Usha Khanna facts for kids

Usha Khanna (born on October 7, 1941) is a talented Indian music director. She creates music for Hindi movies. She was one of the first women to become a music director in the Hindi film industry. This was a big deal because most music directors were men at that time!

Usha Khanna is famous for many hit songs. Some of her well-known songs include "Chhodo kal ki baatein" from Hum Hindustani, "Shaayad meri shaadi ka khayal" from Souten, and "tu is tarah Se meri zindagi" from Aap To Aise Na The. She worked actively for over 30 years, from the 1960s to the 1980s. She is still making music for some movies and TV shows today! She started her career in 1959 with the movie Dil Deke Dekho. She was even nominated for a Filmfare Award for her music in the popular film Souten (1983).

About Usha Khanna

Usha Khanna was born in Gwalior, India. Her father, Manohar Khanna, was a lyricist (someone who writes song words) and a singer. He also worked for the Water Works Department in Gwalior. In 1946, he visited Mumbai (then called Bombay). There, he met Jaddanbai, who was a famous film producer and actress Nargis Dutt's mother. She asked him to write songs for her films.

How She Started in Music

A well-known music director named O. P. Nayyar introduced Usha Khanna to Sashadhar Mukherjee. He was a very important person in the Indian film industry. Usha sang a song for Mukherjee. When he found out she had composed the song herself, he was very impressed! He asked her to compose two songs every day for a year.

After a few months, Mukherjee chose her to create music for his movie Dil Deke Dekho (1959). This movie also introduced the actress Asha Parekh. Dil Deke Dekho became a big hit! Because of its success, Mukherjee hired Usha again for another movie starring Asha Parekh, called Hum Hindustani (1961).

Working with Famous Singers

Even after making hit songs, Usha Khanna worked hard to become a well-known music director. She often worked with two very famous singers: Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. Asha Bhosle even called Usha Khanna her daughter! This team of three created many popular songs together. Mohammed Rafi sang many songs composed by Usha Khanna. These include songs from Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Hawas (1974), and Aap To Aise Na The (1980).

Saawan Kumar often wrote the lyrics for Usha Khanna's songs. He wrote most of the words for her music. He also directed and produced eleven movies for which she composed the music. Usha Khanna was married to Sawan Kumar Tak, but they later separated. However, they remained good friends. Her last movie as a music composer was Dil Pardesi Ho Gayaa in 2003. This movie was produced and directed by her ex-husband, Saawan Kumar.

Her Unique Music Style

Usha Khanna often found inspiration from Arabic music. She loved its style! She says she never copied songs directly. Instead, she used the ideas to create her own unique music. Usha Khanna also sang a few songs herself as a playback singer.

Many of Usha Khanna's songs are still loved today. Some other movies she composed music for include Shabnam, Saajan Bina Suhagan, Souten, and Dada. In 1979, the singer K. J. Yesudas won a Filmfare award for her song "Dil ke tukde tukde" from the film Dada.

Music for Other Languages

Usha Khanna also created music for movies in languages other than Hindi. For example, the Malayalam movie Moodal Manju (1969) is still remembered for its beautiful songs. These include 'Nee Madhu Pakaroo' sung by K. J. Yesudas and 'Maanasa Mani veenayil' by S.Janaki. She also worked on other Malayalam movies like Agni nilavu and Puthooram Puthri Unniyarcha.

Helping New Singers

Because Usha Khanna herself worked so hard to become successful, she understood how difficult it was for new singers to start. So, she often gave chances to singers who were not very well known at the time. She helped singers like Anupama Deshpande, Pankaj Udhas, Hemlata, Mohammed Aziz, Roop Kumar Rathod, Shabbir Kumar, and Sonu Nigam. Many of these singers later became very famous!

Usha Khanna lives in Mumbai, India.

Filmography