Asha Bhosle sadly passed away at the age of 92 on April 12, 2026. She was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai due to age-related health complications. She was ill for some time and was under close medical supervision in her final days. As we remember his extraordinary legacy and enduring influence on Indian music, we revisit a candid throwback from our archives, an interview with Filmfare in September 1993. It offers a rare glimpse into his personal reflections, his journey in the shadow of Lata Mangeshkar and the complexities of their brotherhood.
When asked if she resents being in Lata’s shadow and always having to be second best, Asha said, “I remember Gulzar bhai once told me, ‘Neil Armstrong and his partner landed on the moon together, but since Neil took the first step, he hogged the limelight. Similarly, you and Lata landed on the moon, but she has been one step ahead. So you will have to live with the comparison.”
Asha also shared that she could have been ahead of her older sister if she had been born somewhere else. She added, “If I had been born in Punjab and Madras perhaps, I would have already run ahead of didi. But I was born in the Mangeshkar family, I have always been didi’s younger sister. So I have resigned myself to being second best.”
But he also admitted that there has never been a professional rivalry between the two of them. She said, “What jealousy? These are just rumors spread by our rivals. When I lived apart from the family in Khar, producers and music directors would run to me for dates and always encouraged me to speak against didi. Maybe every now and then, I said something I shouldn’t have said and they would immediately run to didi with stories. After I returned to live in Peddar Road, didi and I cleared up the misunderstandings. Now, when someone criticizes didi in my presence, I tell them that if someone is taller than me then I can’t cut off their legs to bring them to my height, I can only try to become as tall as them.”
Talking about the bond she had with her sister before and after eloping and marrying Ganpatrao Bhosle, Asha also said, “I don’t remember Didi ever raising her voice at anyone; just one sharp look from her is enough to silence you forever. I was always the closest to her. When we were young, I would sew her clothes, make her bed, go shopping with her. But she got very upset when I eloped, suddenly there was a wall between us. After eight years, we were patched up in 1960. By then I was divorced and had three children. But things were never the same between didi and me. There is no point in fooling myself into thinking that the love between didi and me is the same as before the wall.
Also Read: Asha Bhosle’s granddaughter Zanai Bhosle expresses gratitude towards AR Rahman
