Having grown up in a Tamil Brahmin family, Usha Uthup began her career by singing in hotels and nightclubs. But as she grew in stature and her reputation preceded her, Usha Uthup ended up working with some of the country's top composers.
In addition to her music, the queen of pop, is also known for her sartorial choices in dressing. Her usual look is a silk saree, chunky gold jewellery, and the inevitable gajra in her hair. But there is so much more to Usha Uthup than her Kanjivarams and jewellery. Read on…
Usha Uthup is not a trained singer
In spite of not being trained in music, Usha Uthup grew up in an environment where she had the opportunity to explore various types of music. Her parents were avid listeners of Hindustani classical, Carnatic music and Western Classical. It was because of this that she developed a deep understanding of music.
She has sung in 16 Indian and over 8 foreign languages
The veteran singer has been crooning in a number of different Indian languages besides Hindi and Bangla. These include Sindhi, Khasi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani and Oriya among others. She has lent her voice to lyrics in English, Spanish, French, Zulu, German, Russian, and Ukrainian as well.
Not confined to singing, she is an actress too
Many believe that Uthup made her film debut with a film called ‘Pothan Vava’, a Malayalam film directed by Joshiy which co-starred Mamooty - the South Indian superstar in 2006. But much before that, she had appeared in Bombay to Goa - the Amitabh Bachchan-Aruna Irani hit, which was released in 1972. And more recently, Uthup played herself in 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) starring Priyanka Chopra. Yes, it was the same film for which Uthup bagged a Filmfare Award for the song, Darling.
We wish this multi-talented, charming star a beautiful birthday and many more years of great singing.