Asha Bhosle

From an international perspective, singer Asha Bhosle is arguably the most important figure ever in Indian pop music. As a playback singer (a vocalist who records songs to be lip-synched by actors in Bollywood movies), Bhosle has lent her voice to nearly a thousand films over the course of her decades-long career; however, she's also adept at any number of styles, from Hindi pop and folk to classical, and can sing in numerous languages. Bhosle was the inspiration for British indie band Cornershop's international smash single, "Brim Full of Asha."

• world
• asian
• indian
• hindi
• punjabi
• bengali
• assamese
• marathi