Asha Bhosle, the evergreen singer with a golden voice and a rockstar attitude, is turning 85 today. If you are a fan of Bollywood music, you should be thankful for this wonderful singer for giving us so many iconic songs that don't restrict themselves to the barriers of time and boundaries. Both she and her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar are considered two of the best singers that Indian film music has seen. It's another matter that they have always been pitted against each other. Asha Bhosle Birthday Special: 7 Throwback Pictures Of The Legendary Singer Will Make Your Saturday Melodic!

Both the sisters have maintained that the stories of their rivalry have been cooked up by the media and some zealous sources. However, stories persist thanks to some credible sources like the late composer OP Nayyar. Many people claim that the sisters have been fiercely competitive in their singing careers. It was also said that even when they sang together, they do it in such a way that they hid their singing notes from each other. Asha even made sure that she doesn't try the same genres of songs as her elder sister is proficient in - while Lata used to be more prone towards the classical variety, Asha made a name singing the more popular variety. Lata Mangeshkar UPSET With Atif Aslam’s Chalte Chalte, Says ‘ I Don’t Want to Hear It’

In 1998, a movie called Saaz was made by director Sai Paranjpye (of Katha and Chashme Baddoor fame). It was said to be based on the rivalry of the Mangeshkar sisters, though the film doesn't use their real-life identities. Aruna Irani played the elder sister, while Shabana Azmi played the younger sister and the female lead of the film. Tabla maestro Zakir Hussain played a music composer who falls for Shabana's character. Guess who he is modelled after? Yes, you guessed it right, the late RD Burman, Asha Bhosle's second husband!

Here's a song from the film -

After Asha saw the movie, she denied it has anything to do with her life. She had said, "It's not true at all. To have two women in long plaits, take a couple of incidents and exaggerate them into a 3-hour film is such a waste of time." The movie might not be based on her life, but people continue to talk about her famed sibling rivalry from the time yonder and time to come.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2018 10:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).