Asha conferred Yash Chopra memorial award

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SINGER Asha Bhosle was conferred the coveted ‘5th Yash Chopra Memorial National Award’ at a function last weekend. Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao gave away the award to Bhosle, which has been instituted in the memory of legendary producer-director Yash Raj Chopra who passed away in October 2012.

Bhosle recalled her long association with THE 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.”

Bollwood diva Rekha, who was present for the function, 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 pressure 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,” Rekha said in her tribute to the singer, who sung many memorable numbers for her, including in Umrao Jaan (1981), which bagged six National Awards.