The Vocal Vamp Of Bollywood.(Society and the Arts; Music)(Asha Bhosle)(Interview)

Asha Bhosle, singing for the stars, has logged more recordings than anybody.

At 75, Asha Bhosle, the "Queen of Bollywood," is the world's most recorded singer, with 13,000 songs to her credit. Rather than following after her older sister, Lata Mangeshkar, who impersonated the voices of virginal screen heroines, Bhosle, the daring rebel, became the voice of vamps. After playing to huge audiences across North America last month, Bhosle returned home to receive the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honor. Before performing at Carnegie Hall in New York on April 17, she talked to NEWSWEEK's Vibhuti Patel about her life and work. Excerpts:

PATEL: How did you come to sing in Bollywood films?

BHOSLE: My father was a classical singer and actor. He taught me and my sisters to sing. When he died at 40, our family was in financial trouble. My mother encouraged us to sing, gave us confidence and suggested we go into films. In those days, there was tremendous prejudice against middle-class girls as performers. Singers were considered low-class. First Didi [older sister] entered films. Then it was my turn. I got a role as a child actor. Later, Didi sang sad love songs and I sang cabaret. She cornered one genre, I the other. There was no competition.

Was it hard to break in?

Very hard. As child actors it was OK, but then, in '47, with many big artists in films, it was difficult for newcomers. We'd say, "Just audition me --" We sang for the heroine, or the second heroine.

How was it being a young woman then?