Usha Iyer Uthup (born 8 November 1947) is an Indian singer known for her deep

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

voice and her versatility across genres and languages. A prominent figure in Indian music since the 1970s, she has received a

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

, and was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

with the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

in 2011 and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

in 2024 for her contribution in the field of arts.

Personal life

Usha was born on 7 November 1947 into a

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

family in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. Her father was Vaidyanath Someshwar Sami Iyer. She studied at St. Agnes High School,

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to t ...

. When she was in school she was thrown out of music class because she didn't fit in with a voice like hers. But her music teacher recognized that she had some music in her and would give her clappers or triangles to play. Even though she was not formally trained in music, she grew up in an atmosphere of music. Her parents used to listen to a wide range from Western classical to Hindustani and Carnatic including

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, Jaipur Gharana, or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She is cons ...

and

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was a Pakistani vocalist, from the Kasur Patiala Gharana.

on radio and she used to join them. She used to enjoy listening to

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

. Her next door neighbor was S.M.A. Pathan, who was then the deputy commissioner of police. His daughter, Jamila, influenced Usha to learn

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and take up Indian classical music. This fusion approach helped her to pioneer her unique brand of Indian pop in the 1970s. She is married to Jani Chacko Uthup who is from

Manarcaud Manarcad (pronounced Ma - nar- cad) is a small town in Kottayam district of Kerala state, South India. It is known for the Manarcad Perunnal, the annual feast at the St. Mary's Church, which is usually held from September 1–8 (during the 8 ...

Painumkal family of

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

, and was formerly married to the late Ramu. They have a daughter Anjali and a son Sunny, named after the song, " Sunny". Her husband, Jani Chacko, died due to cardiac arrest on 8 July 2024.

Career

Usha Uthup was a judge in Star Vijay's Airtel Super Singer Junior Season 1 and Airtel Super Singer 5. Her first public singing occurred when she was nine. Her sisters, who were already exploring a career in music, introduced her to

Ameen Sayani Ameen Sayani (21 December 1932 – 20 February 2024) was an Indian radio announcer. He achieved fame and popularity across the Indian subcontinent when he presented his ''Binaca Geetmala'' programme of hits over the airwaves of Radio Ceylon. H ...

, then the most popular radio announcer in India. Ameen Sayani gave her an opportunity to sing in the Ovaltine Music Hour of Radio Ceylon. She sang a number called "Mockingbird Hill". After that, several appearances followed through her teenage years.

Singing Career

Usha Uthup started her music career in Chennai in 1969, singing in a small nightclub called Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhile

Safire Theatre complex The Safire Theatre complex was India's first largest multi-theatre complex located in the southern city of Chennai that functioned from 1964 to 1994. The theatre complex was located on Mount Road (now Anna Salai) and consisted of three screeni ...

on Mount Road, wearing a saree and leg calipers. Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week. After her first night club gig, she began singing in Calcutta at night clubs such as "Trincas". She met her future husband, Uthup in Trincas . At about the same time, she also sang at "Talk of the Town", now known as "Not Just Jazz by the Bay" in Bombay (now Mumbai). After Trincas, her next engagement took her to Delhi where she sang at the

Oberoi Oberoi (also spelled as Uberoi, Oberai and Obhrai) is a surname used by the Punjabi Khatri caste of northern India. Notable people Notable people bearing the name Oberoi, who may or may not be associated with the Khatri caste, include: * Akshay O ...

hotels. By happenstance, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit and

Dev Anand Dev Anand (; born Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand; 26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011) was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Indian cinema, Hindi cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest and most succes ...

visited the nightclub and they offered her a chance to sing movie playback. As a result, she started her Bollywood career with Ivory-Merchant's Bombay Talkies (1970) in which she sang an English number under Shankar-Jaikishan and then '' Hare Rama Hare Krishna''. Originally, she was supposed to sing Dum Maro Dum along with Asha Bhosle for Hare Rama Hare Krishna. However, as a result of internal politicking on the part of other singers, she lost that chance but ended up singing an English verse. In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, "

Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , ) is a savory rice dish that developed in the U.S. state of Louisiana fusing together African, Spanish, and French influences, consisting mainly of meat and/or seafood, and vegetables mixed with rice and spices. West Africans a ...

" and

The Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

's "Greenback Dollar", on an EP, ''Love Story'', and "Scotch and Soda", another Kingston Trio song, which sold very well in the Indian market. She also spent some time in London during this early period. She was a frequent visitor to

Vernon Corea Vernon Corea (11 September 1927 – 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the S ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

office at the Langham in London and was interviewed on ''

London Sounds Eastern ''London Sounds Eastern'' was one of the most popular ethnic minority radio programs on the BBC. It was presented by Vernon Corea and produced by Keith Yeomans. The Launching of London Sounds Eastern -BBC Radio London The program went on the airwa ...

'' on

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the BBC Local Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London. It broadcasts on FM broadcasting, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Broadcasting House in Langham Plac ...

. Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian festival. She was so popular that she was invited to stay on. Singing and quite often nationalistic songs in Swahili made her extremely popular and the then President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She sang the famous song "Malaika" ('Angel') with Fadhili Williams who was the original singer. She produced a record "Live in Nairobi" with a local band Fellini Five. Uthup sang several songs in the 1970s and 1980s for music directors R. D. Burman and

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

. She also reprised some of R. D. Burman songs that were sung by others such as "Mehbooba Mehbooba" and "Dum Maro Dum" and popularised them to a distinct end. Uthup also sang for a two-volume collection of children's rhymes "Karadi Rhymes", which are "Indian Rhymes for Indian Kids", brought out by Karadi Tales
www.karaditales.com
. The rhymes reflect the Indian ethos through the Sa-re-ga-ma, mangoes, Indian rivers, the train experiences, Indian festivals, indigenous trees, Cricket, Indian foods like bhelpuri and sambhar, Indian attire like the dhoti, sari, bindi and bangles and even some folk tales. With each rhyme set to an Indian raga, and sung in her characteristic voice with a feisty tempo, Usha creates the atmosphere for children and, surprisingly, even adults to sing along and dance to the toe-tapping beats. She appeared as a judge on a singing reality show '' Bharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star'' – Season 2 (2012), aired on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is an Indian state-owned entertainment television channel, founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is the flagshi ...

channel, along with

Ismail Darbar Ismail Darbar is an Indian film score composer, instrumentalist, singer, violinist and music director. He won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for '' Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' (1999). Career Ismail Darbar is from Surat, Gu ...

. She is the judge in the Season 3 of the show as well. She also appeared as a chief guest for Marathi singing reality show. She entertained the audience with Marathi songs. She is a stage performer and gave performances all over the world and is known for her lively stage presence. She has been felicitated with several awards over the years, some of which include Rajiv Gandhi Purashkar for National Integration for quality music, Mahila Shiromani Purashkar for international peace, and Channel award for outstanding achievement. She appeared on the Kapil Sharma Show on 26 May 2019. She recorded her first album with Luis Banks for which she was paid Rs. 3500. Since then, she has recorded numerous albums. Usha's Hindi version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", titled "Chhupke Kaon Aya", can be found on the album ''Tom Middleton – The Trip'' (2004). A cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" is on another Tom Middleton album, ''Cosmosonica – Tom Middleton Presents Crazy Covers Vol. 1'' (2005). She recorded a song called "Rhythm and Blues" with the Indian rock band

Parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indian religions, Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only ...

which appeared on Channel V on 23 April 2007. Uthup received a lot of recognition for having a unique voice that ranges between

and

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

Acting Career

Uthup is also an actress. In 2006, she acted in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

movie ''

Pothan Vava ''Pothan Vava'' is a 2006 Malayalam film directed by Joshiy starring Mammootty and Usha Uthup. Through this film, the famous Indian pop and Bollywood singer Usha Uthup made her first screen appearance, in which she played the role of the protago ...

'' as Kurisuveettil Mariamma. She made a cameo appearance in the movie '' Bombay To Goa''. In 2007, she appeared in ''Bow Barracks Forever'' directed by Anjun Dutt as herself. Again in 2007, she appeared in ''Hattrick'' music video as herself. She appeared in disguise on ''Indian Idol'' 1 and 2. She was one of the co-judges of the 2007 and 2008 and ''Idea Star Singer'' Season V (2010). She has a minor role in the 2010 Tamil movie '' Manmadan Ambu''. She also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's ''

7 Khoon Maaf ''7 Khoon Maaf'' (; read as "''Saat Khoon Maaf''"), released internationally as ''Seven Sins Forgiven'', is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film stars Priyanka Chopra ...

'' as a maid. She has also sung a song in the film which released on 18 February 2011. In 2012, she has starred in a Kannada film '' Parie''. In 2019, she appeared in the documentary ''If Not for You'' for which, she recorded a cover of "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...

" by legendary singer-songwriter

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Discography

Filmography

Television

Awards and nominations

Civilian awards

- 2011 – Fourth Highest Civilian Award presented by

- 2024 – Third Highest Civilian Award presented by

Film awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uthup, Usha 1947 births Living people Singers from Kolkata Bengali-language singers Bollywood playback singers English-language singers from India Gujarati-language singers Hindi-language singers Indian women playback singers Tamil playback singers Marathi-language singers Konkani-language singers Nepali-language singers from India Singers from Mumbai Russian-language singers of India Tamil-language singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Kannada playback singers Indian women pop singers 21st-century Indian singers Indian Tamil people Indian jazz singers Indian women jazz singers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Maharashtra Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts