THE QUEEN OF INDIAN POP THE AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY OF USHA UTHUP

Usha Uthup, India’s undisputed icon of pop music, has enthralled an entire generation of listeners with her unforgettable voice and continues to do so. Completing fifty years as a professional singer in 2020 was just another milestone in her fabled career.

In this vivid biography, which was originally written in Hindi, Vikas Kumar Jha captures the entire arc of Uthup’s career in music. From her childhood days in Mumbai and her first gigs singing with jazz bands in Chennai’s glitzy nightclubs to her meteoric rise as India’s musical sensation and her philanthropic work, Jha covers it all and manages to weave a narrative that is colourful, inspiring and bound to keep any reader engrossed till the end.

Uthup is known for such evergreen hits as ‘Hari Om Hari’, ‘Rambha Ho’ and ‘Jeete Hain Shaan Se’, and her voice transcends genres. When she takes the stage, in her elaborately designed sarees and trademark bindis, she embodies a unique liveliness, unparalleled in the realm of Indian music. The pop icon has sung in several Indian and foreign languages including Bengali, Hindi, English, German, Italian and Sinhalese.

The book, originally written in Hindi by author Vikas Kumar Jha, is translated by the writer’s daughter Sristhi Jha. This pitch-perfect English translation, by Srishti Jha, Published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI), offers the reader a front-row seat to the life and times of the inimitable Usha Uthup.

According to the publishers, “The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup” meticulously explores Uthup’s “sense of freedom, her struggles, and her constructive and creative attitude towards work and life”.

VIKAS KUMAR JHA (AUTHOR)

Vikas Kumar Jha is a leading media personality and author. He was the bureau chief of Outlook Hindi (2002-4) and the Bihar state head of News Express Channel (2013-14).

SRISHTI JHA (TRANSLATOR)

Srishti Jha is a journalist, with stints at India Today, and Hindustan Times. She currently works as an independent journalist, writer, and translator.

About Penguin Random House India

Penguin Random House India is the largest English-language trade publisher in the subcontinent, publishing over 250 new titles every year and with an active backlist of over 3000 titles.