Asha Bhosle’s Love Life: Being With An Abusive Husband To Falling In Love With R D Burman

Asha Bhosle is one of the most popular singers in the Hindi film industry. She has given her voice to some of the most iconic songs. Rom Parede Mein Rehne Do, Chura Liya Hai, Ude Jab-Jab Zulfein to Zara Sa Jhoom Lu Mein, she has many evergreen tracks in her kitty. It was not only her dream to sing in films but she needed money as well. Thus, she sang raunchy and dejected songs that were given to her. Later, everything turned out to be in her favour.

She has her name in the Guinness World Record for the most recorded songs by an artist. Asha achieved success professionally but when we talk about her personal life, it was not successful. She didn’t fall in love with the right person and this changed her life.

Asha Bhosle personal life

Asha was the daughter of Master Denanath Mangeshkar. After her father’s death, the family moved to Kohlapur. This is known to all that she is the younger sister of Lata Mangeshkar. Thus, she has music in her blood. To support her family and to earn money, Asha also started acting and singing in films.

During that time, Lata was an established singer and Asha was trying to carve her niche in the industry. The latter was in a relationship with Lata’s secretary, Ganpatrao Bhosle. When she came to know about her younger sister’s relationship, Lata cut all the ties with 16-years old Asha.

Asha’s marriage with Ganpatrao didn’t go down well with her family and this created a rift between sisters. Later, things started to get normal after Asha gave birth to her first child, Hemant. However, Ganpatrao was not happy with his wife’s relations with her family, especially with Lata.

Ganpatrao and Asha became parents of two more kids but things were not good between them. As Asha was busy taking care of her children, Lata was being considered as one of the best singers. Ganpatrao was not happy with the fact that Asha is not getting as many offers as Lata. He was a greedy man and wanted money from Asha. In the 1950s, he stopped Asha from meeting Lata and also accused her of infidelity. Not only he used abusive words but their fights often took a violent turn.

In 1960, Ganpatro ended the marriage with Asha and didn’t give her anything. As the lady had to take care of her three kids, she started focusing on her career. She gave back-to-back hits then.

Marriage With R.D. Burman

After leaving Ganpatrao, Asha worked in some of the best films like Gumrah, Aadmi aur Insaan, Waqt and Hamraaz. She had a huge fan following and one among them was a college boy, Rahul Dev Burman. R.D. Burman. He often accompanied his father to the studio where he first saw the singer and was mesmerized by her beauty.

Recalling his first meeting with R.D. Burman, Asha Bhosle recalls,

“He was a thin, pale boy in white, wearing thick glasses. Since he was short, he looked younger than his age. The boy asked me for an autograph and said he’d heard my Marathi natya sangeet on the radio.”

Burman married to Rita Patel in 1966 and took divorce in 1971. He worked with Asha a lot of times. Both of them were passionate about music which brought them closer. He proposed to the lady but the latter was skeptical because of her past experience. Thus, she didn’t accept his proposal. Burman didn’t lose heart and kept trying. In the end, Asha agreed and they took wedding vows in the 1980s.

On her marriage with R.D. Burman she said,

“Music was the basic foundation of our marriage. Our taste for music was eclectic, and that was our everlasting bond.”

Asha got everything that she didn’t get from her first marriage. There was love, respect, understanding, and everything that is required for a successful marriage. Though, it was not enough.

Separation

The couple separated in the late 1980s due to Burman’s alcoholism and nonstop cigarette smoking. However, they continued to admire each other and often spent quality time together. Due to his unhealthy habits, Burman suffered a heart attack and Asha was there to support him.

In 1994, for her weekly visit, Asha went to Burman’s home but there was nobody. Later, she got a call that he was not feeling well. Asha got her hospitalized. He died on January 4, 1994. Asha was devastated as she lost the man who loved her with all his heart.

Zindagi Ka Safar

Being a strong person, Asha coped up with Burman’s demise. She made a comeback with Rangeela and also released a few singles.

Life is never easy for anyone. Instead of living a carefree life, she started earning at a very young age. She got married to an abusive husband and the man she loved, passed away. She didn’t let anything affect her professional life proving how strong she is.