Usha Uthup Recalls Starting Her Career As A 'Fantastic' Nightclub Singer, ¡®I Got 750 Rupees¡¯

Us: Alexa, play a 70s party song!

Alexa: Did you mean ¡®Usha Uthup¡¯s music album?¡¯

That¡¯s how the world knows veteran Indian singer Usha Uthup. She gave her voice to several superhit albums like Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), Chattakkari (1974), Oorukku Uzhaippavan (1976), Pyaara Dushman and Shaan (1980), Armaan (1981), and Disco Dancer (1982).

TOI

Usha has now revisited the time she began her career in music by singing at nightclubs.

Uthup shared with the Times Of India, "It was by chance. My aunt helped me to get a few gigs and I always liked to sing for everyone. So I signed my professional contract with a hotel. And that was really something fantastic because, at the end of it, I got 750 rupees. Not for one show, but I got this amount for a month.¡±

¡°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." Usha also sang several songs in films like Dushman Devta, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Don 2, 7 Khoon Maaf and Kahaani.

Usha in the same interview recalled how she received her first break in Bollywood.

¡°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,¡± Usha shared.

She continued, ¡°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 marvellous music composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, etc.¡± Usha interestingly also acted in films like Bombay to Goa, 7 Khoon Maaf and Rock On 2.

In a career spanning over 5 decades, Usha says that she, fortunately, didn¡¯t see a rough patch.

She shared, ¡°My music has never let me down. Never, ever in my life. By the grace of God, whatever I've done so far has never made me feel low. When I face the audience, before I get on to the stage, I pray, I say a prayer and I try to concentrate on it. And, there is nothing really to feel relaxed about.¡±

(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)