Every conversation with Usha Uthup is life’s way of giving you an adrenaline shot. She is remarkably perceptive, heartwarmingly concerned, and fields the entire volley you throw her way with the kind of flair only she can. Interspersed with her endearing guffaws and keenness to give you advice, calling the legendary singer a force of nature is not an understatement.
Yet for someone like her who has, for decades, constantly been on the move, Uthup had to reorient herself ahead of her recent Chennai trip, with the tiny rituals that are par for the course with intercity travel.
“From picking my handbag to making sure I had all my cards (Aadhaar etc) in place, there were so many minor things that contributed to the travel experience that I would do effortlessly earlier, but I had to remind myself about this time. Once I got to the airport it was like picking up from exactly where I left in off 2020. I have had the underlying fear of travelling by plane in these difficult times. I knew that it was absolutely important that I stay home these two years,” says Usha.
In the recently released English edition of Vikas Kumar Jha’s Queen of Pop: The Autobiography of Usha Uthup by Srishti Jha, the authors heartbreakingly describe how Uthup has had to come to terms with her son Sunny’s renal condition that requires frequent dialysis. But in true Uthup style, she takes the adversity and looks to turn it into an opportunity. “COVID-19 has forced us all to experience loss and suffering in varying degrees; it has also been a blessing in many ways. We’ve learnt so much about ourselves and our resilience,” she says with her distinctly infectious optimism.
From creating a 4 by 2.5 recording setup with her microphone to creating songs and performing across the globe online, Uthup has been busy in these two years. Somewhere along the way, she also gave the biography her blessing, which was released in February this year, garnered over 1 million views for chart-topper 'Srivalli' from the Bengali version of blockbuster film Pushpa, and starred in Raja Ramamurthy’s Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu. The Tamil dramedy, that released on Amazon Prime on Friday, sees Uthup essay lead character Akshara Haasan’s grandmother, who is also a Carnatic singer.
“I have a small but definitive role in the film. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Akshara. She is such an intelligent actor and a wonderful person too. We shared great chemistry on the sets for sure but every time I looked at her, I saw a youngster with sound values intact, very composed and sorted. She really does take after both her parents (Kamal Haasan and Sarika), and created such a healthy space for us to work where despite there being an actual generational gap, there was none.”
From playing Malayalam icon Mammooty’s mother in Pothan Vava to being Maggie Aunty in 7 Khoon Maaf, Uthup is no stranger to the big screen, an arena she admittedly enjoys a lot. She has played herself in Bow Barracks Forever, Hattrick, Rock On 2 and more. “I love being in front of the camera, particularly in roles that are different from who I am in real life. I have thoroughly enjoyed being on the sets of all the films I’ve done so far. I wish I would not be cast as Usha Uthup though. I’d love to play a neighbourhood aunty selling liquor or some such,” she breaks out in her distinctly hearty laugh.
The Usha Uthup persona has been a strong one that has permeated through her music career as well. She made a name for herself as the quintessential Queen of Pop, thanks to a potent combination of a powerhouse voice and her ability to stand out in her Kanjeevaram sarees, big bindis, and gajras.
For someone who oscillates between being a contralto and an alto, Uthup coupled her husky and heavy voice with feisty performances, thus becoming a booming, unmissable presence on stage. But when it came to playback singing, the typecasting in Mumbai’s Hindi film industry has been myopic to say the least.
“Most people didn’t know the playback singer behind the actor/actress on screen. A playback singer’s voice merged effortlessly with the onscreen personality, something that wasn’t easy in my case because I started my career as a live performer — a nightclub singer no less.
People had already put a face to my name. It was natural then that the kind of work that came my way was based on what the composers thought I could sing: Disco, upbeat numbers or bad girl songs.
It made no difference to me. After all, the song is always bigger than the singer,” she says.
Being categorised based on her voice or her stage presence is one thing, Uthup chuckles over how frequently people expect her to always be the “Usha Uthup” they know. Since the saree-bindi-gajra package is so popular, she is rarely seen in anything but those in public. “Sometimes I’m catching an early morning flight, and I might not have worn flowers in my hair. Yet, people come up and ask me why I didn’t wear them. I have to tell them it’s too early in the morning to get gajras in time!”
If her appearance has been as crucial — if not for more — as her voice, Uthup has learnt to own that most decisively. Among her many inspiring traits is her ability to normalise being different. She is the singer who wore a sari and flowers to a nightclub to perform jazz; she is also the singer who ditched her heels for sneakers under her saree, while reiterating that comfort will always trump conformity.
“My daughter suggested it 10-15 years ago, and at that time, it seemed like a strange style statement. It was undoubtedly comfortable though. Over time, I started dressing up my shoes with the help of a friendly cobbler, who customised the sneakers with Kanjeevaram borders. Today, so many more people are wearing sneakers under their sarees, and it’s perfectly okay!”
Over 50 years in the music business and Usha Uthup continues to be 100 percent original, and we’re all the richer for it.
Senior journalist Lakshmi Govindrajan Javeri has spent a good part of two decades chronicling the arts, culture and lifestyles.
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