It took 44 years for Rambha Ho to become an overnight sensation. A Bappi Lahiri disco banger from a forgotten 1981 film, Armaan, is now 2026’s biggest dance floor anthem. Actor Ranveer Singh is grooving to it in Dhurandhar, Instagram is exploding with it every second, and its original voice — Usha Uthup — found out like the rest of us. On WhatsApp. “Somebody sent me the link, I said, ‘Wow! It’s fabulous’. I’m ecstatic, actually over the moon,” Uthup,who performed in Mumbai recently, tells us.
Recomposed by Shashwat Sachdev and sung by Madhubanti Bagchi, the new Rambha Ho has done what few remixes manage — it hasn’t replaced the original, it has resurrected it. But in an industry where legends often go to court over credits, the 78-year-old’s reaction has been disarmingly, almost shockingly, gracious.
No, the makers didn’t call her for blessings. No, the new singer didn’t call her either. And no, she isn’t upset. “What’s the big deal? The song has become even more popular, and I’m really grateful,” she says. “Was I ever possessive about Rambha Ho? No. I’m possessive about my husband, my daughter, and my son. A song belongs to the universe. I am only possessive about the fantastic vibe it causes between the audience and myself.”
For Uthup, this comeback is vindication. When Rambha Ho came out with its relentless “ho ho ho ho”, there were sniggers. “Many people, maybe my critics as well, at that time probably thought what kind of a song is this? But I always said there are so many songs we thought were stupid, like say, ‘Lipstick on Your Collar’ or ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ or ‘Ina Mina Dika’ or ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’. That’s a classic! Unless you give it time, how can it ever become a classic? And I’m so glad we gave Rambha Ho 44 years,” says the Padma Bhushan recipient.
That generosity is now her official philosophy. While most legends bristle at remixes, Uthup is officially ‘team remix’. She says, “Almost all my songs have been remixed and I think it’s fantastic! Otherwise, Gen Z or our next generations would have never heard those melodies. If someone hadn’t remixed Babuji Zara Dheere Chalna, Gen Z would have never heard it. I’m grateful to the DJs. I’m a happy person. I don’t ever say, ‘Don’t touch this one’.”
She does add a caveat. Not every remix is good. “I’m not saying that all remixes are good or tastefully done. Maybe some are not so good. But all in all, it brings back a melody or a beat or a taalam or a certain nostalgia back to where it was. A good remix is fantastic, because otherwise you would have forgotten the song.”
The moolah?
When a 1981 song becomes a 2026 blockbuster, does the original singer get the love, the money, or just the nostalgia? Uthup answers with brutal honesty. “I didn’t get money at that time, I didn’t get money now. So, it’s fine. I’m just in this whole thing for love. Of course, when I’m doing a commercial show, I get paid. I’d be a fool to say I don’t want money. I love money! But for this particular project, if it’s just out there in the universe, it’s okay. I don’t feel badly about how the industry treats legends when their songs are reused.”
That love, however, is now translating into real work. Since Dhurandhar, the phone hasn’t stopped ringing. “Many directors and composers have been asking me to do songs. It’s given not just the song a new life, it’s also given me something to look forward to,” she reveals. The offers are for brand new recordings, in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. And on stage, the demand has doubled. “Sometimes in a show I have to do Rambha Ho and Koi Yahan Aaha Nache Nache twice.”
Saree superpower
At 78, Uthup still performs in a starched Kanjeevaram, gajra, heavy bindi, and socks and shoes. She never tried to sound 22, never tried to look 22. And that’s her superpower. “Thank God for the sarees! I come from a very middle-class South Indian traditional home. My sisters wore saree, my mother wore a saree. It’s just what was there at home,” she says. “I never planned that it should become a signature or iconic. I’ve been the original baddie, the original item girl, but in a six-metre saree with long blouse and long sleeves! Bollywood has been very kind to me. I can’t imagine myself singing in any other clothes except a saree. Even the puchkawala, the panipuri wala says, ‘Aaj aap bindi nahi pehne?’”
Routine, riyaaz and Trincas
Ask her how her regular week in Kolkata looks like, and Uthup says: “I’m a sucker for routine. Even if I don’t have a show, I still get up early, I say my prayers, do my messages, and play a little bit of Wordle, and then I’m absolutely ready with my socks and shoes like a good girl!” Her morning ritual includes a tea-and-toast run with her friend Sheila Janakiraman to what she fondly calls ATS — “Arun Tea Stall” She doesn’t do a formal riyaaz. She never learned music formally. “My riyaaz is all about how better I can communicate with people, because communication is my business, not music.” And Trincas, the legendary Kolkata restaurant where she found both her voice and her husband Jani Chacko Uthup, remains her spiritual home. “In gratitude and in happiness, I always think of Trincas and how wonderful it has been for giving me my husband.”
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