Asha is considered to be the second greatest female vocalist in India, second to only her sister the great
Lata Mangeshkar
. Born on September 8th 1933 in Maharashtra to Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, a classical singer and actor. Her father passed away when Asha was only 10 and she and her sister began to sing from an early age to support their family. Asha had a big family with 4 sisters, including Asha, and one brother.
Asha made her debut at the age of 10 in 1943. She got a break to sing for a Marathi film, Majha Bal, and provided her vocals for the song "Chala Chala Nav Bala”. Her first song in Bollywood was “Saawan Aaya” for Chunariya in 1948. Asha began to work for various ranges of movies with her big break coming in 1956 when she worked with O.P. Nayyar for his film C.I.D. She went on to work for popular musical composer such as R.D. Burman and A.R. Rahman amongst others. She has released countless hits and due to her popularity has released a few private albums throughout the years. Asha has won countless awards for her vocals from Filmfare to IIFA. Along with awards in India she has fetched international awards including the BBC Lifetime Achievement award, which was presented to her in 2002. With such an astonishing career, she is definitely someone aspiring singers look up to.
Mangeshkar Family Tree (Infographic Family Tree)