India’s first pop-singer Usha Uthup recently talked about how Dev Anand helped her in making the transition from singing in hotels and night clubs to films.
From performing in hotels and night clubs to singing some of the biggest chartbusters like ‘Hari Om Hari’, ‘Shaan Se’ and ‘Koi Yahan Nache Nache’ in Bollywood, popular playback singer Usha Uthup has come a long way.
In her latest interview with ETimes, the ‘Queen of Indian pop’ recalled how she landed her first big break in Bollywood, courtesy Dev Anand. For the unversed, she sung the English version of the popular ‘Dum Maro Dum’ song.
The tabloid quoted Usha as saying, “Bollywood singing happened when Mr. Dev Anand once came to Delhi to listen to my songs at a nightclub. It was a very special association with him and I was really excited after meeting him because, after the show got over, he asked me whether I would work on his project ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’. The meeting was very, very special because he really loved my voice. And he really loved the way I sang. After which I worked with some extremely marvelous music composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, etc.”
Usha revealed that before stepping into showbiz, it was her aunt who helped to bag a few gigs following which she signed a professional contract with a hotel. She told the daily that the job helped her to earn a monthly remuneration of Rs 750.
“I was standing and singing at the club and it was fantastic and I was the highest-paid singer in those days, I mean as a nightclub singer. So, the thrill of earning that money was something else,” the singer recalled.
Beside singing, Usha Uthup also acted in a couple of films. Speaking about them, she said that she learnt ‘real acting’ when she worked with Mammootty in a Malayalam movie. She also praised her other co-stars like Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah and Annu Kapoor. Usha is currently working on a BBC series which is an Indian adaptation of Sherlocks Holmes. It also features Ranvir Shorey and Kay Kay Menon.
