Asha Bhosle Prepares for Her Last Stage Performance

London: Bollywood music veteran Asha Bhosle has said that her concerts in Birmingham and London over the weekend will be her last stage performance in the UK.

The 83-year-old said while she would keep on singing till she can because she cannot survive without singing, she is unlikely to make the journey back to Britain. “I cant live without singing but these shows here will be my last in the UK. After all, I am 83 so let this be the last one,” the popular playback singer said at a media briefing in London on Wednesday. “But I will ensure no one feels they did not get to hear their favourite number. They will all remember when they heard a particular song for the last time in concert here,” she added.

Bhosle is scheduled to perform at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on Saturday and Wembley Arena in London on Sunday as part of her ‘Farewell Tour 2016’. Asked to name some of her own favourite chart-topping numbers that she plans to perform, she said it was impossible. “It is like asking a mother which is her favourite kid. If I name any one song, it would be a great injustice to the others,” she said.

In reference to the secret behind her longevity in the Indian film industry, Bhosle attributed it to the fact that her generation of singers sang from the heart. “There was only one focus while recording songs who is singing it on the screen, how does the actor look and then immersing oneself in the situation. When I sang ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’, I became ‘Umrao Jaan’...it is because we sang from the heart that these songs remain in everyones hearttill date,” she said.

The singer, who owns the Asha’s chain of restaurants in Birmingham and Manchester, attributed her passion for cooking to the fact that no one can sing or listen to music on an empty stomach. She also made a promise to her Pakistani fans: “God-willing, I will be able to come to Pakistan. We are artistes; all we are concerned with is art, not politics.”

PTI