Usha Uthup
Usha Uthup,c. 2024
Background information
Also known as	Didi
Born	Usha Iyer (1947-11-08)8 November 1947 (age 78) Bombay,Maharashtra State,Dominion of India (present day Mumbai,Maharashtra, India)
Genres	Indian pop,filmi,jazz,R&B,[1]Indian classical music,Western
Occupations	Playback singer actress
Instrument	Vocalist
Years active	1966 – present
Awards	Padma Shri (2011) Padma Bhushan (2024)

Usha Iyer Uthup (born 8 November 1947) is an Indian singer known for her deepcontralto voice and her versatility across genres and languages. A prominent figure in Indian music since the 1970s, she has received aFilmfare Award, and was honoured by theGovernment of India with thePadma Shri in 2011 and thePadma Bhushan in 2024 for her contribution in the field of arts.^[2][3]

Usha was born on 7 November 1947^[4][5] into aTamil family^[6] inMumbai.^[7] Her father was Vaidyanath Someshwar Sami Iyer.^[8]

She studied at St. Agnes High School,Byculla. 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 toHindustani andCarnatic includingKishori Amonkar andBade Ghulam Ali Khan on radio and she used to join them.^[9] She used to enjoy listening toRadio Ceylon.

Her next door neighbor was S.M.A. Pathan, who was then the deputy commissioner of police. His daughter, Jamila, influenced Usha to learnHindi and take up Indian classical music. This fusion approach helped her to pioneer her unique brand of Indian pop in the 1970s.

She was married to Jani Chacko Uthup who hailed from theManarcaud Painumkal family ofKottayam. They have a daughter Anjali and a son Sunny, named after the song, "Sunny".^[10] Her husband, Jani Chacko, died due to a cardiac arrest on 8 July 2024.^[11]

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

Usha Uthup started her music career in Chennai in 1969, singing in a small nightclub called Nine Gems in the basement of the erstwhileSafire Theatre complex on Mount Road,^[12][13] wearing a saree and leg calipers.^{[citation needed]} Her performance was so well received that the owner of the nightclub asked her to stay on for a week.^[14] 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).^[10] After Trincas, her next engagement took her to Delhi where she sang at theOberoi hotels. By happenstance, a film crew belonging to Navketan unit andDev Anand 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 thenHare 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, she recorded covers of two pop songs in English, "Jambalaya" andThe Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar", on anEP,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 toVernon Corea'sBBC office at the Langham in London and was interviewed onLondon Sounds Eastern onBBC Radio London.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 directorsR. D. Burman andBappi Lahiri. 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.^[15]

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 showBharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star – Season 2 (2012), aired onDD National channel, along withIsmail Darbar. 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 [V] 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 albumTom 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 bandParikrama which appeared on Channel V on 23 April 2007. Uthup received a lot of recognition for having a unique voice that ranges betweencontralto andalto.([1])

Uthup is also an actress. In 2006, she acted in theMalayalam moviePothan Vava as Kurisuveettil Mariamma.

She made a cameo appearance in the movieBombay To Goa. In 2007, she appeared inBow Barracks Forever directed by Anjun Dutt as herself. Again in 2007, she appeared inHattrick music video as herself.

She appeared in disguise onIndian Idol 1 and 2. She was one of the co-judges of the 2007 and 2008 andIdea Star Singer Season V (2010).

She has a minor role in the 2010 Tamil movieManmadan Ambu.

She also acted in Vishal Bhardwaj's7 Khoon Maaf 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 filmParie.

In 2019, she appeared in the documentaryIf Not for You^{[citation needed]} for which, she recorded a cover of "Blowin' in the Wind" by legendary singer-songwriterBob Dylan.^{[citation needed]}

• Padma Shri - 2011^[17] – Fourth Highest Civilian Award presented byGovernment of India
• Padma Bhushan - 2024 – Third Highest Civilian Award presented byGovernment of India

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