NRI Labour MP Keith Vaz, who organised the felicitation dinner, described the 77-year-old Padma Vibhushan as an "icon" who has made India proud. "I am deeply touched by the honour bestowed on me. I never thought I would be felicitated in the British Parliament. It is a great privilege," said Bhosle, who performed to a houseful audience at the Royal Festival Hall, Symphony Hall in Birmingham and Leicester's De Montfort Hall during her current tour.
She also lauded the efforts of Vaz in promoting Indian artists in the UK, saying, "I am very proud of you. Like you, my roots are also in Goa." Dr Rami Ranger, a NRI entrepreneur described the felicitation as "historic". "Your presence here is like a dream come true. We are all very proud of you," he told the veteran singer.
Bhosle, whose career as a Bollywood singer started in 1943 and spans a staggering six decades, has contributed to the soundtracks of over 1000 Bollywood films. Her repertoire includes Qawwali, film music, classical Indian, pop and folk. In September 2009 the World Records Academy recognized her as the "Most Recorded Artist" in the world.
She was also awarded the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. She has sung in multiple languages, including Hindi, Assamese, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay and Malayalam.