‘Kataka Ru Rajadhani’, Usha Uthup & Her Musical Collaborations In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Usha Uthup, the singing sensation who turned 75 on Wednesday (November 8), is as much a trailblazer as an all-round charismatic human being. At a time when female singers with a high pitched voice akin to a cuckoo’s timbre were considered a safe bet for playback singing, she emerged as a pop icon, turning her jazzy sultry voice into her strength.

Usha Uthup has been singing for 54 years. She can sing jazz, folk, pop, rock and in Bangla, Assamese, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Odia and in a total number of 17 Indian languages and eight foreign languages. She is also known for having set a fashion trend with her rich Kanchipuram saree, gajra in hair, and a big bindi on the forehead.

‘The Queen of Indian Pop’ recorded her first Odia song, Mate Guli Mare, for the film ‘Jaiphoola’ (1984), directed by Prashanta Nanda, film historian Surya Deo told Odisha Bytes.

Here are her other collaborations in Odia film industry.

1. Kataka Ru Rajadhani: This is one of her only three collaborations with late Akshaya Mohanty, a pioneer of non-film modern Odia songs, also released in 1984.

2. Phalguna Asey: This song is the second independent record composed by Akshaya Mohanty with Usha Uthup. You can hear her mispronouncing some words but there is a certain charm to it as you hear the natural vibrato in her voice resonating throughout the song.

3. Hey Dibana: This song is from the film Kaveri (1983) starring Mahasweta Ray and Bijay Mohanty.