This article is contributed by Mr D.P.Bijoor

Mohd Rafi and Shamshad Begum

Shamshad Begum was born in Amritsar, Punjab on 14^th April 1919 and she was a very big fan of K L Saigal. Presently the singer is staying with her daughter Mrs Usha Ratra and her son-in-law in Powai, Mumbai ever since her husband Late Mr Ganpat Lal Batto died in the year 1955. She celebrated her 89^th birthday at her elder sister’s place.

Shamshad Begum made her debut on radio on the Peshawar radio in Lahore on 16^th December 1937, captivating the hearts of her listeners with the enchanting depth of her voice. In fact Shamshad was not so conscious of her not so beautiful face and she never posed for any pictures and not many people saw her pictures any where. (more…)

This song review is written by Mr. Shrirang Nawathe

Mohd Rafi with Laxmikant-Pyarelal

The journey of life through Rafi sahab’s songs is  a unique experience for all of us. It is the beauty of that saintly figure who had contributed  so much for us  that, one can have all sorts of experiences through his golden songs.

Music Director Vasant Desai believed that Rafi Sahab was “shaapit gandharva” whereas Naushad sb. Confirmed him “suron ka betaaj badshaah”. For few others he was versatile, matchless, ultimate and so on….. Above all, for a common man like us he was the nearest soul.. as he was there with us under all circumstances (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur

The media during the last 60s years had been too kind towards some of the celebrities while remained silent about the others. For example during the golden age 50s, 60s and 70s, other than Lata and Rafi there were other combinations who had given everlasting hits. (more…)

This article is written by Dr.Sumra Yunus

Ek Fankar, Mohd Rafi

Music is the food of love and Mohammed Rafi gave romantic voice to Indian film music.

Rafi’s name will have a magical attraction to people for ever. He contributed many heart-warming patriotic songs and immortal romantic melodies to the treasury of Hindi film music. His voice created a vibrant passion and charmed millions of music lovers all over the country and abroad. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji

Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam is considered the most powerful playback singer in bollywood films at the moment.  The greatest debate that haunts most of the music lovers of the country is that whether Sonu Nigam had reached the level of excellence that Rafi had reached in the 50s and 60s.

The greatest achievement of a singer lies in his acceptability before diverse range of composers and lyricists. As Rafi was classically trained and could adapt any type of song ranging from qawallies to ghazals to soft romantic numbers to westernized rock and roll compositions his demand before the musical community was immense. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Achal Rangaswamy

Mohd Rafi

It was a sticky morning in Delhi. 1^st August 1980. 6 AM. I was packing my bag to load it on my Enfield Bullet. Time to get back to my HQ – Jaipur. I had just recovered from a bout of typhoid, that had left me with only enough energy to record over 250 songs on various audio cassettes (that’s what we used those days).Most reluctantly, as all of us do after a long stay at home, I picked up my bag. My father tuned into All India Radio to listen to the Morning English News.

The first few news items were mundane. The fourth news item stunned all of us. The first to react was my father, probably because he sat closest to the dining table where the compact radio was kept. “Noted playback singer Mohd Rafi passed away last night….”, said the pained voice of the news reader. Television existed those days, but the transmission ended early into the night, well before the great man breathed his last. (more…)

A personal tribute to Mohd Rafi and Rajendra Kumar. Compiled by: Mr.Biman Baruah, Finance & Accounts Officer, ONGC Ltd., Assam Asset, Sivasagar

Mohd Rafi with Rajinder Kumar

Baharon Phool Barsaoo……… Mere Mehboob Aaya Hai………

At the age of eight, I became a reactionary fan of great Mohammed Rafi Sahab with this great romantic song from the 1966 film “SURAJ” which was very perfectly picturised on Rajendra Kumar showering with flowers to Vyjayanthimala in a natural location with Elephant and Peacock. The film was produced by S. Krishnamurthy & directed by T. Prakash Rao which considered one of the first highly commercially successful fantasy dramas of Hindi Cinema.

Shanker-Jaikishen’s chartbuster music and Mohammed Rafi’s singing played an important role in the film’s popularity. The film showed Rajendra Kumar as a blustering hero with swords, horses, elephant, etc. and the songs of the film are remembered till date considering all time evergreen hits. (more…)

Two Rafi Songs from the Film ‘Naya Raasta’- A Study in Contrast
By
Mrs. Usha G Rao- a Senior Member of ‘Baar Baar Rafi’- The Fan Club, Bangalore, India

Mohd Rafi

Call it a cliché, an oft-repeated statement or stating the obvious, I would still like to dwell on this topic and say- ‘Versatility, thy name is Mohammed Rafi’. For me, a discussion on any aspect of Rafi Sahab’s singing amounts to a joyful celebration of his music. Each time I look at the prism of his songs, I see a new angle, a new dimension hitherto unseen by me.

I wish to present here a study of two of his songs from the 1967 film Naya Raasta. The mood and the ethos of the two songs are at total variance with each other and hence are perfect examples for the topic under discussion. The music is composed by Narayan Dutta, better known as N Dutta and the lyrics written by Sahir Ludhianvi Sahab are some of the most meaningful lyrics ever written for films. (more…)

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. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. H.V.Guru Murthy

Mohd Rafi

Till Mohammed Rafiji emerged, most of the earlier Singers were flat singers without much variation. After Rafi saab came on screen, the importance of diction, variation in voice for different actors, raising and lowering of voice, putting feeling into each word, etc. were noticed. As one of Rafi hero, Biswajeet opined that acting for Rafi songs was very easy, as Rafi took care of all the acting in his song putting feelings into the lyrics and the actor was just required to lip-sync.

Mohammed Rafi Saab has sung nearly 5000 songs and in fact, most of the songs can be considered as a Milestone in the history of Indian Film Music. Still, there are certain songs of Rafiji, which established the ‘Singer of the millennium’ as the most versatile singer as well as paved the way for similar songs in other movies. Some of these songs became rage of the Nation when they were released and were on the lips of the Nation. Personally I consider all these songs as ‘Milestone songs of Rafiji’. (more…)