Rafiji’s Do Pehlu Geets
This article is written by Mr. H.V.Guru Murthy.
Mohammed Rafi Saab showed his versatility and genius whenever he was posed a challenge. While singing “Do Pehlu” songs, i.e. same song sung by two different Singers separately or two different versions, Rafiji almost always came out triumph.
Let us first consider Rafi and Lata Do-Phehlus. The “Mere Mehaboob†title song was sung by both Rafi and Lata. Without belittling the talent and contribution of Lata, one can still notice that Rafi could put some thing extra, some pathos, some more feelings, something much more extra in his version and the male version became a huge hit. The picturisation was also superb with Rajendra Kumar standing on stage and in front of a mike and singing the song continuously containing five stanzas. The expression on the faces of Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana coupled with Rafiji’s voice has made this song one of the best ever picturised song on Indian Film screen. In the “Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai†title song, how many remember Lata’s number, but Rafiji’s song became a hit what with Dev Anand singing on top of a Jeep under the direction of Nazir Hussain. Similarly “Taj Mahal†had ‘Jo Wada Kiya Wo’, both versions duets and both became real hits. “Taqdeer†had ‘Jab Jab Bahar Aayi’ and though both versions became hits, Rafi number always appeared to be superior. How many remember Lata’s version of ‘Taqdeer Ka Fasana’ in “Sehraâ€, but Rafi’s version was a classic, even today very fondly remembered after more than four decades. Similarly, in “Aayee Milan Ki Belaâ€, we had ‘Tum Kamsin Ho’, but Rafi version was definitely more popular. In “Ishara†starring Joy Mukherjee and Vyjayantimala, these two great singers sang ‘Dil Bekarar Sa Hai’, but Rafi’s version was definitely better. Similarly in “Sajan†title song, though Lata’s version was more popular, Rafi’s version was sung in a unique way for Manoj Kumar. In “Pagla Kahin Ka†– ‘Tum Muzhe Yun’, the male version was a bigger hit. We also had ‘Aaj Kal Me Dhal Gaya’ in “Beti Beteâ€, but every one knows that Rafi’s song was superb and a bigger hit. Similarly, in “Abhilasha†we had ‘Vadiya Mera Daman’ but the melody of Rafi’s version is missing in Lata’s version. Also the title song of “Barsaat Ki Raatâ€, Rafi’s song became a superhit. “Taqdeer†had ‘Jab Jab Bahar Aayee’ but Rafi’s version became a bigger hit. “Junglee†had ‘Ehsaan Tera Hoga Muzhpar’, “Aarjoo†had ‘Aji Humse Bachkar’, “Raaj†had ‘Akele Hain Chale Aao’, “Love In Tokyo†had ‘O Mere Chahe Khuba’, “Pagla Kahin Ka†had ‘Tum Muzhe Yun’, “Chirag†had ‘Teri Aankhon Ke Siva’, “Yakeen†had ‘Gar Tum Bhulana Doge’, but one could easily notice that Rafi’s version had some thing extra.
The “Yadon Ki Baraat†title song had two versions one by Lata and the other by Rafi and Kishore, but the second versions became much more popular especially the way Rafi enters the song mid-way. Incidentally this particular song was picturised in a memorable way by Director Nazir Hussain.
With Asha, Rafi had ‘Aap Se Pyaar Hua’ in “Abroo†of MD Sonik Omi, but Rafi version was much more popular than Asha version. In Raj Kumar – Leena Chandavarkar starrer, RD had Rafi and Asha singing ‘Sundar Ho Aisi Tum Jidhar Chalo Ekbaar’, but the male version was a bigger hit.
With Sharada, Rafi had ‘Hum Ko To Barbad Kiya Hai’ from “Gunahon Ka Devtaâ€, of course the Sharada number was no where near that of Rafiji’s. People must have heard over Radio Sharada’s hit song ‘Sun Sun Sunore Balam’ from “Pyaar Mohabbatâ€, but if anyone has seen the movie, he will definitely remember equally good but short version of Rafi with only Mukhda and no Antara. Even the song from “Maa Behen Aur Biwi†– ‘Achcha Hi Hua Dil Toot Gaya’, one could notice Rafiji’s superiority.
Suman Kalyanpur also had a song with Rafi in “Jab Jab Phool Khile’ – ‘Pardesiyon Se Na’, but Rafi version became a top hit. Similarly the title song of “Suhana Safarâ€, Rafi version became a much bigger hit. “Jee Chahta Hai†starring Joy Mukherjee and Rajashree had a Do Pehlu title song, one sung by Rafi and the other a duet by Rafi and Suman, both versions became hits.
The Rafi version of the song ‘Agar Bewafa Tuzhko Pehchane Jaate’ became a top hit song as compared to the female version of Krishna Kalle.
Rafi and Kishore had ‘Tum Bin Jaoon Kahan’ from “Pyaar Ka Mausamâ€. Kishore had his favourite MD RD and had full scope in picturisation as well as other nuances, but Rafi was able to match him with his much more melodious version. In fact, the movie also had a third version sung by Rafi (sad Piano version) apart from the two happy Guitar versions. Rafi and Kishore again had ‘Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana’ from “Andaazâ€. Of course, Kishore version became a big hit with its beautiful picturisation Rajesh Khanna singing the song on top of a Byke, but people who have seen the movie and listened to Rafi’s slower version always felt cheated that not much opportunity was given to Rafi. Almost similar is the case in “Muqaddar Ka Sikandar†title song.
The “Brahmachari†Lori ‘Main Gaoon Tum So Jao’ had both happy and sad versions sung by Rafi and both became hits. In fact, Rafiji was awarded Filmfare award for this song. The “Shahid†number, ‘Ae Watan Ae Watan’ also had two versions both sung by Rafi, one slightly faster than the other but both became gems clearly demonstrating the genius that was Rafi.
Rafi had something extra which other Singers lacked. He also could come out with something special in each song which after listening one felt that only Rafiji could do justice to such songs.
no mention of unreleased `black prince`tandem ,`nighaen na phero`by badshah and suman kalyanpur and `kaanch aur heera`tandem `nazar aati nahin manzil`by rafi saab & chandrani mukherjee`.even `shabab(1954)
music`naushad saab had a tandem `marna teri gali mein`by rafi saab & lata.
i will once again request murthy saab ,the real diamonds of rafi saab are from 1955-65 period,please write more on them in your articles.
NO MENTION OF `YUN TO HAMNE LAKH HASEEN DEKHA`BY BADSHAH & ASHA BHONSLE (AVAILABLE IN MOVIE ONLY).CLEARLY BADSHAH IS THE BADSHAH.
Gurumurthy ji:
Rafi had something very special in which ever songs he sung…
He added that extra flavour – to the songs immortalising them….
Once a die-hard fan of Talat conceded that RAFI is indeed a great
singer….. the fan happened to be my dear father who is no more –
a great fan of saighal, talat and manna dey he was…
binu..
Dear friends,
Do you remember : Kishore da was ousted by Navketan films
during the sixties…There were only rafi songs then in dev films.
The reason was Kishores pranks and may be rigid payment terms.
Then tragedy struck kishore when the govt sent him to gaol on
income tax concealment matters. Poor guy…
Out of sympathy,, Navketan brought back a bankrupt Kishore Kumar..
which paved for a renewed association with dev…
fate, tragedy and luck always followed the mercurial Kishore Kumar..
binu nair
Hi Siraj and my friend Prakash shah
I will definitely speak to Dev saab on the legend but there is
a good piece of news here for rafians from dev himself…
Dev saab gives great importance to rafi saab : He said to a friend
an editor of a daily: Whenever I hear rafi saabs songs i get
mesmerised : even today… I can never forget rafi….. More..
at a govt function by the punjab govt : dev said : rafi i cant ever
forget… dev was elder to rafi saab by a year .
rafians dear : the world will never forget rafi except some selfish
industry wallahs and industry-wallis ( mainly two of them who
could not stand rafi saabs popularity. ) they used music composers
tooo in their games and I will name them here… C.Ramchandra and
r.d.burman…..
the world will never forget the legend singer rafi saaab- who has
enriched our lives – in great measure.
binu nair
Mr Siraj I also observe that Dev Saab in hiseach and every interview he has been ignoring Rafi Saab, always he promotes Kishor and even he didnt take name of Rafi Saab in his interview while he counts many names of singer and music directors
magicmaster_007@yahoo.com
Binu i hope that at the time of meeting on 26th sept.07 to dev , kindly ask him on behalf of me refering sirajs letter that does he has any gratitude towards our rafiji or not in built up of his carear or not, and how he rank rafiji and kishoreda as per his own experiance.
attn. Mr. Guru Murthy
Dear sir, the song “pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana” in movie “jab jab phool khile” was sung by Lata mangeshkar and not by suman kalyanpure.
Hope this will work as an amendment to your article.
Hello Sirajbhai,
Infact Dev saab also paid rich tributes to our legend Rafi Sahab by mentioning that ‘Burmanda his favourite musician always preferred Rafi Saab for all the melodious compositions in so many films making me the most romantic hero’.
Thank u Rafi sahab u r the best
Hello my fellow Indians, rafiansand Hindi music lovers
I read with great interest all the various comments about the talent of this great icon,Mohammed Rafi. In a nutshell, Mohammed Rafi was the “BAADSHAH OF PLAY BACK SINGERS”, as suggested by Jagjit Singh-the present day Ghazalist.
However there were some comments like”Kishore! who is Kishore!”. This is, to put it kindly,CHILDISH. Kishore Da, when he was given serious songs to sing, did so admirably and with great finesse. But I digress. The main reason which has driven me to write this is as follows.
Last year, on my 58th birthday, my wife and children bought me 6 music CD compilations from Sa Re Ga Ma in the “Legends” series; namely those of Rafi,Lata,Kishore,Mukesh,Aasha and for some reason Dev Anand(by the way each of these costs £36 here in the U.K. but only Rs.1000 in India=less then £12!!). Each of these compilations contain 5 CD’s with a selection of songs spanning the carreer of the artist concerned, and a booklet…………………..
IN THE CASE OF DEV ANAND,HIS BOOKLET HEAPS UNRESERVED PRAISE FOR THE TALENTS OF KISHORE DA – RIGHTLY SO. BUT,,,,,,THERE ISN’T A SINGLE WORD OF PRAISE FOR MOHAMMED RAFI. READING THIS BOOKLET ONE GETS THE DISTINCT FEELING THAT DEVSAAB BLITHELY THINKS HE MADE MOHAMMED RAFI’S CARREER RATHER THEN THE OTHER WAY AROUND-THE SONGS BY RAFI ARE DEV ANAND’S RENDITION OF THE SONG!!!
Regards to one and all of you rafians out there. SIRAJ
RAFI SAHAB Is THE INSTITUTION AND THE REST ARE STUDENTS.
RAFI SAHAB IS THE OCEAN OF MUSIC WHILE THE REST ARE SMALL PONDS.
RAFI SAHAB IS THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION OF MUSIC WHERE THE REST JUST CAN HOPE TO REACH THERE IN VAIN.
RAFI SAHAB IS JUST THE MASTER AND THE REST ARE JUST PUPIL.
IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT…
A great article by Gurumurthy! I agree with all the posts. Indeed the great magician has outdone almost everyone in the do pehlu songs in which he was involved. I love the sweetness in the voice of Lataji but she does not even come close to Rafi Sahab in those do pehlu songs. I must point out though one do pehlu song which was sung by Rafi Sahab and Manna Da under the direction of that great music director Naushad for film Paalki.
“Mere ghar se pyar ki paalki chali gayee”
In my humble opinion Manna Da’s version has superior to Rafi Sahab’s version, even though both have rendered them superbly. That was the magic of a little friendly competition that resulted in two great versions of the same song.
Long live the memory and songs of Rafi Sahab!
Fellow Rafians,
This is my first time to the party. So let me introduce myself to all the fellow Rafians, whose posts I have read with great interest. It may seem a little pretentious but since nobody had taken the most obvious screen name, I thought I will take it. So allow me to call myself “Rafifan”.
I am a 56 years old man and I have been a Rafi fan ever since I could remember. I consider myself to be blessed that I was born and grew-up during the ‘golden era’ of the Indian music. We had music directors who were proud of their Indian heritage and drew their inspiration from the vast ocean of the Indian classical music. Naushad, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, O. P. Nayyar, Ravi, Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Usha Khanna are just a few names that illuminated the music world of Bombay films during this time. We had singing stars like Manna Dey, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Lataji, Asahji, Suman Kalyanpur and above all one star who shone brighter than all others that was our favorite singer – Rafi Sahab.
“Chand zarron ko hi milti hai zyae’ khursheed,
Chand tare hi chamkte hain sehar hone tak.”
One of our younger singers once said. “God has been partial to Rafi. He gave him such a beautiful voice.” I like to think that He has been partial to us (Indian music lovers) that He gave us such a great singer whose beautiful rendering of songs we have enjoyed all our lives. Rafi Sahab’s songs have brought happiness to our lives and made the tests of life a little bit easier to bear. He was very charitable in his life and his songs are like a Sadqae’ Jareeah (continuous charity) for all the music lovers.
MOST INDIANS SAY LATA IS THE GREATEST SINGER, BUT I WILL BE DIFFERING WITH THIS AS LONG I LIVE. TELL ME ONE SINGLE SINGER WHO CAN SING ALL TYPES? THAT’S ONLY RAFI. ANOTHER PLUS POINT IS HIS UNMATCHABLE SUPER VOICE. IT IS THE PERFECT MAN-VOICE, NOT TOO HARSH, NOT TOO THICK, NOR TOO THIN.
LATA COUDN’T AND STILL CAN’T SING ALL TYPES OF SONGS. IF YOU HEAR EHSAAN TERA HOGA MUJHPAR OR MAI KAMSIN HOON (FEMALE VERSION OF TUM KAMSIN HO) OR WADIYA MERA DAMAN AND OTHERS… THAT SUNG BY LATA OR ASHA AS THE FEMALE VERSION OF RAFI, THEY ARE WAY BELOW PAR RAFI.
NOW IF YOU LISTEN THE DUETS OF RAFI AND KISHORE, YOU CAN EASILY REALIZE WHO THE MORE VERSATILE ONE IS. RAFI OUTSUNG KISHORE EVERYTIME.
MANNA DAE WAS A GREAT GREAT SINGER. RAFI AND MANNA DEY SANG MANY SONGS TOGETHER, BUT ONE CLASSICAL SONG SUNG BY THE TWO, RAFI WAS SIMPLY BRILLIANT. MANNA DEY WAS GOOD BUT RAFI WAS TOP STANDARD. AND THE HARD PARTS OF THE SONG WAS SUNG BY RAFI.
there is no end of songs in which Mohd Rafis singed better than co-singer
Well written, great distinguish, amazing point you raised, not only dual solo but also in duet songs Rafi Saab sang how far better than his co-singer. The great example for that will be
Dil Tera Deewana Hai Sanam With Lata
Ajhun Na Aye Balam Sawan With Suman
e-mail address: nadeem_3310@yahoo.com
Well written, great distinguish, amazing point you raised, not only dual solo but also in duet songs Rafi Saab sang how far better than his co-singer. The great example for that will be
Dil Tera Deewana Hai Sanam With Lata
Ajhun Na Aye Balam Sawan With Suman
I am also his fan but under some circumstances I am going to sale his a large collection of 250 TDK audio cassette around 3000 songs are there
e-mail address: nadeem_3310@yahoo.com
Hi Guru,
Really ur guru, What a great comment u have described. This article shows the greatness of Rafi Sahab among all the singers and you have proved by this article. Actually there was no need to extend ur article only comparison with Lata was enough
Well said Binu sir,
Very happy to note that all the music lovers and fans are coming together to enjoy the heavenly music of the greatest maestro Rafi Sahab.
IAM INDEED INDEPTED TO THIS EXCELLENT DEDICATED WEBSITE OF OUR GURUJI RAFI SAHAB AND WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE ADMINISRATOR, THE ORGANISERS TO BRING US TOGETHER FOR A GREAT CAUSE OF LOVELY MUSIC.
ANOTHER ASPECT OF OUR ICON RAFI SIR IS THAT HE WILL COME IN THE MIDDLE OR THE LAST STANZA BUT DOMINATE THE DUET OR MATCH THE CO SINGER SO BEAUTIFULLY.
SINGERS LIKE SUMAN,SHARADA,MUBARAK,AARTHI,CHANDRANI,HEMLATA,KRISHNA KALLE,PUSHPA,DILRAJKAUR ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE SING WITH OUR LEGEND RAFI SIR AND ARE BLESSED BY SUPER HITS.
P.Narayanan 09886779557 bangaloreconsultancy@hotmail.com
Dear Rafi Saab lovers,
Today, I attended a function in Mumbai where Mr.Gopal Sharma
of Radio Ceylon launched his autobiography at the hands of
Padmashri Manoj Kumar. It was a great gathering of music lovers
where Mohd Rafi fans were seen in large numbers. From Ahm-
dabad our Umesh Makhija was there, apart from Kishore Makhwana,
and many others. Gopal Sharma took us to a musical journey
50 years back/ 40 years back, with his trademark stamp of
radio broadcasting.
Keep Alive – Manohar Iyer the commentator on hindi film history
gave a graphic account of hindi films development while
Manoj Kumar presented interesting anecdotes on Gopal Sharmas
broadcasting abilities.
THE ICING On THE EVENING CAKE WAS THE GETTING TOGETHER
OF RAFI FANS AND ADMIRERS FROM DIFFERENT CORNERS OF THE
CITY.
Balraj Sahni one of the greatest actors of the film industry was
honoured and Parikshat Sahni(son) and Chandrasekhar former hero
and actor promised all support to the activities of
RAFI MUSIC ACADEMY.
binu nair
binus2000@hotmail.com
Sir Hussein Sheikh
u r right jitni taarif karo kam hai….
Rafi Saab was NOT inclined to sing “Tu is tarah se meri zindagi me
shaamil hai” as Manhar Udhas had SUNG it so well , felt Rafi saab.
But the producer would not listen and implored Mohd Rafi to do it
in his style which the thespian agreed – reluctantly.
Afer the recording, the producer said : I needed this r e s u l t –
and needless to say – it became another piece of souvenir for
music lovers.
binu nair : binus2000@hotmail.com
Are mere unknow1 bhai, Rafi Saheb ki jitni taarif karo kam hai, jitna bhi likho kam hai, mere kehne ka matlab yehi hai…..
Sir Hussein,
as i think u r wrong that “RAFI SAHEB DARIYA HAI, BAQI SAARE SIRF BOONDE HAI†because Mohd Rafi is more than that and other are less than that when u compare them to Mohd Rafi……if we say to other singer they are A to Z but about Mohd Rafi can say 0 1 2 3 4 5 no end
“RAFI SAHEB DARIYA HAI, BAQI SAARE SIRF BOONDE HAI”
The song “Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein shaamil hai….”, sung separately by Rafi Saheb, Manhar Udhas and Hemlata. Listen to these songs turn by turn and make note that how Rafi Saheb rendered the song beautifully!
SUSHIL SAYS
GURUMURTHYJI FIRST OF ALL A GREAT ARTICLE. TANDEM SONGS HAVE ALAWAYS BEEN A POINT OF DEBATE FOR ALLL MUSIC LOVERS.
WHO SUNG IT BETTER
RAFISAHAB OR LATA, RAFISAHAB OR KISHORE BUT IT IS NEEDLESS TO MENTION THAT NO ONE CAN MATCH THE CLASS OF RAFISAHAB AS HE WAS A GENIOUS AND AN INSTITUTION BY HIMSELF.
TWO MORE SONGS NOT TANDEMS BUT SUNG WITH OTHERS
O HUMKO TUMSE HO GAYA HAIN PYAR KYA KARE – AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY.
SUNG BY KISHORE-MUKESH-RAFI. RAFISAHAB CLEARLY STANDS OUT AS THE BEST.
DILNE PHIR YAAD KIYA – SUNG BY MUKESH AND RAFISAHAB- AGAIN THE RAFISAHABS EMOTIONAL VOICE JUST DOMINATES MUKESHJI COMPLETELY.
REGARDS
RAFI FAN
DEAR RAFI FANS
FURTHER TO MY ABOVE COMMENTS , I AM JUST CLARIFYING THE SONG OF MAMTA – RAHEN NA RAHEN HUM.. IS ACTUALLY “DO PEHLU GEET” TOO- AS IT IS SUNG BY LATAJI ( IN SOLO VERSION ) AND RAFI SAHAB & SUMAN KALYANPUR ( IN DUET VERSION ) .
REGARDS/ A.T.M. SALIM.
THANKS A LOT MR. H.V. GURU MURTHYJI FOR THIS FINE ARTICLE AND ALSO THANKS TO ALL RAFI FANS FOR THEIR COMMENTS POSTED IN VIEW OF THIS ARTICLE !
I GET MORE PLEASURE WHEN RAFI SAHAB’S UNCOMMON / RARE SONGS ARE BEING DISCUSSED OR WRITTEN – AS IN THIS ARTICLE MENTION IS BEING MADE FOR THE SONGS OF – ABROO, GUNHAON KA DEVTA , PYAR MOHABBAT , ANDAZ, DIL KA RAJA , SUHANA SAFAR, ETC.
IN THIS CONNECTION , I AM MENTIONING THE FOLLOWING 3 SONGS TOO :
1) KITNI SHAM SUHANI AAYE HAI …. FILM: PASAND APNI APNI
( SUNG BY RAFI SAHAB AND ALSO
HEMLATA ) ;
2) CHANDA KO DHOODNE TARE NIKAL PADE… FILM : JEENE KI RAAH
( SUNG BY RAFI SAHAB AND ALSO ASHA BHONSLE & USHA MANGESHKAR);
3) RAHENA NA RAHEN HUM …. FILM : MAMTA
( SUNG BY RAFI SAHAB AND SUMAN KALYANPUR )
THIS 3rd SONG IS NOT RELEASED IN RECORD / CD YET BUT IT IS PRESENT IN THE FILM ONLY. THE SONG IS SO SWEETLY SUNG BY RAFI SAHAB THAT IT CAN’T BE EXPRESSED IN WORDS !
IT IS THE SIMILAR CASE LIKE THE SONGS OF PYAR KA MAUSAM & ANDAZ . THUS , THIS MAMTA NUMBER CAN ONLY BE HEARD IN THE FILM ONLY.
WITH BEST REAGRDS/A.T.M. SALIM.
Nice, enjoyable and full of truth article by Mr. H.V. Guru Murthy. As to my knowledge and thinking power, Lata is not even 50% to Rafi Saheb. The female version song ‘Agar Bewafaa tujho Pehchaan Jaate..’ is sung by Lata and not Krishna kalle, please make note! But this article made me very happy, I agree 100% the ‘do pehlu’ versions by Rafi Saheb are far-far better compared to other singers who sang the same versions! Please do not forget the ‘do pehlu’ song “Watan ki raah mein Watan ke naujawan Shaheed ho…” sung by Rafi Saheb together with Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and the 2nd version by Rafi Saheb alone which was much popular, there are many other ‘do pehlu’ songs by Rafi Saheb and others which are to be mentioned. I salut Rafi Saheb.
Hussein Sheikh hussssssein@yahoo.com
also don’t forget when Mohd Rafi enter to the song late,As said by RD that Mohd Rafi never tried to sing better than singer he singed with also he said that he singed his last song with Mohd Rafi and he said Mohd Rafi singed the way that I can sing with him and didn’t tried to sing better than me and he did with all singers
Salaam Mr. Guru Murthy
Is is a well known fact that no other singer could overcome Mohd Rafi Sahab. He was a King of Melody. Lata Mangeshker could never thought to sing like Mohd Rafi Sahab. Not even a single line. I read one acticle of Music Director Ravi said ” the song sung by mohd rafi, zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi wo barsaat ki raat was quite more popular than the song sung by lata mangeshkar.” Everytime rafi sahab has given his best to all music directors. Lata could never approach his voice. You can also see this fact in the song Tum bin Jaoon kahan and in a single line sung by rafi sahab zindagi ek safar hai suhana.
Rafi Sahab was great singer and great human being.
Well written article Guru Murthy,
It is great topic of research on a same song sung by Rafi and Lata. The Rafi version was always popular, of Lata was equally good.
There are fewl corrections. Rafi got the film fare for ‘Dil Ke Jharoke’. ‘Main Gaon Tum Sojaao’ was one of the nomination.
Regarding National Award, Rafi has won twice. One for ‘Jine Naaz Hai Hind Par’ and ‘Kya Hua Tera Wada’.
Dear H.V. Guru Murthy Sir,
It gives a great pleasure to every fan of Rafi Sahib that you touched the most essential part of the Great Accentor of India & everyone of us should feel proud of this distinctive quality of Rafi Sahib. Sir, you have made a mistake in your article as the female version of ‘Perdesiyon se na akhiyan milana’ was sung by Lata Mangeshkar and not by Suman Kalyanpur. Moreover, it was the greatness of Rafi Sahib that he became ready to the lighter versions of ‘Zindagi Ik Safar Hai Suhana’ & ‘Woh Muqaddar Ka Sikandar…..’. He never thought such type of things, he was absolutely dedicated to the music. Such examples are almost absent in the profiles of other singers. He always set an example in every field of Music.
Rafi Sahib was THE BEST, he is STILL GREAT & ‘ll remain always the OUTSTANDINGLY SPLENDID of the Bollywood Music. I am fully agreed with you as I wrote about it in a leading daily Punjabi ‘Desh Sewak’ on 26th July, 1996. Upon this prestigious website (i.e. mohdrafi.com) I pointed out the same topic on 27th September, 2006. Many responses were also recorded. I’m repeating the same for the further interaction and attraction of the fans of Rafi Sahib :-
mehtab Says:
September 27th, 2006 at 12:31 am
Dear Anmol Singh ji,
You have done an excellent job, Sir!. Your informative article has enriched my collection of articles about the distinctive singer of this planet i.e. Mohd. Rafi. Mohd Rafi.Com has provided a great platform for the fans of Rafi Sahib. Rafi Sahib can never be imitated. Really, he was greater than any other male or female singer of India. We can take a number of examples in this regard. e.g. ‘Dil jo na keh saka’ (Bhigi Raat), ‘Ehsan tera hoga mujh par’ (Junglee), ‘Tum mujhe yun bhula na paoge’ (Pagla Kahin Ka), ‘Rang aur noor ki barat kise pesh karun’ (Ghazal), ‘O mere shahe khuban’ (Love In Tokyo), ‘Taqdeer Ka fasana jaakar kise sunayen’ (Sehra), ‘Agar bewafa tujhe pehchan jate’ (Raat Ke Andhere Main), ‘Vadiyan mera daman’ (Abhilasha), ‘Pardesion se na ankhiyan milana’ (Jab Jab Phool Khile), ‘Teri ankhon ke siwa is duniya main rakha kya hai’ (Chiragh), ‘Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam’ (Mere Mehboob), ‘Tum kamsin ho nadan ho’ (Aai Milan Ki Bela), ‘O Jiya O Jiya Kuchh bol do’ (Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai), ‘Sajan Sajan pukaroon galiyon main’ (Sajan), ‘Aaj kal main dhal gaya’ (Beti Bete) —— All these songs have been sung by both Rafi Sahib and Lata ji. But all the versions of abovementioned songs, sung by Rafi sahib, has been proved a greater super hit than the Lata ji’s. It is a fact, that has been proved by the time and the public. All these fifteen songs of Rafi sahib can easily be heard at Radio and TV Channels frequently even nowadays. The new generation also knows these facts but alas! Rafi sahib has not been conferred awards like the Bharat Ratna or Dada Sahib Phalke etc.
I want to salute the millions of fans of Rafi sahib and want to meet them personally. please do contact me at ; I have so many projects about Rafi sahib in my mind & I want to implement those projects or plans.—- Mehtab
Anmol Singh Says:
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Dear Mehtab,
Thanks for your compliments. Most of the songs mentioned by you will follow in the fore coming articles which cover other music composers. Perhaps I would also like to get in touch with you. My email ID – anmol_india@hotmail.com
–MEHTAB (Chandigarh, India) +919815703226, E-Mail: mehtabmasih@yahoo.co.in
Great Research Sir. Mai Gaoon tum so jaao is a masterpiece of
the maestro. I presume it also won the National Award for
the best song for Rafi saab.
Mohd.Rafi could turn any disc in to pure gold and that s why we are
now discussing songs recorded 50, 40 and 30 years back.
binu nair
binus2000@hotmail.com