She is the second youngest child of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti (Shudhamati). She is the youngest sister among
Lata Mangeshkar,
Asha Bhosle and Meena Khadikar, and elder to her music-director brother
Hridaynath Mangeshkar. She came into the spotlight as a playback singer after singing some devotional songs for the low-budget movie Jai Santoshi Maa (1975), which became an all-time blockbuster.
Much earlier, Usha was too small when her father passed away. But some of her inspiration came from her sister Lata's songs and also from hearing
K L Saigal's songs. She learnt classical singing from Ustad Amanat ali Khan and Ustad aman Ali Khan.
Later some opportunities came her way. In 153, with her sisters doing well, she had got a chnce to sing under
C Ramchandra in Subah Ka Taara, Bhabhi Aayee...
C Ramchandra took her again in Azaad for the song, Aplam chaplam.., with
Lata Mangeshkar. She did not sing too many songs in Hindi films. That may have to do with many reasons, such as her voice being close to that of Lata's, as also the fact that she became an important singer in marathi films, focusing her efforts there.
Usha was also fond of painting, and that scattered her focus too. She sang in a few Gujarati films as well.
Contributed by: Manek Premchand
Author: Yerterday's Melodies Today's Memories
