Some Rare Diamonds of Rafi Saab – 3
This article is written by Mr. B.Venkatadri.
We all know the famous song, “Saranga Teri Yaad Mein†from film:Saranga (1960) sung by Mukesh and composed by Sardar Malik, father of the present day’s leading MD:Anu Malik. But, not many of us are aware that there is also a shorter version (1:04) of this song, “Saranga Teri Yaad Mein†in the same Film:Saranga(1960), sung by Rafi Saab in a somewhat modified tune.
[audio:Saranga_SarangaTeriYaadMein.mp3]
Hear for yourself!
We all know that Rafi Saab had sung duets with innumerable female singers. But, he also had sung duets with all the leading male singers of Hindi Film Music. He had sung 1 duet with the great K.L.Saigal, 58 with Manna Dey, 15 with Mukesh, 34 with Kishore Kumar and 6 with Talat Mehmood.
Today, let us discuss two rare duets with male singers.
The first one is from the Film: Johnny Walker(1957). The song is “Munh Se Mat Laga, Cheez Hai Buri, Dekh Bas Zara, Cheez Hai Buri, Chhod De Yeh Maikhashi, Mere Hamnashi, Mere Hamnashi†picturised on Johnny Walker and Tony Walker. Rafi Saab sings for Johnny while Manna Dey sings for Tony! The MD is the ever-green O.P.Nayyar. Lyrics are by Hasrat Jaipuri, quite unusually for O.P.Nayyar!
The sequence is this. Johnny is a booze-master in the Film, already owes a lot of money to the Bar-keeper and asks him for more after already drinking like a fish! The Bar-keeper throws him and his Chela, Tony, out of the Bar. This song starts then!
Mohd Rafi with Manna Dey and Talat Mahmood
The song is peppy/lively. The lyrics are humorous. Needless to say, both Rafi Saab and Manna Dey had rendered it extremely well. Manna Dey always had a special chemistry with Rafi Saab!
[audio:JohnnyWalker_MuhSeMatLagaCheez.mp3]
Do hear, enjoy and comment.
The next (somewhat) rare duet with a male singer is from a Film called Sushila (1963). This duet is with Talat Mehmood and it goes thus: â€Gham Ki Andheri Raat Mein, Dil Ko Na Beqarar Kar, Subah Zaroor Aayegi, Subah Ka Intezar Karâ€. This great duet was composed by the lesser-known C.Arjun and the inspirational lyrics were by Jan Nisar Akhthar.
I, personally, simply love this duet. In this, Rafi Saab keeps singing the Mukhda and Talat sings the Antaras! Both have done an excellent job. But, I cannot resist saying that Rafi Saab, with all his vocal sangats, etc., certainly steals the show!
[audio:Sushila_GhamKiAndheriRaatMein.mp3]
Listen for yourself!
Next time around, we will take up more of the duets with male singers.
I think many composers (Music Directors & Lyricists) had RAFISAAB & his natural capabilities in their minds before the song is actually written & they use to allot the same songs,same lines or Antaraas or ALAAPS to RAFIJI SO THAT AS EXPECTED THE SONG GETS WEIGHTAGE.For ex Gham ki andheri raatme,Ye desh hai veer jawanoka,Tu hai mera prem devta,Do akalmand,Dilruba dilpe tu,Jab bhi ye dil udas hota hai,Tumane pukara aur hum chhale aaye,Badan pe sitare,Do sitaronka zaminpar hai milan,Jit hi lenge baji hum tum,Phir miloge kabhi is baatka waada karlo,Khoya khoya chand,Main jindagika saath nibhata chala,Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar,Dil pukare aare aare,Meri aawaz sono pyarka raag sumo,Babulki duayen,O duniyake raakhwale,man tadpat,o jab yaad aaye,Sukhke sab saathi,kaha ja raha aai tu janewale,Rang aur noor ki baarat,Chaudavi ka chand ho & thousands of songs.No other singer was so much popular among composers.
I AM ALSO VERY MUCH FOND OF GHAM KI ANDHERI RAAT ME SONG. RAFI SAHAB CERTAINLY FAR SUPERIOR.
M. Rafi Sahab se Upar Na Koi Hua Hai or Na Hoga , Sab unke Samne Bache the
I must say……
Mohammad Rafi sab … ki kia baat hai ……. he was the only person who turn the singing into another route……
now a days.. believe me everybody wants to sing rafi sab 🙂 he was the one and he will ..
Allah ge se yehi dua hai Allah ge Mohammad Rafi sab ko Jannatuf Firdos main ala mukam ata frmain AMEEN ..
I LOVE MOHAMMAD RAFI SAB ALOOOOOOOOOOOT
What about the evergreen song from the film “Rustom Sohrab”…..Aa phir tumhari yaad aayee ae sanam, hum na bhoolenge tumhe allah qasam…”….dont know if a better composed song exists. Incidentally this was composed by none other than Sajjad Hussain. I leave it to the discerning music lover to decide who among the 3 singers, Rafisaab, Mannada, Sadat stole the show!
Hi i’am Vikash from Holland. Who can help me to get old Mohammed Rafi songs to shared with me. You can email vikash@b-telecom.nl.
I have more than 6500 songs of Mohammed Rafi.
Who can help me, of maibe i can help you.
Thanks
Rafi is better than anybody!
I have the honour of meeting Rafi Saheb on three occasions.Two of the meetings were quite detailed ones and I have strong impressions of him. Pity,the generation of today are not realising they are missing mellifluous and trained renderings of the maestro. If this generation is going wild with the noise of today, what would have happened if they listened to his heavenly poetic voice…God really creates Greats only once !
Rafi sahib app ta kayamat tak cahny walon ka dil per bataj badshah ki tarha raj karan key .Allah ap ko janat al ferdus mian jagy daay.Ameen
M.A JAVAID
Many thanks to all the friends.
Yes, Raju Korti Saab, that Rafi-Mukesh duet from Phor Subah Hogi(mD:Khayyam) is a great one too.
Venkat
Once again Mr Venkatdri-thanks a million for the Rafi saab’s version of Sarangaa teri yaad mein. I had never heard this before and it was divine to hear this. Yes–the way Rafi saab sings ” Zaroor” in ghan ki andheri raat mein is that nuance which we all Rafi faans just love for ever.(This was the song I was trying to remember in my post)
In similar way, in the song “Din dhal jaye hai” from Guide, listen to the ” ..tum mujhse.. main dil se pareshaaan….dono hai majboor” part. The way Rafi saab says “pareshaan” really brings out the emotion. In fact I understand that once Dilip Kumar had acknowledged that Rafi saab is one singer who “ENACTS” the song-that is brings out the emotions( be it tragic/romantic/funny etc) so beautifully that half the job of the actor is done.
This particular part about “parashaan” was once mentioned by Sonu Nigam in the very first Sa re ga ma program in TV.
Also thanks for taking off on the theme mentioned by me. I would also like to comment about some beautiful compositions from the combination of Kalyanji-Anandji & Rafi saab. Although K-A had maximum hits with Mukesh & KK, there were few gems like: Kahin raat din hum door the with Lata; Aa jaa tujhko pukare mere geet with Lata ; more on this later….K-A was one of the most under-rated music directors as per me-they deserved more recognition.
there’s this fabulous duet that rafisaab sang with mukesh in raj kapoor’s phir subah hogi: jis pyaar mein yeh haal ho us pyaar se tauba. after a series of vocal rhetoric, rafi ends the song with a breath-taking tauba. what do you say?
raju korti
I want to say that duet of rafisahab and mannadey’s song “Tu hai mera prem devta” by OPNayyar was a superb duet. I want to tell as a playback singers of hindi film industry, both had a superb classical background and sang many classical songs between them.
shashank_72@rediffmail.com
From the film JAGTE RAHO, this song by Rafi Sahab and Balbir – o avein duniya deve duhai – is a very typical Punjabi folk song conveys social message in the polluted behaviour of mankind. It is one of those rarest of rare songs which I had heard when quite young and had lost all traces of the song until very recently a good rafian friend lent it to me. The song sarcastically but playfully portrays the harsh realities of the modern world where values are sacrificed by each one of us for selfish gains. The first stanza narrates how we cheat our own to garner wealth. Then there are the so-called religious high priests and the learned who in the name of religion and social work empty the coffers they so solemnly vow to uphold. The third stanza depicts once again the naked truth of falsehood stand victorious over truthfulness. Rafi Sahab and Balbir both sing the song in such tandem that its synchronization is simply superb. All through the song the beats of bhangra are audible and the song is successful in conveying the message to the masses. I am mailing this song to the administrator too so that they can incorporate the song below these lines. In the alternative, rafians can get in touch with me for the song at asmurty2@rediffmail.com
I thank Hussein Sheikh, Sajjad Qadir and most of all Mohd. Parvez for doing what no ordinary person would normally do – that of spreading the magic and message of rafi sahib to all corners. May their tribe grow and soon the entire globe should be encompassed with the fragrance and melody of rafi sahab’s songs and for eternity. Mr. Hussein Sheikh please mail to me the ‘saranga teri yaad mein’ of Rafi sahab. thanks in advance.
The duet songs of rafi and kishore has been all time hits and there is no other pair who can dream to get anywhere close to the two ultimate GODS of playback singing.
MY PERSONAL RAFI-KISHORE DUET IS FROM THE MOVIE DEEDEAR -E-YAAR
AND THE SONG IS –
“MERE DILDAR KA BAAKPAN ALLAH-ALLAH”
Rafi Sahab has sung duets with other male singers as well. For example, with Mahendra Kapoor (Kaisi haseen aaj.., film Aadmi). In the original sound track the voices were those of Rafi Sahab and Mahendra Kapoor, but in the record released later, Mahendra Kapoor’s voice was replaced by that of Talat Mehmood. Other instances are as follows: with Balbir (Aaj kyoon hamse parda hai, film Sadhana and ‘Tauba tauba yeh jawani…, film Hanste Zakhm), with Manhar Udhas (Husn tera ek chhalkata jaam hai, film Deedar, 1969, music Usha Khanna; not to be confused with Naushad Sahab’s film of the same name), with Shailendra Singh (Parde mein koi baita hai…, film Dada), with Narendra Chanchal (Toone mujhe bulaaya shera waaliye, film Aasha) and Pankaj (Tera jogi aaya, film Mera Jeevan).
SARANGA ALSO HAD ANOTHER FABULOUS LATA RAFI SAHIB DUET – PIYA KAISE MILOON TUJHSE, MERE PAON PADI ZANJEER – I HEARD IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1961 IN KANPUR WHEN I WAS IN THE SECOND STANDARD, AND THE TUNE AND THE SONG HAS STAYED WITH ME SINCE THEN.
ALL RAFIANS, PLEASE LISTEN TO THE SONG.
Many thanks, Hussain Sheikh Saab.
Just see how Rafi Saab says “Zarooooor” in “Subah Zaroor Aayegi” part! There is an emphatic note of reassurance!
Also in the way he says, “Subah Ka Intezaaar Karrr”, there is a tone of affectionate counselling to the distressed friend!
Hundreds of these intricacies are what make him the ultimate in playback singing!
Venkat
dear venkatadri superb article superb song selection i need another songs from johnny walker(1957) if u have other songs from this film please post it
Nice Mr. Venkatadri, reminding more rare songs of Rafi Saheb with other singers. Rafi Saheb’s shorter version of ‘Saranga teri Yaad mein…’ has melody. Anybody need this song can mail me. melodiousrafi@yahoo.com