Mohammed Rafi sings with Suman Kalyanpur – Ajahoona aaye balama sawan beeta jaye – hayere sawana beeta jaye
This article is penned down by Mr Gaurav D Bijoor.
Mohd Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur
Mohammed Rafi can be truly described as the uncrowned King of Melody and also the Greatest Ever – whose simple name will always spell sheer magic.
In his astonishing career spanning almost 36 long & patient years from the year 1944 – “Gulbaloch” to 1980 – “Aas Paas” he has been successfully associated with more than 30 female play back singers ranging from the most to the least popular category and with these singers Rafi Saab the dynamic has had the unique golden opportunity of rendering either one OR more songs, equally with class & beauty of its own. Though the list of the female singers so associated with Rafi Saab is lengthy the same in a nut shell can be considered ranging from the “Malika –e-Taranum” – Noorjahan to Anuradha Paudwal in general.
From the exhaustive list the few great & very popular female singers include Noorjahan, Khursheed, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale, Samshad Begum, Suraiyya and Geeta Dutt in particular. In this respect I recollect from my dear father Mr D P Bijoor that Rafi Saab had rendered only one duet each with Noorjahan & Khursheed. With Noorjahan, Rafi Saab has sung the duet from the film “Jugnu” (1947) which recites “Yahan badla wafa ka bewafaee ke siwa kya hai” with music scored by Feroz Nizami and with Khursheed he has sung the song from the film “Aage Badho” (1947) which recites “Sawan kee ghata, dhire dhire aana” under the music composition of Sudhir Phadke. Rafi Saab had sung only one song each with these great singers mainly since after the partition took place in the year 1947 they both preferred to migrate to Pakistan and hence there was hardly any opportunity for Rafi Saab to further associate with them.
The maximum quantum of the duets sung by the Melody King Rafi Saab are with Asha Bhosale which range almost to the extent of 806 songs approximately followed by Lata Mangeshkar with almost 344 songs approximately & Samshad Begum with almost 184 songs approximately.
The decade from 1941 to 1950 can be considered as the golden period mainly on account of the entry of the aforesaid great & popular female singers in the industry including the entry of the Melody King Mohammed Rafi Saab. However in-spite of these great, popular and already established singers, there was an entry of a very talented, sweet & melodious voice owner in the industry in the early decade of 1950s with the name of Suman Kalyanpur (nee Hemady), who had a voice culture so very similar to that of the Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar. Few of the songs which Suman has rendered are extremely difficult to recognize as to whether the recitation is the work pertaining to either Suman Kalyanpur OR Lata Mangeshkar. In-spite of the very tough competition directly from the established & proven melody queen, Suman with her sheer hard work & determination became very popular and was a house-hold name to reckon with in those days; but I personally feel and I am of the firm opinion that Suman Kalyanpur did not receive the due accolades and also the recognition from the industry big-wigs which she deserved a lot. Sheer bad luck Sumanjee.
Mohd Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur recording a song in the film "Bombay Lab" in 1973
Friends this particular aspect has led me to pen down a few words in respect of Suman Kalyanpur whom I can confidently believe that she had that extra punch of her own. Here I clearly recollect the words of Mr Sandeep Nadkarni Grandfather from his article – Mohammed Rafi – The Greatest Magician and he had written “Above all the female singers I personally rate Suman Kalyanpur as the one whom I always admired a lot mainly because of her great & joyful nature and above all she was a great human being. The combination of Rafi – Suman was excellent and their chemistry was so unique which indeed worked wonders on various occasions. When these 2 greats used to perform the atmosphere in the recording rooms was always very healthy & pleasant and each and every artist associated with such recordings was always in a joyous mood and this was the magnitude of Rafi – Suman when they always paired together”
Suman Kalyanpur was born on 28th January 1937 in Bhavanipur situated in Calcutta (Bengal before partition) however in the year 1942 their family shifted from Dhaka to Mumbai when Suman was hardly 5 years old. She recorded her first song at the Bombay Labs at Dadar, Mumbai for the Marathi film “Shukrachee Chandanee” with music scored by Yeshwant Deo in the year 1953 however this film never got released. While recording her first song the then popular music director Mohamad Shafi was also present in the recording studio and he liked and admired the voice of Suman very much and eventually gave her the required break in the hindi film “Mangoo”. This film was produced by Shaikh Mukhtar productions and was directed by N N Ansari. Mohamad Shafi composed his first song with Suman titled “Koyee Pukare dhirese juzhe” which was actually in the form of a loree. For this particular loree the aalap in the middle of the song was rendered by none other than Hemant Kumar and Bela Bose. Considering the beauty of this recitation Shafi decided to record a couple of more songs with Suman Kalyanpurs voice for this film which were “Chanda sangh tare kare atkheliya” with Suman, Usha Mangeshkar & Savita Banerjee (Salil Choudharis wife) and a duet with Talat Mahmood. All the songs of this film were ready for release but at the last minute the music director of this film was abruptly changed from Mohamad Shafi to O P Nayyar who except for the loree song of Suman cancelled all the other songs as enumerated above.
However the loree song became very popular and this started the career of Suman Kalyanpur in the industry. Immediately in the year 1954 she got the film “Darwaza” with music by Nashad in which she rendered 2 solo songs “Aag lage iss sawanme” and “Chute tumse tho chale hum” and a duet with Talat Mahmood “Ek dil do hai talabgar” which became very popular & smash hit. After the success of these songs Suman bagged films “Shree Ganesh Viwah” with music scored by Chitragupt and “Coffee House” with music by Roshan.
Suman Kalyanpur recorded her first duet with Mohammed Rafi in the film “Shree Krishna Bhaktee” and the song was “Sawan megh udhe, thodasa gulal tu bhee le le le le” with music by Chitragupt in the year 1955. In the year 1957 a film titled “Miss Bombay” with Nalini Jaywant and Ajit as the co-stars was released in which Suman had sung almost 3 songs of which her duet with Rafi Saab “Din ho ya raat hum tere sath sath” became a stupendous hit. In the year 1958 Suman sang for almost 13 films in a row and the few of the films from the lot were “Neelamani” with Chitragupt, “Alheelal” with Bhulo C Rani, “Bhala Aadmi” with Nissar, “Chetak aur Rana Pratap” with Iqbal Quereshi, “Gajgauree” with Sudhir Phadke, “Kal kya hoga” with Nissar, “Light House” with N Dutta and a few others.
Though Rafi Saab had left for his heavenly abode in the year 1980 the duets with Suman Kalyanpur which he had recited earlier were released thereafter. A few of them are as follows: 1) “Yah wada pyaar ka irada pyaar ka” from the film Waqt kee Pukar (1984 with music by Bappi Lahiri) 2) “Oh saperan chal chaliye nee sherawali maa ke darshan ko” from the film Yaadon kee Zanjeer (1984 with music by Rajesh Roshan) 3) “Sardar ye mera dil dhadka, kuch tho bataye kahan atka” from the film Maa kee Saugandh (1986 with music by Sapan-Jagmohan) 4) “Gulabee najare najare sharabee sharabee ishaare” from the film Lakhpati (1991 with music by Iqbal Quereshi). The song from the film Lakhpati was Rafi Saabs last song with Suman Kalyanpur and hence they both have rendered almost 141 songs approximately. It may also be noted that the female singers who arrived in the industry after the entry of Suman did not get the opportunity of singing so many songs with Rafi Saab as she did and for this matter of fact the credit should in fact go to Lata Mangeshkar mainly since after the year 1962 the melody queen did not render duets with Rafi Saab for a few years which was on account of the royalty issue and this was in-fact a blessing-in-disguise for the great Suman Kalyanpur.
Few of the duets between Rafi-Suman which are my favorites are listed as follows:
1) “Jane wale kabhee nahi aate jane walon kee yaad aati hai” from the film Dil Ek Mandir with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
2) “Kahdo kahdo jahan se kahdo ishk par jor nahee, mar jayenge ek doosre par” from the film April Fool with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
3) “Tumhne pukara aur hum chale aaye, jaan hatelee par le aaye re” from the film Rajkumar with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
4) “Ajahoona aaye balama sawn beeta jaye” from the film Saanjh aur Savera with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
5) “Parbatonke pedon par sham ka basera hai” from the film Shagun with music by Khayyam
6) “Aaise tho na dekho ke behak jaye kahin hum” from the film Bheeghi Raat with music by Roshan
7) “Na na karte pyaar tumhee se kar baithen” from the film Jab Jab Phool Khile with music by Kalyandji-Anandji
8) “Tumhse oh haseena kabhi mohabbat na maine karnee thee” from the film Farz with music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal
9) “Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche har jaban par” from the film Brahmchari with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
10) “Nashe mein hum nashe mein Tum” from the film Black Cat with music by N Dutta
11) “Jabse hum tum baharon mein” from the film Main shadi karne chala with music by Chitragupt
12) “Tere hum oh sanam” from the film Bachpan with music by Sardar Mallick
13) “Chand hai aur tare bhee hai” from the film Ruplekha with music by Nashad
14) “Tahareeye hoshame aaloon tho chale jayega” from the film Mohabbat isko kehte hai with music by Khayyam
15) “Tujhe dekha tujhe chaha” from the film Chhotisee Mulaqat with music by Shankar-Jaikishan
16) “Rahe na rahe hum maheka karenge” from the film Mamta with music by Roshan (The solo version of this song has been sung by Lata Mangeshkar and the duet by Mohammed Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur)
Ref. Post 41:
Meenu-ji,
Lata stopped singing for Shankar from the late sixties until 1975. She still continued singing for Jaikishan right up until his death in 1971. However, S-J still remained at the top even during this turmoil phase. Lata not singing for Shankar, or Shankar promoting Sharda over Lata, and so forth had little effect on their box office position because they were still numero uno and still had the cream of banners, not to mention still producing good music. S-J’s fortunes only went downhill when Jai passed away. As long as Jai was alive, there was no one who could challenge the duo.
On the other hand, when OP did not work with Rafi-saab for three years, his music took a downturn, and he still had Asha by his side during that time.
Anyways, Rafi and Lata are the greatest male and female singers of all time, no two ways about that.
Meenu ji : Its really nice to know that u too agree – that churning the past will not be useful in any way.
there is a treasure of music waiting to be heard which is more important than discussing the dark things which happened in the industry.
so over to soulful music…..
binu nair
Dear Meenu
Kishore kumar’s song ‘Tum bin janoo kahan’ was more popular than Rafi sahab’s version. jest listen to both songs you will see how rd made it to sing by KK and I don’t agree that KK version is better than mohd Rafi because the way sang by mohd rafi no way KK will sang it the same way.
Lata ji got Bharat Ratna award as i think there should be many names before her for this award as I think,SJ,Naushand,Bachchan,Madan mohan and many more……
we can compare Asha ji with Lata ji and many will agree that Asha Ji can sing some tape of songs better than Lata ji but about mohd rafi no one will agree that I mean who are honest and they know about music.
P from Lp when they asked him do you make music as singer?the answer was yes butwhen the singer is Mohd Rafi,Lata ji or Asha ji we jet make the music for song because they will able to sing it any way we made it….
also P said on BBC that Mohd Rafi and Lata ji are the best
hi Meenu
as you said there was anti LATA camp but i think your wrong there was anti mohd rafi camp,OPN is on of the top MD and SJ are the best ever born.
Lat Ji is the gratest female singer ever born and never be born again but as human she is zero.Lata ji history to not sing with 1.SD Burman,2.Mohd Rafi,3,SJ,4. opn….
m rafi was workless!!!!!!!!!????if am not wrong from 1970 to 1980 mohd rafi sang more than any other male singer play singer if not must be number 2 as number of songs (still workless)?
The media play big role to make song hit what they did in 1970’s .in 1980 KK got best singer award for a song which sang by more than one singer(male) and there was 3 m rafi songs which are still hit.
IF we speak about female singer there is many great female singers if there is no lata ji there was Asha ji Suman ji and many more but there was no replacement of Mohd rafi as male singer.
Lata ji is Bharat ratna I don’t agree because she was not great as human and to be Bharat ranta she should be good human as singer(as I think)as I think Mr big B should get bharat Ratna befor Lata JI.Mohd Rafi is real Bharat Ratna or we aslo can say M Rafi is world Ratna,most of honest people they try that gov’t should give m rafi Bharat Ratna award.
NO one can stop sun to shine
Yes Binuji I agree with you. Arguments are endless. I have many points to answer post 43 and post 44 but I will not !
Churning past is useless –
present is – Lata is Bharat ratna with 11 doctrates on her credit.
Hello Meenu Ji :
Legends will never be jobless. they may go out of form for some time say after 20 years continuously being in office and at the top.
Let’s accept the fact that with age, the voice also change. lata, rafi and asha had this change in their voices. u can make it out . earlier, talat mahmud also faced the same issue in his songs.
“the sweetest songs are those which tells our saddest thoughts.” mukesh, talat, lata, rafi and kishore – all excelled in most of the sad songs they sung. let s enjoy the grand golden era music and keep personal thoughts in the side lanes.
binu nair
Ref. post 40
Meenu ji – what about:
1) Aji humse bachkar kahan jaiyega
(It has only one antara, but see how classic/melodious rendition of Rafi Sahab).
2) Saajan saajan pukaroon galiyon mein.
3) Ihsaan tera hoga mujh par (both are sad ver.)
4) Teri ankhon kay siwa (both are the same moods songs)
It’s known fact that Lataji is superior by all other female singers, but she can never surpass Rafi sahab.
Imtiyaz A. Sharif
Post 42: Lata is not singing now a days, only a couple of songs in a year, so she’s jobless now! Correct!
Hi Ahamed kutty sahab , post 40.
After ‘Aradhana’ Rafi sahab was almost jobless and KK was more popular that does not mean Rafi is inferior to KK. It was a demant of time. Trend of heros changed so KK was in demand. Today’s generation Sunidhi kind of singer is in more demand , so we can not say Alka is inferior than Sunidhi.
Comparsion started by you and you are only saying not to compare any singers. Even I am also saying same thing. Male and Female singing is a separate category. How can one compare male and female talent ? So Rafi sahab is King and Lataji is Queen of melody.
Hi Ahamed kutty sahab , post 40.
The list of popular songs you mentioned were happy version and Lata sang sad versions. Sad versions are not very popular. If check the history.
Even ‘Khil te hai guli yahan’ of Kishor was more popular than LATA.
We can’t rate the singer only on few songs unpopularity.
Kishore kumar’s song ‘Tum bin janoo kahan’ was more popular than Rafi sahab’s version. That does’t mean than Rafi sahab is inferior than KK.
IF OP was hereo without LATA but zero without RAFI then he would have remain hero after his split with Asha but that did not happened. He tried many female singers keeping Rafi but he never got success. So this logic does not fit. I can always identify Lata’s voice which is very much different than SUMAN. I heard suman’s song when she was Hemadi and not kalyanpur.
Only few words sound similar.
LAta’s voice is more strong , more melodius and has staying power.
So Music director prefer waiting for LATA rather than replacing her with suman. Only few music directors (anti LATA camp) tried but they could not continue with their trend. Look what happend to Shankr jaikisan. Who was trying to make Sharda a compulsary hit. Exactly like op nayyar who once said that ‘Lata finished’ when Anuradha powdal started singing. Where is Anuradha today ? Let is accept the fact that LATA is LATA !
when mohamed rafi saab and lataji decided not to sing with each other
mds tried with mahendra kapoor with lataji and mohamed rafi saab
with suman kalyanpur.it was difficult to recognize the voices of lataji
and sumanji but it was easy to recognize the voices of mohamed rafi
saab mahendr kapoor saab.
o.p.nayyar saab was a hero without lataji but he was zero
without rafi saab.the same songs rendered by rafi saab and
lataji,rafi saab’s song is more popular than lataji’s song.for
example:
01) tum mujhe yoom bhula na pavogey
02) mere mehaboob tuje meri muhabbath ki qasam
03) teri ankhon ke siva duniyaa me
04) par desiyonse na akhiyaa milaa na
we should not be jelous with lataji instead we should be proud
that we are indians who are having a singer like lataji.also it is
not fair to compare other singers male or female with mohamed
rafi saab.be it lataji,ashaji,kk or anybody it is a fact that their
talent is limited to some extent.who ever the heroine,lataji or
ashaji need to sing according to the situation only but mohamed
rafi saab was giving separate style for each hero including
comedians.it is not magic it is talent which nobody can copy
and if we try to copy we will fell down unconciously.
Post 36, Meenuji,
Presently suman kalyanpur is very much staying in the Khar suburb as Binujee has rightly said however sumanji also owns her bunglow in lonavala as you have rightly said.
Her sister Shyama Hemady (now chittar) has also sung with Rafi Saab and there are only 2 such songs as follows “bolo bolo tum mere ho” from the film “Murder in Circus” with music by Usha Khanna & “Yah chand tho mrudang hai” from the film “Shree krishna Arjun Yudh” with music by Nandu-Pyare
Thanks
Rafi Sahab and Sumanji’s one more song which I love – is
‘Raat Suhani jaa rahi hai dheere..’ music by Laxmikant Pyarelal , film – jigri dost.
Hi Binuji ,
Good morning !
Some more information about Sumanji.
Her daughter’s name is Charulata. Sumanji is staying near Lonavala.
Her most beautiful duet in Kanada is from film Kalpavriksha with singer P.B. srinivas. She belongs to Konkani samaj so she can speak both the languages
Kannada and MArathi equally good. Her yonger sister – Shama chittar too is a singer (Jeevan chalne ka naam – Shor fame)
Hi , Post 27
your comment –
Could she have delivered those innumerable and unforgettable duets with her voice alone?
my comment – Why duets , listen her MAdan mohan gazhals. She do not need any support of male singers . She had given innumerable hits with very ordinary singers like Nitin mukesh, Vipin sachdev and many more.
If she cannot deliver duets alone then Same is true for all the male singers too.
I don’t need any invitation from anyone. This forum is for everyone.
If you praise an artist spoiling reputation of other artist then that is not tolarable. It is happening in all the forums.
Anyway she alredy achived whatever she wanted to.
Meenu JI : A Clarification Herein,
I am a big fan of Rafi & Lata. then – talat & k.l.saighal. besides, i love classical songs and classic songs and music – be it in any language. I cant stand the flop music of flop films of r.d. burman.
mohd rafi and rd burman were a great pair but rdb wanted his pet singer to sing all sorts of songs like rafi which backfired on him.
more rdb “never” Never did use mohd rafi and kishore kumar rationally and wisely like the great s d burman who is the only composer whose compositions or market standing never left him – any time.
in conclusion, i fail to understand why u addressed a post unnecessarily to me.
anyway i do hope you would love songs of lata-rafi duo and also some great songs of mohd rafi.
good listening and good days to u meenu ji…..
binu nair…
Hi Rmesh , post 31
No , I am not Meena Mangeshkar. Mangeshkars donot have time to read forums and fight . They use that time for creative work.
I am Lata’s big fan. I get sleepless nights when I read trash about LATA.
I know about Binu Nair who is a big fan of Rafi sahab. I see his contribution almost in every forum.
Don’t know much about the personal lives of the legends, but definitely Lata along with Rafi was the supreme most, Rafi and Lata were the real epitomes of playback singing, listening Lata and Rafi right from late 40’s to 1970 is an ultimate passion for me, after that phase i believe both the voices came down to their own high standard, which they have set in 50’s and 60’s
But anyways, what a phenomenal songs they have sung with the MDs like Roshan, C. Ramchandra, Naushad, SDB, S-J etc … Wah wah!
Friends this meenu who is submitting her comments one after the other on this beautiful article seems more to me like Meena Mangeshkar who is trying to glorify lata her dear sister. Good choice Meenu
Meenu ji: Post 25… GOOD MORNING…….
i NEVER WOULD never LIKE TO WRITE FROM THE HAT……. U know what i mean hear.
I have heard asha b over television saying some facts about recordings with mohd rafi. well, i don’t remember the occassion but lady asha b ‘s statement has struck to my mind.
she had indeed said in a tv show : ” in a recording with mohd rafi, he was practicing his lines on a very “high scale”…… i told him…… quote —- rafi saaheb toda neeche aa jaao ( meaning :Pls sing on a lower scale ).
this is the truth also when we hear rafi singing his songs – which have become immortal.
another example if you need a comparison between lata and rafi songs, please hear – dispassinately – the scores of “same songs” sung by lata seperately and rafi seperately. u will see the quality and the difference.
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Suman Kalyanpur was from a wealthy family background and has sung some 350 songs, many of them remarkable. in many songs, u will not be able to make out whether lata has sung it or suman kalyanpur.
true, she must have not amassed great wealth in life. that’s not the only criteria for succes in life meenuji, – u would agree.
today, she is well settled, her children are well settled in suburban khar west area and one of her son in law is a leading surgeon too.
no i have not met her. she never comes on telephone lines.
binus……………
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Hello Meenu ji (post 23) : No doubt, Lata ji is the best female singer, but Rafi Saheb had some extra talent which even Lata ji did not have. And I fully agree to comments by Binuji, Unknow, Saifullah and Hi Meena.
I agree that Lata Ji is the best female singer ever born in bollywood and there will be no other Lala ji.
I don’t agree with you that she has full right to flight for her position, if she is the best why should she fight because the people who fight they think that they are going to lose,look to Mohd rafi history he never fight with any Male back singer even all media was with KK in 1970’s .
In male singers Mohd Rafi is the only singer who is the best and people like Naushand,Madan Mohan,shammi Kapoor and many more they feel mohd Rafi.
Lata ji can be replace by Asha ji in some songs but mohd Rafi not be replace by any male singer RD burman tried to replace mohd rafi in 1970’s with KK but he was not able to make KK the number one singer and he back to mohd rafi and from 1977 to 1980 RD Burman used Mohd Rafi more than any other male singer.
If you want me to but the singer from one to 4 the best my list will be like this
1, mohd Rafi with 100%
2, Lata Ji with 95 %
3 Asha Ji with 85 %
4, Mannay day 80%
reply to post no. 23
To whoever wrote this posting on this site
No one is denying the calibre or the singing prowess of Lata
But, let us not make statements like she would have survived without any leegenday male singers in the industry. Could she have delivered those innumerable and unforgettable duets with her voice alone? Let us not talk nonsense here, my friend
While the whole world know how individualistic and ‘selfish’this artist was in her heydays, no one is really concerned about it anymore. This is not merely talent, it is an attempt to stamp one’s authority.
Everyone is free to air his or her opininion, but jealousy, for that matter and is not considered fair here
If she had the right to fight for her rights, so had the others, but it is unfair to mow down the others just because she was the top female singer of her times.
Well, I dont want to invite a reply from you on this as it is not worth discussing Lata on this site which is dedicated to Rafi Saab. For heaven’s sake dont bring such discussions on to this site which we Rafians would like to dedicate to our legend – the one and only Rafi Saab
And as I said, pls dont waste your time replying to me.
Thanks
Saifullah
Dubai
Meenu ji: Why are u debating lata ji’s talents here ? (post 23). No need . she is the best. she is my most favourite female singer and such singers are of the rarest of the rare kind and this is for the record .
My point is that to reach the top what ever she has done professionally mohd rafi the male titan among singers – never had to do.
i am sure you know all this and much more. let’s stop this here and talk about songs, music and the well being of artistes -only passingly.
yes. i would love to hear lata ji singing “aap ke nazron ne samjha” or “bayan na dharo oh balama” or any pakeezah number. but at the same time i would have loved to hear more hindi songs in the voices of sudha malhotra or a vani jairam or mubarak begum and others – to get a variety feel of songs that would provide me an opportunity to feel the greatness of multiple number of singers along with that of lata mangeshkar.
in other words i would have also loved to “see” that other singers too getting chances to prove their talents in a free and fair way – which many know was not possible with lata ji around.
with no royalty or work coming the ageing and surviving singers like mubarak begum “today” would have little more comfort today than facing penury in the twilight era of their lives.
mere to “parr kaat diye” industry me lamented mubarak ji in an published interview.
any body’s heart will cry, including meenuji yours – to see our singers and musicians facing economic struggles in their daily life. this is the only point i wish to draw your attention to.
yes, i will love to hear some of the songs such as : “bemurrawwat bewafa, begaana-e-dil aap hai” or ” kabhi tanhaiyon mein yoon, tumhari yaad aayegi” or “mujhko apne galle lagaalo, oh mere humhahi” or ” hum haal-e-dil sunaayeng” (madhumati) with Pandit ram narayan’s superb sarangi works and many more.
binu nair…..
Binuji,
I think you have not heard Asha’s Navarang song – Tu chupi hai kahan.
Please listen that song . Asha and of course LATA will never say to any male singer like – pls do not go “too” high a range.
Sonik omi once said in interview that there are only two singers who can sing in higher and lower octave none other than LATA and ASHA. This two singers are not ordinary , they are from ‘Devloak’. God has sent specail gift to the human beings.
Also listen Lata’s Aji rooth kar ab kahan from Aarzoo.
People are not mad to give 11 Doctrates to LATA. out of that 3 are from International. People stoped writting about her now because words are failing short to praise her.
Hi Sanjay Aroraji ,
Suman is not comming from a very rich family. Her husband is an indutrialist but it is a small scale industry not as big as Ambani brother’s have one.
She is not rich from her parrents side . She is having 5 kid sisters.
Who told you that singing is only an income ? It is an art ! If she is righ she would have sung free of charge and would have got more songs from poor producers atleast. So the logic given by you does not fit !
The fact is music directors always prefered LATA. One step ahead I will go and say that people who are abusing her in the various forums are too listen her songs at home and within mind they accept her greatness !
Hi Unknown and Binuji ,
For a while let us think that Lata is not as good human being as Shamshaad begum or Mubarak begum. One question I will like to ask you , do you prefer to listen ‘Aapki Nazarone samzaa pyaar ke kabil muze’ song by these singers ? Definately not ! So let us rate LATA as an artist not as human being.
Every thing is fair in love and war. She has full right to fight for her position.
Because she knows the end product delivered by her will be far superior than anyone else. Even music directors knows this fact. People call this as monopoly and I call this as talant.
Her contibution is not only in Hindi but in many other language. In Marathi she sung all types of songs like Bhakti geet , Natya geet, Bhaav geet, Koli geet and what not ? Why should she take other male singes name ? She achived everthing by pure talent. She continued to survie in industry without legendary male singes because she is self made.
ek bahut khoobsurat aur informative article jismen aap ne bahut khoobsurti se suman ji ko shardhanjali pesh kiya hai, Narayan ji ki shikayat bhi apni jagah bilkul sahi hai ke aakhir aisa kyun hota hai ke woh female singers jinki greatness mein rafi saheb ki aawaz ka saath bhi raha aur haath bhi raha, jab bolti hain to rafi saheb ko intentionally ignore kardeti hain,chahay
woh lata ji ho,asha ji hon ya suman ji…..bada ajeeb sa lagta hai lekin ab inhen kaun samjhaey ke iss tarah woh rafi saheb ko ignore nahi karti bulkay apne un gaanon ko karti hain jinse unki pehchaan mein izaafa hua.
itna hai tum se pyar mujhe
ajhu na aaye baalma
tujhe pyar karte hain karte rahengay
kahdo kahdo jahan se kehdo………..
aise geeton ka izhaar na karke unho ne apne hi kaam ko simit karliya….kyun narayan ji??????
here is one rare beauty of rafi-suman combo
from “nadirshah” music : SN Tripathi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J08Edg6J9qQ
See a big percentage of songs of Rafi+Suman are under Shankar-Jaikishen. Kudos to Souvik ji for this feature on the Great Rafi+Suman combination.
My friends whoever want to see totally unpublished photographs of Rafi Sahab, they may visit
http://xukeboss.blogspot.com,
regards
sp/kolkata
BIJOOR JI….
In a SCINTILLATING program by child artists at mumbai’s ravindra natya mandir, on sunday 30th there were dances, (all mod) like salsas, rock with songs, also all modern day.
the compere was a five year old lad and music too was played by under 15 students of gurukool. the dream of kalyanji bhai was coming true of having an all childrens cast – in a live dance and music show.
the acoustics were great, choreography by a 35 strong under 12 kids were astounding.
and one of the cream delights of the evening was —– to remember our classical roots.
in came the song “madhuban me radikha naache re” and the audience lapped it up. incidentally, madhuban song will complete sixty years next year in 2010.
NO IMITATORS CAN ERASE OUR CULTURE BIJOOR SAAB…
BINU NAIR
There cannot be a comparison between Lata Mangeshkar & Suman Kalyanpur. In fact the 3 giants namely Mohammed Rafi Saab, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsale the trio were themselves institutions in their own selves and there can never exist a second opinion Or thought on the subject.
However in my very personal opinion the combination of Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur can be described as one amongst the best mainly on account of their greatness & excellent human values and relations. To be a great singer one has to own the inherent qualities of being a very good human being first. Rafi Saab and Suman Kalyanpur both possessed these qualities in plenty and hence this combination always brought out the sweet & melodious renditions.
While commenting on this article of my son – Gaurav; I can say he has taken the required pains not only to study the subject very minutely but mainly to know & understand these 2 personalities quite well. From his early child-hood I have observed in him his sheer liking & most importantly the inclination towards the old culture more which can be on account of the atmosphere in which he has grown-up. Gaurav was born in March 1981 almost a year after Rafi Saab’s sad & untimely demise, but the love and respect he has for this immortal legend is indeed praise-worthy.
In fact this new generation should collectively group together and help to retain & maintain the golden treasures left by these great personalities & legends for further many many more years to come.
I sincerely hope Binujee & all the other fans & admirers of Rafi Saab will agree with me on this point
Thanks & Regards
“Manmohan mann mein…..” this is one of the best classical songs sung by Rafi Saheb, Suman kalyanpurji along with S.D. Batishji. This is from the film “Kaise Kahoon”. A very memorable song.
melodiousrafi@gmail.com
Dear Gaurav Bijoor, Salam,
Excellant writing. According to Mr. Saleem-ul-Haq’s book on Biography of Rafi Sahab,total duets of Rafi/Suman are 160.
I would like to mention few duets which are my favourite:
1)Police Detective- “Sainya dekh dekh, main hun lakhon me ek”.
2)Salam Mem Saab- “Zara si baat pyaar ki zaban se nikal gayi”
3)Beti Bete- Agar teri jalwa numaayi na hoti,khuda ki khasam yeh”
4)Dooj ka chand- “Chand takta hai idhar, aao kahin chup jayen”
5)Qawali ki Raat- “Dil gaya dil ka etbaar gaya”
6)Aadhi raat ke baad- “Bahut haseen hain tumhari aankhen”
7)Jigri Dost- “Raat suhani jaag rahi hai”
8)Anjana- “Ki jaan chali jaye jiya nahi jaye”
9)Palki- “Dil-e-betab ko seene se lagana hoga
10)Saaz aur Aawaz- “Kis ne mujhe sada di kisne mujhe pukara”
11)Yaar mera- “Dil ki kitab kori hai kori hi rahne do”
12)Daastane laila majnu-“E jaane tamanna aa bhi ja”
Long live rafi sahab and Sumanji,
With regards,
Dr. Khaja Aliuddin
Post 05 — Meenujee,
The sheer subject of the article from my personal point of view is not a comparison between Lata Mangeshkar & Suman Kalyanpur, but a simple attempt on my part on the beautiful combination of Rafi Saab & Suman Kalyanpur. There have been several hard working & dedicated personalities in this industry who have never ever got their due & respect as they had actually deserved and one of them is Suman Kalyanpur. The other one is undoubtedly Shamshad Begum.
In-fact I take this opportunity in conveying my sincere thanks to all the erstwhile fans & admirers of Rafi Saab for their valuable expressions
Post 02 — Dearest Sanjay Arora Uncle,
Recently a book has been released in Marathi titled “Suman Sughandh” written by Mrs Mangala Khadilkar and the same is available in the market. This book features almost all the songs approximately 144 songs of Rafi-Suman combination rendered by both in all the langauges.
dear minuji,
thank you very much for your comments.i have put the word “i think”
that means it is my choice and you cannot question my taste.
Dear Meenu
Lata ji is the best female singer ever born and no one be compare with her greatness as a singer but she was not good as human as singer,She stop to sing for SJ because they used Suman ji to sing,if am not wrong when Lata ji stop to sing wit Mohd Rafi the music directors replace Lata ji with other female singers and suman ji one of them because there was no replacement of mohd rafi in 1960’s and still today there is no replacement of mohd rafi.
Meenu ji : Post 5 : Well done yet again in defending the nightingale. U are a true fan of the singer, i must say.
but, a few facts straight away :
any singers voice at high range would deteriorate except that of mohd rafi – which you will agree. for the same reason, asha b. used to say : rafi saaheb, pls do not go “too” high a range.
in mumbai, i have experienced and seen shrikant narayan singing a duet on low range – only to accommodate the female singers voice.
finally, suman was no lata at any time. but, she did give a fright to lata ji in the sixties.
to settle the issue we could term suman to be the poor producers lata mangeshkar.
binu nair, mumbai…..
mr.souvik banerji
u had not mentioned the song of GUNHAOKA DEVTA a RAjshree JEETENDRA starrer “HUMKO TO BARBAAD KIYA HAI AUR KISKO……….
DEAR MR. GAURAV BIJOOR
YOU HAVE WRITTEN AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON RAFI SAHAB & SUMAN KALYANPURJI’S SONG COMBINATION !!
I AM HAPPY TO NOTE THAT YOU HAVE MENTIONED THE DUET SONG OF ” MAMTA ” ( THE SONG NO. 16 OF YOUR LIST ) I.E. ” RAHE NA RAHE HUM…”.
THIS SONG IS AVAILABLE ONLY IN THE FILM ITSELF AS TILL DATE ,THIS
DUET IS NOT RELEASED IN RECORD/CASSETTE/AUDIO CD. IT’S A WONDERFUL DUET OF RAFI SAHAB & SUMANJEE !
I AM MENTIONING HERE TWO DUETS ALSO WHICH ARE REALLY SWEET & MELODIOUS :
1) ” TERI PALKON MEIN YE KAAJAL … ” ( FILM : JAY-VIJAY ; MUSIC BY
RAJESH ROSHAN )
2) ” NARAZGI YE AAPKI …..” ( FILM : UNEES BEES ; MUSIC BY
RAJESH ROSHAN )
WARM REGARDS/ A.T.M. SALIM
Dear Meenu,
What a poor knowledge,music directors repeated Sumanji with RafiSaab,
even after patch up, I agree Suman with you that her voice shivers ,but same is the case with lataji also.
There are other reasons for not having many Suman Duets after the patch up,
and Sumanji could survive in the industry because she comes from a very
waelthy family and was not dependent upon singing income.
Maybe Binu Nairji will be able to give more details on the other reasons.
Dear Mr. Gaurav Bijoor,
Very well-researched and well-written article indeed. Yes! You are absolutely correct that Suman Kalyanpur did not get her due in film industry. She was really a great artist, but unfortunately she got much less than she deserved.
All the sixteen songs you have mentioned are brilliant. I want to discuss just one song from film “Raj Kumar”. It is “Tum ne pukara aur hum chale aaye”. This is just too much sweet and melodious song. What a beautiful tune Shankar – Jaikishan has composed and how lively and lovely both these singers have sung this song. Specially the voice of Rafi Sahab is just unbelievably sweet in this song.
Thanks and best regards.
Anwar-ul-Haque
anwarhq25@yahoo.com
No Dout Rafi Sahah is a gift from GOD, his voice was so nice, sweet and discovered requirement of song. I wish for such singer in this century and waiting but still no one singer seems to compare him.
LOVE TO RAFI SAHAB
Ahamed kutty ,
What a poor knowledge about music.
LATA , RAFI combination is the best. Suman was temporary replacement.
The song would have become golden if LATA would have sung that song-
ajhuna aaye balemaa saawan beetha .
IF Suman was that talented than music directors would have repeated that pair but it did not happended. After LATA-RAFI patch up music directors left Suman permantly because her songs were not upto the mark. When she raise her voice in high pitch her voice shivers.
People don’t miss a chance to underestimate LATA only because she left all her Contemporary singers far behing . Pure jelousy of FANS!!!
Gaurav bete once more a commendable well researched article…
Yes Sumanji did not get her dues and she was lucky to sing with our Guruji all the hit songs during the royalty issue…
But what is puzzling to me that during the ” Faujibhaiyon ka Jaymala program” we expected some tribute from Sumanji on her great Rafi sahab but she stuck to her own songs and did not mention about our legend or for that matter any other artistes….
Can anyone answer this ?
Narayan
One more lovely number of Rafi-Suman combination :
Itna Hai tumse pyaar mujhe mere razdaar (film suraj-1966) picturised on Rajendra Kumar and Vyjanthimala.
My fvourite combination,however there are plenty of Rafi saab`s duets with Sumanji in numerous punjabi films,two duets which i recollect are from the film `Guddi`with music by Hansraj Bahl sahab.
Iam looking for a total data base of Rafi Saab`s duets with Sumanji in Punjabi Fillms & Bhojpuri films ( quite a number of duets have been rendered by the duo in bhojpuri films).
the song from film “savera” ajhuna aaye balemaa saawan beetha jaaye…….
is fantastic one.the voice of rafi saab is excellent.the classical touch,the
high pitch etc.etc.the song is a master piece.the combination of rafi saab-
suman kalyanpur i think better than the combination of rafi saab – lata
mangeshkar.