will also enthrall the audience with her song-and-dance performances.

Stardust, the iconic Indian entertainment media brand, has been capturing the magic of Hindi cinema and music (Bollywood) over the last 4 decades through the glossy pages of its print magazine and its online portal.

The magazine now carries forward the same magic through live events like film awards and musical concerts, both in India and overseas.

Stardust has hosted some of the most successful musical concerts in the last 3 years in the United Kingdom. After the unprecedented response to the UK concert last year with 50,000+ live audience participants, Stardust decided to bring the above concept to the USA in August 2017.  It is believed that the USA concerts will be landmark events.

It is impossible to summarize everything about the wonder called Asha….. but, here’s an attempt….. a career spanning 7 decades, 13,000 songs to her name and still counting, Asha’s musical journey is a milestone in itself.  Quite a rebel in many ways, she has managed to break stereotypes, defied convention and created a genre that is truly Asha!

Fondly referred to as Ashaji, Bhosle is one of the distinguished voices and icons of the Indian music fraternity who started her career in 1943.  She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies.  In addition, she has recorded several private albums and participated in numerous solo concerts in India and abroad.  The vivacious songstress has 13,000 songs cutting across various genres. Renowned for her voice range and often credited for her astounding versatility, Bhosle’s musical work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis and Rabindra Sangeet.  Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages.

In 2013, Ashaji made her debut at age 79 as the lead actress in the film Mai, and received critical acclaim for her performance.

She has been officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. The Government of India honored her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Her last performance in New Jersey will take her fans down memory lane. It will be an emotional moment for her and her fans.  But, the melody in her voice will continue to regale the USA audience forever.

Thank you, Ashaji, for such wonderful memories. Please continue making more of them…

 It was the monsoon of 2007 when a movie was readying for its release. In between the promos, a song caught up the fancy of cine goers – Ek Din Teri Raahon Mei – sung by a young, relatively unknown man was topping the charts. The song soon became a hit and paved the way for one of Bollywood’s most versatile singers, Javed Ali.

Blessed by a voice of chameleon-like versatility that can charm fans of all kinds of music, Javed was soon favored by top-notch Bollywood music directors in the industry to sing songs ranging from deep soulful melodies like ‘Jashn-E-Bahaara’ (Jodhaa Akbar) to naughty and playful compositions like ‘Tinku Jiya’ (Yamla Pagla Deewana).. Other hits began raking in….. Guzarish from Ghajini, and even Arziyan from Delhi 6, Tu Hi Haqeeqat from Tum Mile, Tum Tak from Raanjhanaa, Jab Tak Hai Jaan title track from Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Ishaqzaade title track from the film Ishaqzaade, Galat Baat Hai from Main Tera Hero, Nagada Nagada from Jab We Met, Tu Jo Mila from Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Javed’s Bollywood career began in the year 2000, with Beti No. 1.  He believes that music composers, today, are looking for freshness in voice and therefore his entry in Bollywood.  He has never followed anyone’s style of singing.

Thanks to his versatility, Javed Ali is brilliant on stage as well. When he is performing, he doesn’t remember who he is and where he is. His body language and attitude change according to the song.

Never one to fall in the trap of fame, he remains a simple guy, who may turn rock star on stage, but in real life is as connected to music and keen on learning more as he was on the day he began his musical journey.

The singer is also considering offers of music reality shows for which he has been approached.  He would like to sing Rap because he hasn’t tried it yet.

Born in a family inclined to music, Javed has always wanted to be a singer. Son of legendary Ustad Hamid Hussain, Javed was trained under Ustad Ghulam Ali.

Having sung live around the world, his fans abidingly throng to each of his concerts.  Consistent and with a track record of some amazing hits from Bollywood, Javed Ali has a very promising future.

Legendary singer Asha Bhosle’s granddaughter Zanai (Anand Bhonsle’s daughter) feels a sense of pressure given the illustrious family of great singers from which she comes.

There is a sense of pressure as there are expectations from her. She would want to continue singing and work hard towards it. Her grandmother (Ashaji) thinks she has a melodious voice.  But, Zanai adds, that she also wants to be as humble as her grandmother….. who treats everyone equally.

The 14-year-old singer has recorded a song “Hil Pori Hila” (a modern take on the popular Maharashtrian folk number with the same name) with India’s first transgender band – 6 Pack.

She believes they (transgenders) are ill treated in society. So, she hopes her song makes a difference in the way transgenders are treated. She feels everyone should be treated equally…..after all, we are all human beings.

Produced by Y-Films, the band’s song with Zanai was released in 2016.

Asha Bhosle feels proud to have sung songs for Yash Chopraji and his entire family for so long, and today, her granddaughter has sung for Y-Films, which is backing the 6-Pack Transgender Band. She can’t be happier and is glad that the relationship between them (her and Y-Films) has remained the same ever since.

The performance schedule of Stardust’s Asha Bhosle and the team concert is as follows:

San Jose, CA  –  August 12

NJPAC, NJ    –  August 19, and

Boston, MA    –  August 20

For tickets to the NJPAC performance, visit www.njpac.org or call 1 888 go NJpac (1-888-466-5722).

For information about the events, contact Magna Publishing Inc., New York at 212 725 7833.

Mabel Pais is a freelance writer.  She writes on the arts and entertainment, health and wellness, social issues and spirituality.