MUMBAI: We have heard many celebs who have come from humble backgrounds and struggled a lot in the formative years. Some reach the stars in time with their determination and focus, while some just need that twist of fate to change the course of their destiny. Today, we will talk about one such celeb who started singing in the nightclubs of Chennai but was spotted by a Hindi film actor which changed her life forever.

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We are talking about the one and only singer Usha Uthup. Her unique voice and singing style made her quite popular and she gained immense recognition in no time. While many are familiar with playback singers like Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan, one name that sometimes gets forgotten in Usha’s.  

Usha was born in a middle class Tamil family in 1947 and at the age of 22 began singing in the Nine Gems nightclub in Chennai. Dressed in Kanjeevaram sarees, Usha sang songs in  English, Hindi, Marathi, and Tamil.

Her popularity slowly grew and she got invites to sing in 5 star hotels in Mumbai and Kolkatta.

Once when she was invited at the Oberoi hotel in Delhi, Vijay Anand, Dev Anand, RD Burman, Sanjay Khan and Shashi Kapoor specially came to hear her sing. 

Shashi Kapoor was so impressed by her, that he offered her to sing his film Bombay Talkie. The music was composed by Shankar-Jaikishen and Usha sang two English songs for the film; Good Times and Bad Times and Hari Om Tat Sat. 

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Usha soon became the queen of pop in the Hindi film industry with songs like Hari Om Hari, One Two Cha Cha Cha, Rambha Ho Ho Ho, Shaan Se, and Koi Yahan Aha Nache Nache. 

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Usha won an award for the best playback singer at the 57th Filmfare Awards for the track Darling from the film 7 Khoon Maaf in 2011. 

During an interview, Usha said, “I was once thrown out of class because my music teacher, Ms. Davidson, believed my voice didn’t suit the choir. But realising I had musical talent, she gave me the triangle and clappers to play.”

Usha has also acted in films like Manmadan Ambu (2010), 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), X: Past Is Present (2015), and most recentlty in Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu (2022). 

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Credit-DNA