DISCO MYSTIC
GQ India|June - July 2024
Asha Puthli was the quintessential creative multihyphenate before the term was invented. Now, unexpectedly, the 79-year-old musician is making a big comeback with new music, collabs, and a Glastonbury performance.
BHANUJ KAPPAL
DISCO MYSTIC

IT'S NOON ON a weekday, but Asha Puthli is still in bed when she answers my Zoom call. She's in her nightgown, her hair tied up in a small knot at the front, gently rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had a late night, she explains, and is running on four hours of sleep. For a moment, she looks like any other 79-year-old, a little tired and a little groggy. Then she turns on the charm with a thousand-watt smile. "I did my Sardarji hairdo for you, especially," she jokes, delightfully droll. "My little munda look."

Over 50 years ago, Puthli moved from Mumbai to New York armed with a dance scholarship, a demo tape of Indo jazz fusion compositions, and dreams of being a jazz singer. On the strength of her prodigious vocal talent, endless gumption, and bagfuls of roguish charm, she achieved that and more. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, she put out a string of records that ranged from avantgarde jazz to glam, pop, and soul, all infused with a sense of cosmic spirituality and playful whimsy. A regular fixture at Andy Warhol's Studio 54, she was a fashion icon, dressed by Michaele Vollbracht and Manolo Blahnik and photographed by Richard Avedon and Francesco Scavullo. She starred in films by Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Bruno Corbucci, became besties with trans actress Holly Woodlawn-immortalized in the Lou Reed hit "Walk on the Wild Side"--and inspired the sartorial and performance style of Debbie Harry.

Despite strong sales in Europe, Puthli's music never quite made it into the American mainstream. She retreated into semi-retirement in the 1980s, burnt out from constant clashes with a music industry that wasn't quite ready yet for a brown-skinned diva. But her music stayed in rotation, gaining cult status amongst crate-diggers and underground dance music fans. In the 1990s and early noughties, her music was sampled by hip-hop stars like The Notorious B.I.G. and 50 Cent, finding its way to a new set of listeners.

Esta historia es de la edición June - July 2024 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición June - July 2024 de GQ India.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE GQ INDIAVer todo
The 30 Best Watches Of 2024
GQ India

The 30 Best Watches Of 2024

Rounding up the best shapes, materials, complications and sizes from this year's horological novelty treasure chest.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...
GQ India

Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...

Last month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveiled The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movieand a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.

time-read
8 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame
GQ India

The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame

In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."
GQ India

"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Wedding Singers
GQ India

The Wedding Singers

Madboy Mink's dynamic duo, Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, redefine festive style.

time-read
5 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
GQ India

A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face

As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October - November 2024
The Fluidity of Cartier
GQ India

The Fluidity of Cartier

Why Gen Z stars are obsessed with this historic maison.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October - November 2024
A Princess with Passion
GQ India

A Princess with Passion

From restoring monuments to reviving hereditary crafts, Bhavnagar's Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has her sights on the future.

time-read
6 minutos  |
October - November 2024
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
GQ India

THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ

The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.

time-read
10 minutos  |
August - September 2024
DEMNA UNMASKED
GQ India

DEMNA UNMASKED

He's the most influential designer of the past decade. He's also the most controversial. Now the creative director of Balenciaga is exploring a surprising source of inspiration: happiness. GQ's Samuel Hine witnesses the dawn of Demna's new era, in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Photographs by Jason Nocito.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
August - September 2024