Usha Mangeshkar is the youngest sister of legendary singer Lata Mangeskar. Usha is a dubbing singer who has sung many songs in Indian films.
Wiki/Biography
Usha Mangeshkar was born on Sunday, December 15, 1935 (2023) in Bombay Presidency (now Mumbai), British India.
Usha Mangeshkar with her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar during their childhood
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 4″
Eye color: Black
Hair color: gray and white
Family and caste
Her father is from Maharashtra and is of Marathi descent, while her mother is of Gujarati origin.
Parents and siblings
Usha’s father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a Marathi theatre artist and actor. He was also a renowned Natya Sangeet musician and Hindustani classical singer. Her mother, Shevanti Mangeshkar, was the sister of Deenanath’s first wife, Narmada, who died young.
She has an elder brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, and three elder sisters, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Meena Khadikar. Her siblings are also involved in music.
Usha and her siblings
Relationships, husbands and children
She is unmarried.
Profession
Movie
She made her singing debut with a Bollywood song “Badi Dhoom Dham Se Meri Bhabi Aayi” from the film “Subah Ka Tara” (1954 romantic drama).
Usha Mangeshkar’s first song from the film Subah Ka Tara
Awards
National Film Awards
- In 1977, the film Jait Re Jait (as a film producer) won the National Film Award Presidential Silver Medal for the Best Feature Film in Marathi
Film Awards
- Nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Dubbing Singer for the song “Mai to Aarti” from the film Jai Santoshi Maa (1975).
Other Awards
- 1975 BFJA Award for Best Female Vocalist for the song “Jai Santoshi Maa”
- 2020 Mirchi Awards Lifetime Achievement Award
Usha Mangeshkar receives Lifetime Achievement Award
- Gan Samragni Lata Mangeshkar Award from the Department of Culture, Government of Maharashtra (2020-21)
Note: She has received many other awards and honors.
Facts/Trivia
- Usha Mangeshkar is an animal lover and has a pet dog named ‘Bittu’ at her home.
Usha Mangeshkar and her dog Bittu
- She loves to draw in her free time. Moreover, she feels that acting and drawing are interconnected. She used to sketch while listening to songs from movies and also said that once she was sketching while listening to the song Suhana Safar from the movie Madhumati (1958), she pictured a picture of the sea in her mind and drew it on paper. Later, when she saw the song in the movie, it was shot in the jungle, which was different from what she had imagined, so, this disappointed her.
- Usha lost her father when she was six years old. After her father’s death, Lata Mangeshkar, the eldest brother in the family, started singing to earn money.
- While growing up, Usha developed an interest in singing and in 1953 she started acting in low-budget films which gradually brought success to her career.
- The song Mai to Aarti from the film Jai Santoshi Maa (1975) was one of her hits and brought her great success. Another song Mungda from Raj N Sippy’s suspense thriller Inkaar (1977) also earned her popularity.
- The song “Mungda” is a cover version of Indra Kumar’s comedy Total Dhamaal (2019). The song was heavily criticized by the original singer Usha Mangeshkar, composer Rajesh Roshan, and the public. The cover version was called a “toilet remix” by the audience. Usha Mangeshkar expressed her anger at ruining a classic and said:
Our songs (sung by the Mangeshkar sisters Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar) were written after much thought and were made with great care and attention. It is not right to copy them in such an arbitrary manner.”
- In 1992, Usha produced a musical play for Indian Television called “Phoolwanti”, which was based on the story of Baba Sahib Purandare.
- Folk music appealed to her more than any other form of music.
- Usha has been singing for more than 60 years now.
- Usha received her Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Education Minister of Maharashtra in Pune in 2019.
- The last time sisters Lata and Usha sang Aaya Mausam Dosti ka together was in 1989 when they sang the song in Sooraj Barjatya’s Maine Pyar Kiya. Later, in 2017, the duo reunited after 27 years to sing the song Ek Baar Bidaai De Do Maan from the Bangladeshi freedom fighter biopic Main Khudiram Bose Hun.
- During the coronavirus pandemic, Lata Mangeshkar was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai due to breathing difficulties and was subsequently quarantined at their home in Mumbai along with her sister Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath.
- Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowaln felicitated Usha at the seventh Mising Youth Festival in Janglamukh, Assam, in March 2020. It is a five-day festival that began on March 5.
Indulge in nostalgia with soulful songs from classic films like Chameli Memsaab and Khoj.
Bhupen da’s magic and @ushamangeshkar ji’s performance brought back memories of the 70s. An unforgettable evening. pic.twitter.com/EDmjok8xMx
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) March 8, 2020
- Hridaynath (Usha’s brother) says that Usha was a talented painter. According to him, she created the covers of all his long-form albums, including the lyrics and the musical content. Moreover, she had also received the Presidential Award for her paintings.
- Usha and her family are avid fans of cricket and consider cricket as a religion. She talked about this in an interview and said,
Our mother was a huge cricket fan and we would gather in her room, eat delicious food and watch cricket matches.”
- Usha admires her two elder sisters because they inspire her a lot in life. She does not compare her success with anyone. She also believes in learning from her life experiences and follows the motto of always staying positive.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education