The Queen of Indian Pop: Read an exclusive excerpt from the Usha Uthup biography

After class, Usha would take the bus from the stop near JJ School of Arts to deliver Dimple’s frocks at Rajendra Kumar’s bungalow in Bandra. If at times Rajendra Kumar was at home, he would ask Usha about her how she was getting on with her painting. Usha would tell him that even though she was studying art, music was her first love. There was a big piano at Rajendra Kumar’s house. Looking at it Usha wished she had a similar piano. Shukla would pay her ₹80 per frock, which was quite a handsome sum for that time. Usha was also good at stitching salwar–kameezes, shorts and shirts for young boys. Even now, Usha never misses an opportunity to stitch at home. People ask her if she hadn’t been a singer, what would she have been. She promptly says a teacher or a tailor.

When Usha took admission at the JJ School of Arts, Appa wasn’t really happy. He wanted his daughter to pursue a regular college education and secure a good job. But that wasn’t acceptable to Usha who disliked walking on the beaten track. However, Appa had faith in a corner of his heart that Usha would finally do something worthwhile and be independent. That’s why he would jokingly tell Usha’s Amma, ‘Min, there is a lot of struggle in the world of painting. Artists have to wait many years for success. But Usha will manage to survive with the money she will make from being a cobbler or a tailor during her days of struggle.’

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While 1965-66 was spent with the syllabus and art workshops at the JJ School, 1967 saw things taking a turn. On Leela Mami’s invitation, Usha came to Madras... One evening when Usha sang at Yashwant Vikamsi’s Nine Gems at Leela Mami’s insistence, people loved her performance. This unforgettable evening boosted her self-confidence and morale. In the coming months fate began opening doors for her dreams and wishes to come true. The high point was one evening in 1969 when the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson, blessed her and made Usha sing along with her on stage in Bombay. That event cleared any doubts Usha had about her real calling.

Music became that colour of her life. Usha participated in the Wills cigarette’s famous ‘Made for Each Other’ music show and the ‘Simla Beat Contest’ during which Usha’s unique voice and singing style caught the attention of many leading advertising professionals present at the shows. In 1968, Usha began to sing ad jingles. Her first one was for A1 Dust Tea, composed by the famous Vanraj Bhatia. It was a difficult jingle, but Vanraj who wrote the music for most of Shyam Benegal’s films was certain that Usha would be able to handle it. Incidentally, the jingle was not composed keeping Usha in mind. Vanraj Bhatia had signed up budding jazz singer Asha Putli for it, but she had to travel suddenly to the US for a show. Vanraj waited for her, and when she did record the jingle Vanraj was not impressed. Instantly, Usha came to his mind, and he thought he ought to try out the new girl. That is how Usha got her first chance at a jingle. Its words went like this:

Tingle!

Want to hear a lovely jingle?

It’s time for tea

Not just any tea

It’s time for A1 Dust Tea...

Vanraj Bhatia loved the jingle sung by Usha and it became popular. Subsequently, there began a series of offers to sing ad jingles. Actress Durga Khote had a production house, Durga Khote Productions, which produced all the jingles for Cadbury and Usha was chosen for all of them. From 1967 to 1970, there were a string of jingles—Sway Detergent and the Tinopal jingle made her famous. Old-timers will still remember Usha’s Tinopal jingle: ‘Itne ujale kapde, kiska hai kamaal? Tinopal . . . Tinopal.’

When Tinopal changed its name to Ranipal, Usha sang the jingle along with Jagjit Singh—‘Ye kiska hai kamaal, Ranipal’. Usha sang jingles for several brands including Close Up toothpaste, Nescafe, Bata shoes, Brook Bond tea, Bru coffee, Boroplus, Eveready torch, Maggi noodles, Lakme, Dabur, Baidyanath, Nawab vests, Janpriya Insurance, Glaxo, Binny, Monkey Brand toothpowder, Gold Spot, Thumps Up, Ponds company’s products, Vicks and Dunlop. So prolific was her output, that the advertising world began calling her the Jingle Queen.

Usha’s speciality was that she could sing a master jingle in as many as seventeen languages. Usha fondly remembers the Gold Spot jingle as it featured film star Rekha. Usha’s jingles were so perfectly articulated that people wondered how a Tamilian girl could sing in so many languages with such versatility. A good voice and correct pronounciation were the primary reasons why she clicked when she sang jingles. She was taught to speak properly in English and Hindi by her schoolteachers. Usha remembers her teacher Ms Davidson admonishing her, ‘Usha, don’t eat up the last consonant. If you are so hungry, go home and eat something. But please don’t eat the last consonant.’ The school’s Hindi teacher, Mr Kalra, wasn’t behind in pointing out errors. He would always ask Usha not to swallow one syllable or the other.

(Excerpted with permission from The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup, written by Vikas Kumar Jha and translated from the Hindi by Srishti Jha; published by Penguin Random House India, 2022)