Usha Uthup reveals a politician tried to ban her from singing: ‘A sadharan person like myself…’

In an interview to Hindustan Times, Usha Uthup mentioned that she wished that she had learned sight-reading or notation as that would’ve helped her career. She added that she didn’t have the opportunity to learn. “My music teacher didn’t think I was very good for music, and so she put me out of the choir class, which is quite unbelievable,” she said, adding that years later when she was performing, her music teacher was in the audience. They both shared a good cry, and Usha Uthup added that ‘regret doesn’t pull her down’, but instead pushes her to do better. She also said that she wasn’t a ‘good or bad singer’, but ‘100% original singer’.

Calling herself a ‘non-controversial person’, Usha Uthup also opened up about the time a politician tried to ban her from singing. ““It was really overwhelming to think that a sadharan person like myself, who is very down to earth like the girl next door and not fitting into the image of a nightclub singer, would actually have people ban me! My God, for what,” she added.

Usha Uthup, who completed 50 years as a professional singer in 2020, is widely known for evergreen hits such as “Hari Om Hari”, “Rambha Ho” and “Jeete Hain Shaan Se”. She has sung in several Indian and foreign languages including Bengali, Hindi, English, German, Italian and Sinhalese. Her biography covers all aspects of her life from her childhood days in Mumbai, to her rise as a pop icon in India as well as her philanthropic work.