Rafi with Music Composers – Part 5
This article is by Mr. Anmol Singh.
Rafi with Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna is the only lady composer who came to the film industry to originally become a singer. Started her career in 1959 with Rafi & Asha in the film ‘Dil Deke Dekho’. In all songs whether solos or duets were picturized on Shammi Kapoor and Asha. Out all the songs, particularly the solos “Bolo Bolo Kuch Tho Boloâ€, “Dil Deke Dekhoâ€, “Rahi Mil Gaye Rahon Meinâ€, “Ham Aur Tum Aur Yeh Sama†and duets with Asha “Bade Hein Dil Ke Kaaleâ€, “Pyar Ki Kasam Hai†& “Yaar Chulbula Hai†all are truly remarkable. Another aspect of the film was that apart from Usha it was a debut film for Asha Parekh and comedian Rajendra Nath.
Since then for next three decades Usha has carried out some remarkable compositions with Rafi Saab and other singers in the form of duets and solos. In her entire career Usha never had the fortune work under big banners except for Sawaan Kumar Productions in the 1970s & 80s, due to tough competition from music stalwarts like SJ, O P Nayyar, Ravi, Madan Mohan and later R D Burman, LP & Rajesh Roshan. She never won any nominations or got awarded as a music composer, but singers like Yesudas got awarded by Filmfare for her song, “Dil Ke Tukde” from ‘Dada’ and Kishore Kumar got a Filmfare nomination for “Shayad Meri Shaadi” from ‘Souten’. She is an icon of music in this male dominated field.
From the film ‘Shabaab’, Usha composes a masterpiece based on Arabic music, “Maine Rakha Hai Mohobbatâ€. Here Rafi Saab starts the song singing “Ya Habibi†in Arabic style. Rafi Saab’s Arabic pronounciation is such as if he belongs to Saudi Arabia, Middle East. Mehmood does a great job on screen. Another masterpiece from the 60s from the film ‘Ek Sapera Ek Lootera’, “Ham Tum Se Juda Hoke†based on Raag Darbari Kanada picturized on Feroz Khan is superb. The duet with Suman K, “Tum Akele Kabhi Baag Mein†is also memorable till date. There is another gem from the 60s sung by Rafi Saab for Usha, “Haseen Wadiyon†fom the film ‘Lal Bangla’. A ghazal composed by Usha for the film ‘Nishan’ is truly marvelous, “Haaye Tabassum Teraâ€. Rafi sings the ghazal with many twits and turns. The song for which Usha Khanna is best recognized is “Teri Galiyon Mein†from ‘Haavas’ in 1974. Here Rafi Saab sings for the new comer Anil Dhavan with great emotions and feelings. Then there is another high pitch & lively song from ‘Sajjan Ke Saheli’, “Jiske Liye Sab Ko Chhodaâ€. It’s a very lively duet, where Rafi sings with great enthusiasm along with Sulakshna Pandit.
There is a sad number where Rafi Saab sings along with Usha Khanna, “Dost Banke Aaye Hoâ€. The song is truly marvelous. Another song from the film ‘Aap To Ese Na The’, “Tu Istarah Se Meri Zindagi†sung by Rafi is also great. The same song has been sung by Manhar Udhas & Hemlata. Rafi Saab sings the fast number. From the same film there is a Rafi-Kishore duet which equally fascinating, “Khuda Hi Khuda Kare To Kareâ€. From the film ‘Dada’ there are two duets with Shailendra Singh, the most memorable one is “Gaddi Jaandi E Chalaangan Maardi” based on Punjabi folk.
A tribute from Usha Khanna
“His humility was amazing. I remember that at the recording of one of my Asha-Rafi duets in my first film Dil Deke Dekho, I was not fully satisfied with one part of the song, but was hesitant about telling him. He sensed that and told me, “Usha, tumne humse nahin seekha. Hamein tumse gaana seekhna hai.” He warmly embraced me after recording ‘Tu jis tarah se…’ (my last song with him which was for Aap To Aise Na The) and said that I had made a lovely composition. And he sang “Hum aur tum aur yeh sama…”, again from Dil Deke Dekho, which was my first-ever recording.”
A tribute from Nida Fazli
“Every mega-talent is blessed by God, and it is up to the artiste to preserve and develop it further. Rafisaab did that. His voice reflected his spiritual, pure nature. That golden voice was like the breeze that ripples during a puja or the holy atmosphere that pervades the namaaz. He sang few but great songs written by me, like ‘Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein shaamil hai…’ (Aap To Aise Na The). I remember he wept and said that artistes lived to sing such beautiful songs.”
Rafi with Kalyanji Anandji (KA)
Both are brothers originally hailing from the Kutch region of Gujarat. KA have been instrumental in promoting Mukesh & Mahendra Kapoor for Manoj Kumar in the 60s and later Kishore Kumar in the 70s. KA have used Gujarati folk music in many songs. But both have composed some unforgettable gems for Rafi Saab in the 60s and 70s. KA can be best remembered for their compositions for the film ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’. Songs like “Paradesiyon Se Na Akhiyanâ€, “Kahin Pehele…Yahan Mein Ajnabi†& “Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bul Bul†are remarkable compositions picturized on Shashi Kapoor who plays a Kashmiri youth. From the same film there is a fun song, “Afoo Khuda…O Hum Ko Tum†sung by Rafi Saab in thrilled and joyful mood. Shashi Kapoor does full justice Rafi Saab’s work on screen.
Another master performance from the duo can be seen from the film ‘Mitwa’. The song “Mere Mitwa Mere Geet Re†is remembered till date. Filmed on Rajendra Kumar who provides an excellent performance on screen. The use of the flute in the song is magnificent. A song from the film ‘Zanjeer’ based on street show is also great, “Deewane Hein Deewane Koâ€. Sung by Rafi & Asha, has a very effective use for harmonium rhythm to create the street effect. Songwriter Gulshan Bawara acts on the song in the film matches the body language of a street performer perfectly.
During one of the foreign tours Rafi Saab starts the show with the song “Badi Door Se Aayen Hein Pyar Ka Toofa Laye Haiâ€, expressing his love for all the NRI and people from other Asian countries, who come all the way to listen to the golden voice. In the Dilip Kumar starrer ‘Gopi’, Mahendra Kapoor provides the play back for most of the songs. But for one devotional number KA choose none other then Rafi Saab to render a classic performance, “Sukh Ke Sab Sathi Dookh Mein Koyiâ€.
Rafi Saab has sung some great solos under KA, “Akele Hai Chale Aao†based on Raag Charukesi, “Chale The Saath Milkeâ€, “Rote Huve Aate Hein Sab (Sad)â€, etc. Plus there are beautiful duets with Lata & Asha also “Ek Tha Gul Aur Ek Thi Bul Bulâ€, “Na Na Karte Pyarâ€, “Kya Dekhte Ho Surat Tumhariâ€, “Sare Sheher Mein Aap Saâ€, “Pyaar Tho Ek Din Honaâ€, “Tumse Door Rehekeâ€, “Wada Karle Saajna†based on Raag Basant Mukhari, “Bekhudi Mein Sanam†based on Raag Charukesi, “Yeh Raat Hai Pyaasi Pyaasiâ€, “Yeh Wada Raha Dilrubaâ€, “Yunhi Tum Mujh Se Baat†and many more.
KA were very hurt to hear Rafi Saab’s sudden dismissal. Particularly Anandji in his tribute said that it is difficult to believe that Rafi Saab’s is no more with us.
A tribute from Anandji
“His God-fearing nature was so obvious in every song he sang – and Mohammed Rafi could sing and justify every kind of song. He was extremely versatile and very fast at pick-up. Of so many famous songs he sang for us my personal favourite is ‘Yahaan main ajnabi hoon..’ from Jab Jab Phool Khile.”
A tribute from Gulshan Bawra
“Bada hi bhola insaan that Rafi, aur badaa hi mehnati gaayak! He has sung so many songs of mine, but to me ‘Deewane hai deewanon ko na ghar chahiye…’ (Zanjeer) will always remain extra special. I remember that Rafisaab ke roze the. Because of the fasting and the restrictions, he was a shade irritable. One ‘take’ of the song had been okayed by the music directors, but co-singer Lataji wanted a retake for some reason. Uncharacteristically, he refused, and said, “Main jaa raha hoon.” I followed him out of the studio and told him, “Paaji, do you know who is going to enact this song on screen? It’s me.” He turned round and asked why I had not told him so before. He came back and gave not one but two takes, and sang in such a way that it would suit my persona!”
Rafi with Rajesh Roshan
Rajesh Roshan is the son of legendary music composer Roshan and uncle of the present Bollywood heart throb Hritik Roshan. Started his career in 70s, Rajesh Roshan has carried many mind-blowing compositions for Kishore Kumar, but there are a few golden classics for Rafi Saab too.
Rajesh has used Rafi Saab in the film ‘Aap Ke Diwane’, which was the debut film for his brother Rakesh Roshan as a filmmaker. Rajesh Roshan as composer takes no chance here, uses Rafi in almost each and every song whether a duet with Kishore, Lata or Amit Kumar. In ‘Unees Bees’, again Rajesh uses Rafi for all the songs whether solos or duets. In this film the present day singer Udit Narayan gets his first opportunity to sing with Rafi Saab.
From the film ‘Inkaar’ the song “Dil Ki Kali Yun Hi†steals the show. It has two versions one is the enthusiastic and other the sad. Both songs covey the same message at different situations. A song sung for children from the film ‘Yaaraana’, “Bishan Cha Cha Kuch Gaayoâ€, Rafi Saab sings the song effortlessly to match the mighty and robust Amjad Khan on screen. Though Kishore rendered all the songs, but here it is only Rafi Saab who can do justice to the character. Rajesh makes the write choice here. In the duet “Kya Mausam Hai Aye†sung by Kishore-Lata, Rafi Saab makes a late entry at a very high scale for Shashi Kapoor. Shashi Kapoor once again brings back the ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’ joy and thrill. Rajesh Rohan brings the best out of all three singers. A mind-blowing duet with Lata “Mujeh Chu Rahi Hai†is unforgettable. Here like other music composers Rajesh Roshan also uses Rafi Saab at higher scale compared to Lata.
A song from Man Pasand “Logon Ka Dil†is also great, where Rafi sings for Dev Anand along with Tina Munim. Dev Anand almost parted ways with Rafi in early 70s after marvelous contribution to his films produced under the Nav Ketan banner in 1950s and 60s. Perhaps this is the only song Rafi Saab sang for Dev Anand in the late 70s. But Dev Anand gave an excellent tribute to Rafi Saab on his death in 1980 on the Mumbai Doordarshan. A mind-blowing duet with Lata from the film ‘Kaala Pathar’ “Ankhon Mein Teri Masti Ke Phere†defines lovers the best. Again here Rafi Saab sings for Shashi Kapoor. Moving ahead there are duets sung with Sulakshna Pandit, “Ghadi Milan Ki Aayi†is a fun song; with Anuradha Paudwal, “Qayamat Hai Qayamat Hai†and the one with Usha Mangeshkar, “Are Hey Unchi Unchi Baanto Seâ€. Both songs are from ‘Mr. Natwarlal’. In the duet with Usha Mangeshkar again Rafi sings at a much higher pitch and sings for Big B matching his enthusiasm on screen perfectly. A Rafi-Kishore duet in ‘Duniya Meri Jeb Mein’, “Hum Ne To Mangi Hai†indeed signifies the love between to two legends.
There is another unforgettable number from ‘Kuwara Baap’ where Rafi Saab sings along with the comedian Mehmood. The song is “Saj Rahi Gali Meriâ€, has inspired many eunuchs to sing for any newborn baby celebrations all over India. Eunuchs mainly surive singing such songs. Mehmood who plays a serious character in the film puts the right emotions along with Rafi Saab to match the situation perfectly. Full credit goes Rajesh Roshan for creating such a marvelous gem. The ‘Kuwara Baap’ brought recognition for Rajesh as a music composer. Mehmood also needs to be credited for having a big heart to give break to many new comers, who later became super stars.
A tribute from Rajesh Roshan
“I really miss him. People complain that present-day music is not up to the mark, but then where are the singers who could, like Rafisaab did, enhance a song four-fold? You can listen to Rafisaab throughout the day and get tremendous peace of mind.I remember he never took a song back on tape to learn it, but remembered it completely by heart, even if the recording was a week later, as happened with ‘Chal kahin door nikal jaaye…’ (Doosara Aadmi). He would just write out the words on a piece of paper and would be perfect in all the small detailing on the day of the recording. When I went for rehearsals to his house, he would lift the harmonium himself from its place and refuse to let me or anyone else do it for him. When you entered his house, it was like entering a temple. To my surprise, my hand would automatically touch the marble of his gate and then go to my head!”
A tribute from Udit Narayan
“I admire all our great singers, but to me Rafisaab is the ultimate. I could not believe my luck when Rajesh Roshanji gave me my first break with a song in which I sang live with my idol -I felt blessed, especially after Rafisaab told me not to be nervous as he too had felt the same way at his first few recordings! Even today I try to emulate his great qualities, like his soothing voice that was as pure and as unadulterated as crystal-clear water. Yes, I am proud to say that I come from the Mohammed Rafi school.”
Mr.John (Post No.44)
Well said sir. few points which i am aware of.
a) mohd rafi was giving performance in shanmukhananda hall and yesudas after a song came to the stage; touched rafi saahebs feet and said “what i am today everything i owe to rafi ji. i started my career singing rafi songs including oh duniya ke rakhwale and its malayalam translation with the same tune”.
b) yes. there was a rehearsal at a studio and rafi, yesudas and ravindra jain were together for the song rehearsal. the rehearsals were done and then the song abandoned. even yesudas is not aware of the movie name. he remembers , there was a photo session and he is now trying to get hold of the “same pictures” even today if available.
c) recently yesu sang bhagwan song in a paramount aircraft at madras for the benefit of sanjiv rajput – a rafi fan and paramount airways flt.purser. yesudas also wrote a letter in a paramount letter-head to us at the rafi foundation for forming and leading a true fan club at various places.
i have not met das chettan for some years now and i look forward to hear about one more subject from yesudas about mohd rafi – his mansik guru and our most favoured singer.
binu nair, rafi foundation, mumbai, binus2000@hotmail.com
I AM VERY SURPRISED THAT IN THE ARTICLE RAFI SAAB & USHA KHANNA ,99 % OF THE MAILS ARE NOT ON THE SUBJECT.
ATLEAST SOME BODY AS LEARNED AS MOHAN FLORAJI SHOULD HAVE REMINDED ABOUT `NISHAN`,`EK PAHELI`, `AAO PYAR KAREN`AND OTHER USHA KHANNA FILMS LIKE `SAJAN BINA SUHAGAN`ETC.
john,
why would ravindra jain feel that rafi & yesudas couldn’t do justice to a song together? i guess mds really took seriously the idea of similar voices. thanks for the snippet about yesudas’ rendition of o duniya ke rakhwale and rafi sahab congratulating him!
– Manish
Dear Rafians ,
I would like bring to the attention of all music lovers about what a great artist like DR. K.J Yesudas who still considers rafisaab as his idol has said . From his younger age itself yesudasji had tried to follow rafisaabs songs , and had admired at the way each song was sung. He says that the song o Duniya ke rakhwale in particular can be sung by one and only rafisaab.If a musical genius like yesudas who is a trained classical singer regards rafisaab as his idol , see the unreachable zenith where rafisaab stands. In his address to music lovers in rafisaabs documentary by Mr.N.P.Abu from kerala , yesudasji says how much infulence had there been on him by rafisaab,and how as a music student he used to listen to rafisongs near Theatres and Restaurants as he could not afford to buy a Radio those days. One can imagine how much of admiration and respect is there for him when we see this footage.
If you listen to some of the old malayalam songs in the mid sixties of yesudas , we can realise this . A few examples are Ezhuthiyathaaranu sujatha, shankhupushpam from shakuntala, maranadevanoru varam koduthaal from Vithukal, innale mayangumbol..from Anweshichu Kandethiyilla, thaaamasamende .. from Bhargavi nilayam, Aaadiyi vachanamundayi.. etc to quote a few. but it should be noted equally that yesudasji never tried to imitate his voice. If you listen to almost all the early songs of yesudas you can feel this infulence.
In a interview given to a malayalam periodical long before yesudasji recollected the first time he happened to meet rafisaab. He said that it was his one of the dreams to meet his idol when he started his career in film singing in 1961. One day in the mid 70s at his madras residence an unfamiliar voice came over asking to meet him in Bombay. The person who called was MD Ravindrajain . He said yesu should come to Bombay for a recording and in the movie called chitchor the MD has intention to do a duet with rafisaab along. Yesudas who had admired rafisaab ( he still do ) all his life as his MAANASA GURU couldnt believe his ears and was stunned at the offer. What ravindrajain said was that ..Let India hear both Ganga and Yamuna flowing together.Anyhow the two thespians met for the first time at Rvindrajains residence for rehearsal. When he entered ravijis room he couldnt believe what he was seeing and there was Rafisaab sitting in a corner smiling at him.Yesudas later said that his happiness knew no bounds and for the first few minutes there was perfect silence out of happiness and excitement. Rafisaab a humble human being came up to yesu and shook hands and holded his hands for a few minutes as though he was also overjoyed to meet.They both practiced but the MD came to the conclusion that two melodious male voices cannot do justice to his song and hence the project was dropped. Yesudas said he later got a few chances to meet rafisaab but it is the meeting at Ravindarjains place tha occupies a special place in his fond memory . Yet another surprise was that sometime in late 70s when yeudas was performing live at bombays shanmukhananda hall singing O duniyake rakhwe..after the song was over rafisaab came to the stage and hugged the singer. Yesudas was least aware that rafisaab had come to the place for some other reason, and happened to hear yeudas singing the song.
One can imagine the excitement he must have experinced .
For only Raja Saab songs click here!
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/hindi_bollywood/s/movie_name.1667/
Dear Anmol and other friends,
Hear Raja Saab and other songs here!
Just click on the song you want to hear
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/s?q=mohd.rafi&i=17&f=&s=&o=375
Shambu ji’s reminder of Rafi’s melodious songs in Raja Saab are refreshing in so called lean phase popularity wise.
Most of us respect and adore Rafi and Kishore alike. I watched very well compiled video of Kishore Sahab on his site. I realize that Kishore has fan following which is relatively younger than Rafi Sahab’s and perhaps more into computers. Could someone more knowledable than me come up with similar video of Rafi Sahab’s life time or direct me to such existing video.
Harvinder
harveys46@yahoo.com
dear friends,
I will give u the list of songs for RAJA SAAB,
1. RAJU KA HAI EK KHAWB RAJU RAJA RAJA SAAB.
2. TU JUNGLE KI MORNI DE MAIN BAAGHAN DA MOR.
3. KAL RAAT WALI MULAQAT KE LIYE HAR BAAT KE LIYE MAAF KIJIYE.
4. RAJU KA THA EK KHWAB RAJU RAJA RAJA SAAB.(sad mood).
there is one more song which I not remember at the moment which is sing by pour guy Raju(Shashi)in the moviea. when I want to remind this song, another song is coming on my mind which is from BOOT POLISH(TUMHARE HAIN TUMSE DAYA MANGTE HAIN),
MAYBE SOMEBODY CAN HELP.
Dear Shambu,
Thanks for the compliment. I haven’t listened to the songs of Raja Saab, certainly they must be really good. Thanks of the input.
thanx anmol bhai for the great job,I think there is one movie we have to mention in which music is composed by Kalyanji Ananadji , shashi was on screen and rafi singed gr8 hits,the movie is RAJA SAAB.
Sorry guys,
Taken for a ride by the site above!
Hear Rafisaab live here!
http://www.dishant.com/album/Mohd_Rafi_-_Live_Round_The_World.html
Dear Friends/Rafians,
H A P P Y D I W A L I, I D , G U R U P A R B G R E E T I N G S !
RAFI SAHAB HAD GLORIOUS SONGS WITH USHA KHANNA AND THESE TURNED OUT TO BE GREAT HITS. EVEN DURING THE EARLY 70S THE SONGS OF HAWAS,DADA,ETC WERE REGULARLY PLAYED IN THE RADIO.
WITH KALYANJI ANANDJI INSPITE OF MANOJKUMAR MAHENDRA KAPOOR COMBO U HAVE MENTIONED SOME GREAT HIT COMBINATION OF RAFI SAHAB AND KA.
P.Narayanan
mohanfloraji,
pl. suggest website , for downloading the rare songs of rafi sahab, that are not available @ music stores, if you know.
mohan hanamsagar,
wishing all the mohd.rafi sahab fans, “HAPPY DIWALI”
God made one earth and one Mohd Rafi
fRIENDS,
Rediff Managing editor Arthur J Pais is naive! He doesn’t understand what he says be’cos he just had to fill up the pages of a follow up article! Next time he does a follow up article he should do research.
Indian film music reached its richest heights with Rafi. Be’cos once having tasted Rafi neither the mass nor the stars or the musicians wanted to leave Rafi.Even if they did leave, they returned back to him! And all this is proved by their rush towards him in the late seventies after a lull of a few years. BR Chopra HAD to take Rafisaab for the title songs of WAQT ,DASTAAN and many of the Chopra films. Mahendra Kapoor was a protege of Rafi and it was Rafi who introduced Mahendra and wanted the Chopras to take interest in the kid(as told by Chopra himself in a Radio Mirchi program) Rafisaab was the giving kind,loko!
Rediff India Abroad Managing Editor Arthur J Pais argues that Rafi was the most worshipped singer of his time, unwittingly at the expense of singers like Talat Mahmood and Manna Dey’s careers.
It is wonderful to hear 85-year-old Manna Dey, himself a singing legend, talk about how honoured India is to have had a singer like Mohammad Rafi. It is nice to hear the much younger Sonu Nigam talk about Rafi — who died in July 1980 — and his heritage. “Not only did I dream of becoming a singer because of Rafisaab,” he told me the other day, “I also feel he was and will always be the giant of the musical scene in India.”
But it is certainly not a nice thing to hear that Rafi did not get his due in his own country, and that he had to be content with a Padma Shri while his contemporary Lata Mangeshkar was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian accolade.
Even as one factors in the absurdity inherent in giving out awards including the Oscars — Alfred Hitchcock never got one and Martin Scorsese is still waiting for his — one ought to note that Rafi had received his Padma Shri in 1965. Lata received a higher award, the Padma Bhushan, but after four years. She received the Bharat Ratna in 2001. Rafi had long passed into the ages by then.
Lata is among very few musicians including M S Subbulakshmi who have received the Bharat Ratna. Does that mean other eminent musicians like Ravi Shankar, Balamurali Krishna, Bhimsen Joshi or Bade Ali Ghulam Khan did not win sufficient recognition in India?
Rafi was a singing meteor of his time. Just a dozen songs from films like Baiju Bawra, Kohinoor and Guide assures him immortality.
And yet, with virtually every composer and singer worshipping him, especially between 1950 and 1970, he got an undue number of songs to sing and unwittingly hurt the careers of contemporaries like Manna Dey, Talat Mahmood, and to a lesser degree, Hemant Kumar.
He was overexposed to such an extent that some of his songs, especially in films like Aman (composed by Shankar-Jaikishen) and Palki (composer: Naushad Ali) sounded overstretched and over dramatic. And yet some of the most eminent composers including S D Burman were afraid to tell the producers and the stars, especially Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and Dharmendra, that there were other good singers.
One can count the number of songs Manna Dey sang for Burman; it is another story that those few songs — Poocho Na Kaise in Teri Surat Meri Aanken turned out to be milestones.
Even when Kishore Kumar became a phenomenon with his songs in Aradhana (1970) and monopolised the musical scene for two decades, Rafi was not sidelined. He sang lovely numbers like Kya Hua Tera Wada and Chura Liya for R D Burman even as Kishore hogged the scene. Producers like Nasir Hussain and Manmohan Desai preferred Rafi to Kishore, and older actors like Dharmendra were in Rafi’s camp.
I don’t remember ever reading or hearing that Rafi, who was known for his impeccable courtesy and great humanity, felt the least discomfort when Kishore Kumar monopolised the Hindi film music scene.
As one listens to some of the great singers of that era including Manna Dey, Talat Mahmood and Mukesh, one wonders why they did not get more songs.
“There were many occasions I thought of using Manna Dey for my songs,” composer Ravi told me two years ago, quickly adding that he was in awe of Rafi’s voice. “But the actors often demanded Rafi.” The few songs Manna Dey sang for Ravi in films like Waqt and Ek Phool Do Maali have become classics.
One producer to resist the We-must-have-Rafi syndrome was B R Chopra. He gave Mahendra Kapoor a good break in Gumrah and repeated him in many films including Dastaan, which featured Dilip Kumar who was beholden to Rafi.
Indian film music would perhaps have been richer had composers ranging from Madan Mohan to O P Nayyar to Salil Choudhury to S D Burman shown a stronger independent streak and nourished the singing career of other singers.
Dear Anmol,Sagar, Mehtab,Murad, Nair, Venkat_brahma, Narayan/Kalyani and other friends/Rafi fans,
It is heartening to see such good response to the subject of Rafi and his music. Even though we have had good articles before in this site (some of you ,I am sure, have not gone thru’ the full archives) it is only now that we are getting a whole lot of response and discussion on a regular basis. It is only due to the fact that there are true rafians amongst us who want
to see good indian music progress. Frankly, I am a RAFI ADDICT! B’cos even though the Rajesh Khanna/Kishore Kumar hit me when I was just starting engineering in 1973 , I know the effect the new music had on a Rafi bhakt. I also became a regular listener to the Binaca Geet Mala(many of you don’t know what it was) to hear if there was a new Rafi song on the countdown. I did enjoy Rd/KK but I knew Something was missing! I went into sporadic musical depression until PRATIGYA happened! Dharmendra singing Main Jatt Yamla Pagla Deewana. The euphoria it created among my college friends I knew Rafisaab would be back! Yaadon ki Baaraat and Laila Majnu followed and then it was avalanche Rafi. LP were always there.RD followed suit to show that Rafisaab was Hum Kisise Kum Nahin! And the rest is HISTORY!
I would like to know from you fans ways in which we can pass on Rafisaab’s legacy to the next generation.
Anmol, we need guys like you who can dedicate their time and spirits to this cause.
I know Sagar and Unknown_1 are Rafi fanatics. Please divert your energies to the enhancement of Rafiana.Narayana/Kalyani are well into Rafi. Let’s all meet together with all others here at this site or anywhere! in an effort to delve more into the music of the Golden Era fronted by Rafisaab. My support in all spheres is sure!
Dear Sagar,
Thanks for your comments. Indeed Rafi Saab is worth for such a dedication.
Anmol Singhji,
I am very happy that I could be able to see video clips of Rafisahab. I have seen him first time in video though I am listening his songs when I was just 14 yrs old. I would be more happy if more video clippings could be available. Thanks again for your effort.
Hi Venkat,
Thanks for the update on Usha Khanna. There will be many surprises in the coming parts. Enjoy !!!!! 🙂
MOHAMMED RAFI is one lucky man in history. The adoration for this legendary singer, who died 26 years ago, is phenomenal by all standards. Accepted by the connoisseur and the layman alike, Rafi’s posthumous fame has been greater than what he enjoyed during his lifetime. Rafi fans outnumber those of any contemporary singer.
The songs of Rafi are known not only for their achievements in music but also for their lyrical richness. Rafi belonged to the golden age of Hindi lyrics, when the likes of Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra, Kaifi Azmi, Hazrat Jaipuri and Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badayuni were in full form.
A Rafi song leaves in the mind of the listener a feeling of goodness and love. His immortality lies not merely in the huge number of songs to which he lent his voice, but also in the way he approached each of his 26,000 songs.
A glimpse of Rafi’s humility was seen during his long spat with Lata Mangeshkar over the issue of royality to singers.
While Lata contended that singers should also receive royality on songs they have sung throughout their lives, Rafi took the stand that when singers do not share the losses of music companies, they should not look to share the profits either.
“Basically Rafi’s point was that a singer should just sing for the love of singing and not be motivated by monetary benefits,” said Manohar Iyyer of KEEP ALIVE, a Mumbai based organisation working to maintain the interest of the public in vintage Bollywoods’ legendary musical contribution.
“The love for the singer was visible when Shanmukhananda Hall(Mumbai’s biggest public concert hall) was packed for a concert held on the eve of Rafi’s 25th death anniversary despite the city just recovering from the last week’s flash-floods.”
However both singers put their personal issues aside and came back together to give us more songs to last a lifetime and beyond!
Rafi was the voice of film’s story, script and characters. Almost all music directors used Rafi’s voice to give life and a magical quality to their tunes. Rafi used to build concept about the actors for whom the songs were recorded and went to great lengths to change his style to suit the actor and the scene. He dubbed his voice as emotion that the song was expected to present in character, story and situation. It was said in the world of Bombay’s film industry that no one had ever heard of a music director saying that a particular song was not Rafi’s type. From classical tunes, gazals, quawalis to the wild ‘yaahoo’ style songs, Rafi’s range was fantastic
Rafi and Lata gauging each others feelings after the spat in this song!
http://66.45.233.12/Yuhi_Tum_Mujh_Se_SACHA_JHUTHA.mp3
Anmol Bhai,
A nice write-up once again. In the context of Usha Khanna, one song that needs to be mentioned is “Ham Jab Chale To” from Hum Hindustani. This song is one of those stylish songs of Rafi Saab and can be compared to “Lakhon Hai Nigaahon Me” or Usha’s own stylish compositions in Dil Deke Dekho.
When the recording of “Pyaar Ki Kasam Hai” (Dil Deke Dekho) was taking place, Usha was not satisfied with the way Rafi Saab was saying “Ohhhh Ohhhoho, Ohhhh Ohhhoho” in the antara. He, it seems, was saying it plainly and Usha wanted that ‘jerk and drag’ in that bit. He then perfectly delivered what Usha wanted. In fact, if one hears the antara of this song attentively, one can easily understand what Usha wanted.
Hope you are also touching upon Iqbal Quereshi, G.S.Kohli, Babul, C.Arjun, Sajjad Hussein, Lachhiram,etc.
Venkatadri
Dear Anmol Sir,
You have thoroughly made all of us re-think the real music and I mean I dont find words to thank you for this great work…. inspite of your tremendous busy schedule you have shown this dedication… I can just stand up and give u a real musical salute.
Regards
Sagar
hi anmol
I liked to hear the tributes given to rafisaab on his death in 1980 on mumbai doordarshan. is there anyway you could post them.
thanks
hi anmol
I liked to hear the stars give tribute to mohd.rafi on his death in 1980 on
the mumbai doordarshan. Is there anyway you could post them.
Thanks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3SdHNvO_Ig&mode=related&search=
Hi Anmol,
Your article made me so nostalgic that I started browsing the net to hear songs of Rafisaab. You know what? Most of Rafisaabs well sung(even though all his songs are well sung!) and better songs are not on the net. Many of his songs which satisfy a music connoisseur or someone with a sweet/melodic/musical ear are from lesser known films. Music companies reissued songs from hit films then. Hit does not mean best! Most of the present generation of music lovers do not know the REAL RAFI. Rafisaabs best was in the 60’s even though many of his songs in the 70’s are classics. Many songs from the late 50’s and 60’s are somewhat “lost”. If they are “found” then only will present music enthusiasts know what music RAFIANA is all about! For whoever gets a taste of Rafi will never come out of the rafi nasha b’cos nothing else tastes good afterwards.
Sorry for the mix up in the song above(it was LP)
Here is 1980 Usha Khannahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3SdHNvO_Ig&mode=related&search=
Dear Unknow1 & Mohan,
Thanks for the compliments & the Rafi Saab’s live videos.
Another Usha Khanna score!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgKCnONw-qc&mode=related&search=
John Jani Janardan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO6BWFiIavc&mode=related&search=
During the course of my link with this site I have noted that there is not much traffic on the comments page on the weekends than during the week days. I have come to infer that most of the traffic is on weekdays because Computer lies in the office! I try to do some rafilinks during the weekends as that is mostly the time I have to browse on the computers-my job is such! I have noted many of my rafi links disappearing. I don’t know why? Sometimes, I find a link pertaining to Rafisaab which I want others on this site to know but it disappears. Maybe, I am wrong somewhere! Please let me know or else I will look elsewhere to enhance my attachment to Rafi!
RD Burman’s first song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXpShFw3xPY&mode=related&search=
Usha Khanna’s first song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OVq-xxpDM
Usha Khanna’s first song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OVq-xxpDM
RdBurman’s first songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXpShFw3xPY&mode=related&search=
Sorry friends!
Bothering you guys this last one time with the first songs ever of RD Burman and Usha Khanna. B/W movies both!
RDB-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXpShFw3xPY&mode=related&search=
Usha-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OVq-xxpDM
Did Rafisaab and Amitabh match? See for yourself!
CLICK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9b_zQi4Bac&mode=related&search=
Close up of Rafisaab performing live!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bffnPbYg1BQ&mode=related&search=
I don’t know why some of my other song links did not appear on this comments page. I hope I am not hurting the site admin.
Watch the songs that brought RDBurman to the fore,Rafi’s perfect match on Shammi Kapoor, Asha on Helen and also, see a glimpse of Salman Khan’s Dad,Salim(of Salim-Javed fame) on the drums!
1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-c7GVt-qO0&mode=related&search=
2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G-YM-jm6hs
3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJdfixg6TQ&mode=related&search=
The Tum Bin Jaoon Kahan songs! with Shashi Kapoor
1.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59syU2ADsA8&mode=related&search=
2.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcO7EMOGWNc&mode=related&search=
and now-the first song and movie for Usha Khanna!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OVq-xxpDM&mode=related&search=
Want to see Rafisaab live with Mehmood and Sharda?
If yes then click here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTfDOWcpijA&mode=related&search=
Contrary to the media view/image, Rafisaab and Kishore Kumar were good friends. Other than Rafi playbacking for Kishore in the late 50’s and early 60’s in movies like Ragini,Shararat,Baghi Shehzada,Pyar Deewane etc,etc,, it was Rafi who encouraged KK to do stage shows to get him off the taxing problems with the IT dept. Rafi took just a token Ruppee 0ne to sing two songs for KK’s production Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi, agreed to sing the one liner “Zindagi to bewafa hai” to top KK’s Rote Hue Aate Hain Saab in Muqadar Ka Sikandar-No wonder KK had Rafi’s big photograph at the entrance to his bungalow! Among the many songs that the duo sang in the 50’s,60’s and 70’s, here are two from the 8o’s.
Listen to http://66.45.233.12/Salamat_Rahe_Dostana_Hamara___I_Dostana.mp3
and
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/X4xmuRok49.As1NMvHdW/
thanks Sir Mohanflora
Please listen to “Tu Is Tarah” sung by Rafisaab music Usha Khanna 1980s song
http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/pJXmmJ3M59.As1NMvHdW/
Another nice article, Anmol. Thanks!
The song”Mere Mitwa Mere Meet” is from the film Geet.
Another video clip for Rafi fans to enjoy.
http://www.sangeetmahal.com/media/video/HOF_Video_Rafi_FilmFare.rm
great job sir.
I proud that I am Mohd Rafi fan.