Usha Uthup is no ordinary pop icon. She was one of the reigning music sensations in the 1970s and 80s and thrived in the likes of legends like RD Burman and Bappi Lahiri. Like her statement bindi and gajra, her songs such as Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Ramba Ho Ho Ho, and Shaan Se, too never went out of vogue.
Usha Uthup takes us back to her heyday, when she began her musical journey as a nightclub singer in Chennai in 1969. That she was different from the rest was something she was constantly reminded of from the very beginning -- her deep contralto voice was unique. She recalls being asked to leave her music class in school because of that very voice that still makes people stand up and dance to One Two Cha Cha Cha.
From being the odd one out in childhood to becoming one of the highest-paid nightclub singers in the early '70s, the singer landed one gig after the other. Soon, she was singing at several uptown places in Calcutta (now Kolkata).
From the City of Joy, she headed to Mumbai, the City of Dreams, and then found herself in Delhi where the stars aligned as she performed at the Oberoi Hotel.
Superstar Dev Anand spotted her and thus began her journey at the movies.
Was it daunting?
"Oh, it wasn't that dramatic, the 'big bad world of Bollywood'," exclaims the 77-year-old, who has sung the fiery song Kali Shakti in Kajol's Maa, which hit the screens today.
Speaking of Kajol, she adds, "She is really fantastic in the song. You can say I'm biased because I've known her since she was a little kid, and I've known her mother Tanuja so closely, been a really good family friend, but to see her act the way she did, it's commendable. Every time that I listen to Kali Shakti, there are moments in her eyes when she's so fiery, defiant, and powerful. And yet there are times when she's so vulnerable. To bring out all these emotions all at once, kudos to Kajol."
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, she gets nostalgic as she talks about her journey, what she thinks of the new-gen music talents, and why she thinks it's cool to have song remakes.
And So Came Dev Anand...
Usha Uthup has a childlike enthusiasm sparkle in her eyes when she expresses how thrilled she was to have been approached by Dev Anand in 1971. The evergreen actor discovered her at Delhi's Oberoi Hotel during one of her performances and showed immense faith in her craft.
Today, the song Hare Rama Hare Krishna is one of her biggest hits. It laid the foundation for her journey in the world of Hindi cinema. The rest, as they say, is history.
She says, "I just never thought that it would happen to me because my voice was so different. I was singing in nightclubs and doing performances, live shows and stage shows. So I never thought that anything like that would have ever happened to me. They all used to come to listen to me. I never had to, by the grace of God, go to them and ask for any kind of favours."
She adds, "It was just sharing lovely music. And when Dev Anand came up to me after my show in Delhi, and told me, 'Usha, I love your voice and I want you to be a part of my project Hare Rama Hare Krishna', I was bowled over. It never struck me that I was entering the big world of films. I was just happy to say yes."
Ain't No Disco Without Bappi Da
"He was the King of Disco, and there's no one like him," Usha Uthup says as she fondly remembers her late friend and collaborator who played an instrumental role in her career.
Together, Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri were unstoppable. Songs such as Koi Yahan Nache Nache and Ramba Ho Ho Ho still keep the 1980s disco era alive.
The singer fondly remembers Bappi Lahiri, "Bappi Da was fantastic. The base notes that he would take or get his musicians to play were so fresh. The kind of Boney M or ABBA treatment that he gave to his songs was really amazing and he truly was a pioneer. These are milestones of my life that I can never be more thankful for."
Music, Rain, And RD Burman...
Oh to be alive at a time when RD Burman's compositions could be heard in every household, what must it have been for Usha Uthup.
The music icon shares a particular moment spent with the avant-garde music composer, who was a frequent visitor at her father's house.
She shares, "RD Burman and I shared a wonderful relationship. He used to come to my father's place very often. One time, it was raining heavily. We sat on the steps of our house and I told him this beautiful Charlie Chaplin quote, 'I love getting wet in the rain because people can't see my tears.' And he told me I should put that in a song. And I just did a song on that. I am also such a diehard romantic, I could dedicate it to my husband who I lost recently."
7 Khoon Maaf For The 'Darling'
Usha Uthup never envisioned her hit number Darling from the Priyanka Chopra-led 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) to become as big as it did. She adds her concerts are incomplete without the song because the audience always wants to hear it live.
Interestingly, the singer also had a short stint in the Vishal Bhardwaj film where she played Priyanka Chopra's loyal helper Maggie.
A still from the film
Walking down the memory lane, she recalls how she ended up acting in the film.
She says, "I went to Vishal Bhardwaj's office and the producers were there. When they asked me if I wanted to take up the role, I said I would be happy to. What a learning experience it was. To be working with Naseeruddin Shah, Annu Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, and Priyanka Chopra, who is so professional. How I enjoyed every moment."
The singer adds, "I never expected it would become that big, but I knew it would be big because, see, the Russian song already for me was tested on stage. So, I used to keep telling Vishal, 'Just give me one song in this, I beg of you.' And then he said there's no situation where we can link it. Then I got really lucky because there was a Russian husband in 7 Khoon Maaf!"
She continues, "When my character was about to kill the Russian husband before that, during the shooting and the script reading, I mentioned, 'There's one lovely chance for me to sing in Russian. Let's make it. And then, of course, Gulzar ji wrote the lyrics in Hindi. Never imagined that I would get an opportunity like that. So it's been wonderful."
Her One Advice To New Gen Singers: "No Shortcut To Success"
Usha Uthup shares how she wishes that today's new crop of singers, who are such thorough professionals, could also experience the camaraderie between artistes of the era gone by.
She says, "I wish they could experience how we all used to stand together. The musicians, music directors, singers, and chorus girls were one big team. If anybody made one mistake, then the whole thing had to be redone. There were no tracks and there was no redoing, you redid the whole song if you made a mistake. I, for one, because I never learned music so I couldn't write down the notation, but I would say that I learnt the hard way that there is no shortcut to success."
She adds, "I'm not saying that the new singers or new musicians don't work hard. I think they're fantastic. I wish that they could have experienced the other thing."
"You Call It Remake, I Call It Retro"
Usha Uthup is onboard when it comes to the remakes bandwagon. She simply doesn't understand the hue and cry about it.
The singer says, "So what? Every Symphony Orchestra is playing Beethoven, Mozart and Bach. Beethoven probably wrote 300 pieces or more, whatever he wrote, people are still playing his pieces. What difference does it make? People still want to hear it. What's wrong with that? There's nothing wrong. I think retro is where it's at. We want to call it retro. We want to call it remakes. But I just call it a song. A song is a song is a song."
Instagram/Usha Uthup
And with that, she says her goodbyes as she hurries off to prepare for another live performance. Her famous greeting in her booming voice "Namaskar, Namaskaram, Sat Sri Akaal, Salaam Walekum" echoes even after she turns off her camera.