Legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle is dismayed at the ongoing trend of what she says are 'lewd' lyrics in Bollywood songs, said a report published on The Hindustan Times.

While speaking at an event in Delhi, the 81-year-old award-winning singer, who has done playback singing for over a thousand movies, said "Gaalion ka gaana banta hai aajkal [songs are made using swear words]," she said.

"Some singers living abroad who sing in English and Hindi use horrible words like 'rape'. If such language is used, our youngsters will only project what they are taught."

The singer also disclosed that she was shocked to hear a kid sing Halkat Jawani from Madhur Bhandarkar’s directorial venture Heroine. The acclaimed singer said she would never belt out such a song as Halkat was a swear word in Marathi.

She said it had become a trend these days to sing items songs, adding that there was no place for elderly established singers. She lamented that there were very few people who showed good taste in music.

"People even enjoy listening to songs about 'lungis' and 'zandu balm',” she quipped.

"The lyrics that seemed bad to us in our days could pass for mandir [temple] songs today."

Bhosle said she rejected songs which contained vulgar lyrics. She also called upon singers to take a unified stand and added that women would have to unite in this regard.

"They shouldn’t sing or act in such songs, nor watch such films," said the singer.

Bhosle is widely considered one of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood and has also earned a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history.