By Anonymous

Mohd Rafi, Firoz Khan

500 years before the legendary Mohammed Rafi was born, William Shakespeare is reputed to have said that a rose is a rose is a rose. Even if called by any other name, it would smell as sweet.

This small piece of literary history came to fore so resonantly and how!. And it needed the somber reflection on the past of a good-looking actor called Feroze Khan, who lost his battle with cancer in Bengaluru the other day. All the talk has been about Rafisaab lending his mighty vocals for the frontline bigwigs like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and secondline poker-faced heroes like Joy Mukherjee, Biswajit, Bharat Bhushan and their ilk. The list is exhaustive (!) and endless. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. M.V.Devraj

Mohd Rafi with S.D.Burman and Guru Dutt

Guru Dutt’s film Kaagaz ke Phool released in 1959 was the first full Cinemascope Indian film. This was considered to be a slow movie and was an initial flop. Guru Dutt, a brilliant filmmaker, was way ahead of his times. But when the film was later re-released, it became a cult film. The film won two Filmfare awards, one for its cinematography and the other for its art direction. Two lyrical gems, ‘Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam’ and ‘Dekhi zamaane ki yaari’ written by the inimitable Kaifi Azmi and set to music by Sachin Dev Burman are distinct high points of the film. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi with Shammi Kapoor, Hasrat, Jaikishan

When Shammi Kapoor was informed about Rafi’s death in 1980, he was told by the informer that he had lost his own voice. In other words it was said that Rafi’s voice had reached the soul of Shammi Kapoor, whose success in bollywood films was largely dependent on the golden voice of Rafi. Shankar Jaikishan had contributed in around 22 films of Shammi Kapoor and without the magical duo Rafi’s combination with Shammi Kapoor would not have fulfilled the popular demands of the musical audience. (more…)

This article is sourced by Mr. P. Narayanan and written by Ms. Shikha Biswas Vohra, the illustrous daughter of the legendary music director Anil Biswas. I think it is important for me to stress the Anil Biswas-Mohd Rafi nexus or rather lack of it. I have recd several calls from Rafi fans after my clarification on Radio Farishta and they are quite pleased with the solving of a long-standing dilemma – Shikha Biswas.

Shrikant Narayan, Shikha Biswas

Music lovers of Delhi were enthralled by the sheer magic of melody, as they travelled back in time to the golden era of Indian cine music. Responsible for transporting them there was the combination of the effort of Sangeet Smriti, an organization dedicated to old melodies being run in the capital by Shikha Biswas Vohra, and the mellifluous voice of Shrikant Narayan, who held an entire audience spellbound with his renditions of the ‘melodious moods’ of the immortal singer. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Biman Baruah, Assam.

Mohd Rafi with Manoj Kumar and Sai Baba

Mohammed Rafi was a universal voice and he was mostly associated with all the stars of his time. Mukesh was considered the soul of Raj Kapoor & Manoj Kumar and Mahendra Kapoor was the other voice for Manoj Kumar. But Rafi Saheb was not an unfamiliar person for Manoj Kumar. The universal voice had a good vocal innings for Mr. Bharat (Bharat is the Sanskrit & Hindi term for INDIA) in the films: Shaheed(1965), Gumnaam(1965), Do Badan(1966), Sawan Ki Ghata(1966), Patther Ke Sanam(1967), Saajan(1969), Amaanat(1977), etc. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. D.P.Bijoor

Mohd Rafi with Dilip Kumar

Today when I look behind I remember those beautiful child-hood days and my mind suddenly flickers down the memory lane and slowly takes me some where around the year period 1965-1966. Those were the first impressions of my child-hood days where I tried to understand & know a little of myself & the small world around me. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi with Rajendra Kumar

Rafi had a dream run in the 60s, mainly in the films of Jubilee Kumar, Rajender Kumar for more than a number of reasons. Firstly Rajender Kumar acted in the production and direction of biggest banners of bollywood in the 60s. Secondly from 1963 to 1966, all his films ended up in silver jubilee showing his immense popularity and strong presence in the box-office. Shankar Jaikishan was equated with God in the early 60s and the main reason of the box-office success of Jubillee Kumar’s films was the superlative music given to him by both SJ and Naushad. 

In the film Ayee Milan Ki Bela, all the songs of SJ, picturised on Rajender Kumar and sung  by Rafi became super hit The immortal songs include “mai pyar ka diwana“, “aha aye Milan ki bela“, “tum khamseen ho“, “to bura maan gaye“, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum“. Rajender Kumar and Saira Banu’s online chemistry in the film helped in the success of the film. (more…)

This article is written by Mr. Girish Prahlad

Mohd Rafi

Hindi movies has always had fascinating titles, which, at most times reflected the main essence of the story.  Some titles like “Miss Coca Cola”, “Mr. X”, “Black Cat” “Miss Toofan Mail” were uniquely funny and some like “Pyaasa”, “Do Bigha Zameen” were out right serious and clearly indicated that they were movies with social significance.

However, most movies whether they were commercial entertainers or socially relevant ones, had one thing in common – the presence of a Title Song. Very few movies were made which did not have a title song. The biggest advantage of the title song was the free publicity it fetched the movie along with popularizing it’s other songs. (more…)

A very different review of ‘O Duniya Ke Rakhwale” by Dr. Vasudha Theertharam and Gan Sharma.

This review is the result of collaboration between two fans of the great Rafi saab who met very recently over the Internet. Although this song is perhaps one of Rafi saab’s most reviewed, the reviewers bring a unique perspective to the song. They hope Rafi fans all over the world will enjoy it.

Dr. Vasudha lives in Bangalore, India, and Gan lives in Toronto, Canada

Mohd Rafi

Naushad Ali saab recalls reading in a newspaper that a man, sentenced to be hanged until dead, was asked what his last wish was. We always thought that this last wish was just an over-romanticised element in movies; however, it seems that this incident actually took place. The normal request, under these tragic circumstances, is either for a favourite food or a drink. Occasionally, it may be a request to meet a beloved; but more often, it is a priest that the condemned man asks for. The staunchest atheist, it is said, becomes God-fearing on his deathbed; when the end is near, the desire to bribe the Almighty is at its peak. (more…)

This article is written by Ms. Utthara Kumari B, a member of the Baar Baar Rafi club in Bangalore.

Mohd Rafi with S.D.Burman and Guru Dutt

There is one song of Mohd Rafi which I consider the best among his bests. This is one of those classics where the immortal Rafi sahab, the romantic rebel Sahir Ludhianvi, the song king S D Burman and the brooding genius Guru Dutt combined to make one of the most powerful song sequences in cine history. It is that thought-provoking song from the black-and-white classic Pyaasa. To attempt to review the song is a tall order. I have only poured out my feelings, I wouldn’t dare call it a review. (more…)