February 17, 2017
Veteran playback singer Asha Bhosale was conferred the
coveted "5th Yash Chopra Memorial National Award" at a function held here late
on Friday.
Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao gave away the award to Bhosale,
which has been instituted in the memory of legendary producer-director Yash Raj
Chopra who passed away in October 2012.
The award -- carrying a cash
prize of Rs 10 lakh and a gold bracelet -- has been instituted by philanthropist
and MP T. Subbarami Reddy, in association with Anu Ranjan, President of Indian
Televiation Academy, and Shashi Ranjan, Chairman and Managing Director, ITA
School of Performing Arts.
"Asha Bhosale is one of the most versatile
playback singers who has sung different genres of songs such as 'Lavni', ghazals
and Pop songs with the same grace and perfection as she rendered devotional
songs," Rao said.
Paying tributes to her singing abilities, the Governor
described her as "India's Ambassador to the world of music" and lauded her for
taking Indian music to the global stage.
In her reply, Bhosale recalled
her long association with legendary Chopra whom she likened to "a younger
brother".
"It is unfortunate that he is not here any more. I was
associated with him for nearly 50 years, even before he was married. Once I
complimented him on his choice of songs and melodies and said his 'ear for
music' has greatly improved with time," she recalled.
She continued: "At
that time, Chopra shared his secret with me, with a request not to tell anyone.
He said actually it was his wife Pamela who decides the songs in the films. So I
added, no wonder, your taste in music has only got better."
Bhosale
concluded her address and enthralled the audience with a rendition of a classic
song from Yash Chopra's blockbuster, "Waqt" (1965) - "Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu,
Peeche Bhi Jaane Na Tu..."
Bollwood diva Rekha Ganesan said that she
absolutely adores the Mangeshkar sisters who, amongst themselves, have sung
nearly 90 per cent of all the songs in Bollywood.
"I felt my performances
in films went up a notch because of Ashaji's songs. I would feel the pressures
to match up to her soulful renditions and perfect my act. The constant feeling
of having to meet her expectations also kept me on my toes and going always,"
Rekha said in her tribute to the singer, who sung many memorable numbers for
her, including in "Umrao Jaana" (1981), which bagged six National Awards.
The jury that decided on this year's award comprised Pamela Chopra, Boney
Kapoor, Honey Irani, Alka Yagnik, Padmini Kolhapure, Madhur Bhandarkar and
Reddy.
Present at the glittering function were top personalties from the
glamour world including Jackie Shroff, Jaya Prada, Poonam Dhillon, Parineeta
Chopra, Alka Yagnik, Anushka Ranjan, Aditya Seal, Talat Aziz, Mukesh Rishi,
David Dhawan, Rahul Rawail, Neha Pendse, Krutika Lulla, Debina Banerjee,
Shubhangi Atre, Rohitashv Gau and many more.
The previous recipients of
this award are Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha Ganesan and
Shah Rukh Khan, all known for their close association with the late Chopra.