Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor composed by Shankar Jaikishan
By Souvik Chatterji
Rafi Sahab with Shankar and Shammi
Rafi had sung 341 songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan during his illustrious career with 216 solos. Very significantly 3 of the filmfare awards that Rafi received during 60s had been composed by Shankar Jaikishan. They included “teri pyari pyari surat ko kiski nazar na lage” from the film Sasural, “baharon phool barsao” from the film Suraj and “dilke jharoke me mujhko bithaker” from the film Brahmchari.
But in the list of songs sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, at least half of the total sungs were composed for Shammi Kapoor. Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan worked together for around 22 films, most of which did great business in the 60s.
If Rafi’s songs sung for Shammi Kapoor are remembered for the loud music and melo-dramatic dance numbers, there were lot of songs which were ever romantic and touched the hearts of the viewers. In the film Junglee, Rafi’s songs “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar” and “meri yaar shabba khair” had very melodious appeal and the sweetness of Rafi haunted the listeners for years.
In Shammi Kapoor’s Professor, the songs “awaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “mai chali mai chali”, probably had set the mood of the film. From that time Rafi, Shammi Kapoor and Shankar Jaikishan created magic in one film after the other. In Raj Kumar, Rafi’s soft numbers for Shammi Kapoor like “yeh rang badalti duniya me”, “tumne kisiki jaan ko jate hue dekha hai” made the viewers speechless.
Even the western numbers of Shankar Jaikishan for Rafi stole the hearts in the 60s. In the film Janwar, Rafi’s number “meri muhabbat jawan rahegi” and “humko hai tumse pyar” had been the most romantic songs in the film, where the landscape of Kashmir and Rafi’s melodious voice complimented each other. In the film An Evening in Paris, Rafi’s songs “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho” and “raat ke humsafar” were the most romantic numbers which were more melodious than the loud numbers which equally became hits.
Rafi Sahab with Shankar and Shammi
In Shammi Kapoor’s Brahmachari, probably the best songs included “mai gayun tum so jayo” and “dil ke jharoke mai”. “mai gayun tum so jayo” was sung twice by Rafi in the film, one with a even slower rhythm. Shankar Jaikishan’s background music was as brilliant as Rafi’s singing style for Shammi Kapoor. In the film Tumse Accha Kaun Hai, Rafi’s soft number “janam janam ka saath hai” had remained evergreen and melodious for years. In Latt Sahab, Rafi’s romantic number with Asha Bhosle titled “aye chaand zara ruk ja” haunted the listeners for years after years. Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan combined together in other films of Shammi Kapoor like Prince, Buttameez, Laat Sahab, Ujala, Chote Sarkar, Hong Kong, etc. There were many more romantic numbers of Rafi sung for Shammi Kapoor, which cannot be covered in a small article.
In Shammi Kapoor’s Jawan Muhabbat, the song “jawan muhabbat jahan jahan hai” was very romantic. The last film where Shankar and Jaikishan worked together for Shammi Kapoor included Andaz. The songs “dil use do jo jaan de de” and “re mamma re mamma re” were brilliant both in form and orchestration. It was very unfortunate that Jaikishan died in 1971,and after that Shammi Kapoor also added weight and switched to character roles in films like Zameer, Parvarish, etc. The magical combination of Shankar Jaikishan, Shammi Kapoor and Rafi ended and the era of romantic songs also suffered a set back.
Some section of listeners argue that Rajender Kumar probably received the more romantic numbers sung by Rafi and composed by Shankar Jaikishan, but Shammi Kapoor’s combination with Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was phenomenal which swept the youth and took them to a different inspite of Shammi Kapoor being called a rebel star and Shankar Jaikishan providing the most loud bomblastic numbers for Rafi.
The songs and the films of the legendary combination of Shammi Kapoor, Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan should be preserved.
Souvik Chatterji, the author of this article
I have been hearing Rafi Sahab since my childhood. Its been some 30-40 year since then and now I realize more and more what a melodious singer he was. I feel short of words to explain what a gem he was in this art of singing.
Thanks for this website and this article.
I am looking for a particular song a slow melody of Rafi/Shammi, don’t remember the lyrics, had heard that in childhood. Hope I will be successful in finding it 🙂
-Dev
AGAR TUM NA HOTE TO HUM KIS LIYE DHARTI PAR AATE…
very nice efforts n good collection of shammi + sj record
I enjoyed the article and it’s a great insight into the great man himself mohd rafi, and yes there is no comparison to him but yes to truly appreciate his immense talent that can only be done by listening to his amazing voice.
If I watch a shammi kapoor film I find myself saying what a perfect match mohd rafi was for shammi kapoors voice but then when I watch rajendra kumar and mohd rafi providing the voice for his film I find myself saying the same in fact to be honest whether it be pradeep kumar, raaj kumar biswajeet, dharmendra, jeetendra or shashi kapoor his beautiful voice suited them all. No words can ever be enough to describe mohd rafi’s great talent.
how can one condense rafi saheb’s singing range/abilities in an insignificant article. He was God’s gift to Bollywood, to all music lovers around the world. Just listen to his voice and enjoy. Do not waste time analysing his songs, style of singing, range, etc. I only pray and hope that I meet him in heaven and carry on listening to his soulful, amgical voice. GOD BLESS HIM for bringing so much joy into our lives.
LP were good music directors.
SJ were the greatest music directors
SJ invented many instruments. They were masters of all kinds of songs.
They created magin with all the singers.
There is never a comparison between good and best.
This is because SJ were trend setters. They created timeless songs with any director any hero and in any film.
They remained number one in the era when stalwarts like Naushad C Ramchandra,Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar,Roshan, SD Burman and many others. LP were number one only due to Shankar Jaikishan pair broken untimely death of Jaikishan. Even Shankar single handedly took the charge and created many good songs. But the selfish people in film Industry promoted LP’s mediocre music and ignored the creativity of Shankar
rafi sahab was the greatest male singer in the history of bollywood.No one even think the exgistance of shami kapoor without rafi sahab.A trulygreat singer with god gifted voice.His contribution in hindi cinema is imence .
Sad day for Rafians. Shammi Kapoor saab passed away this morning.
1.Film Fare Awards 1961- Dis Desh Me Ganga Behethi Hai -This Music Represents Soil of Bharat Desh. The Ochestra Engaged is Unbeleivable. How film Garana was awaded best music??? injustice…..
Panel wants to stop the Hatric 1959 Anari 1960 Dil Apna 1961 Dis Desh Me
2. 1963 TajMahal VS Dil Ek Mandir again in justice as per music Veterans.
3. 1964 Film Sangam VS Dosthi (Dostu Dostu Na Raha. Some Veterans says this Violin solos are real magic of music. BagPipes & Shenai tuning reached inside the bones. Best Music award slliped away
4. Kandaan VS Arzoo now all are blaming the panels
Some body wants to stop SJ is winning film fare awards
Rafi classics for shammi kapoor were composed by many like o p nayyar , RDB, Kalyanji Anandji and also by shankar jaikishan. qualitatively speaking the music composed by them during the black & white era and also for jubilee star rajendra kumars films take a slight edge, in my opinion.
the best soft numbers by rafi for shammi kapoor are :
1. ehsaan tera hoga muzhpar (Junglee)
2. Tum muzhe yun bhula na paooge (Pagla kahin ka)
3. mien jagoon tum so jaoo (brahmchari)
4. all three rafi songs from andaz
shankar jaikishan are known for their marathon recordings sessions during the later part of career which happens to be shammi kapoor era.
Dear Halderji,
Shubho mahalaya.
It was great for you to post the link you had mentioned.
You will be able to appreciate two things. You have read all my articles till now, and it is evident that while praising Shankar Jaikishan, I had acknowledged the brilliance and versatility of Naushad, SD Burman, OP Nayyar, Roshan, Madanmohan and others.
The reason I refer back to Shankar Jaikishan is because, the media almost forgot them in the recent times and there is a prima facie attitude of media to discuss about westernised tunes, there starting period begins from the regime of RD Burman, that is the 70s.
But the history relating to westernised tunes should come from the 50s and the pioneers include C. Ramchandran, OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan.
The second fact explained in the article was the soft romantic andaz of Rafi in tunes of SJ sung for Shammi Kapoor. Whenever we think about Rafi’s soft numbers composed by SJ we always refer about Rajender Kumar for whom Shankar Jaikishan had contributed a lot. Shammi Kapoor had his own rock and roll andaz and rebel andaz which required loud music, which SJ provide, but amongst them, there were very soft tunes too which were melodious, romantic and soothing for the years.
Best wishes,
Souvik Chatterji.
Shankar-Jaikishan, Mohd Rafi Sahab & Hasrat Jaipiuri. This combination is credited with creating magic for both the classes and the masses. Be it Beti-Bete, Mere Huzoor, Rajkumar or Suraj and the list goes on. Indeed, the songs and the films should be preserved for sheer listening & viewing pleasure which cannot be expressed in words.
Dear Haldar-ji,
Thanks a million for the video, it was a great treat 🙂
I am just as big a fan of S-J as You, Souvik or anyone else. At the same time, L-P, K-A and Pancham (the followers and heirs to their legacy) also were excellent and unique. However there is no denying S-J were indeed in a class of their own.
This time, Raju B seems to agree with us on a particular topic of interest. I am posting an article below (not sure if you have read it), written by him.
1971 and 1980 marked the watershed years in HFM.
To be fair, Elaan and Parde Ke Peeche were also S-J hits in the year 1971. There is also an error, Johar Mehmood In Goa should be written as Johar Mehmood In Hong Kong which was released in 1971.
————–
The year that was…
Raju Bharatan, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, January 01, 2008
Which is the most eventful year-end in the musical lexicon of Hindustani cinema? Beyond doubt December 31, 1971. The year-end witnessing the hyphen startlingly knocked out of Shanker-Jaikishan.
Jaikishan’s traumatising demise on September 11 – to a Radio Sri Lanka accompaniment of Zindagee ek safar hai suhaanaa saw Shanker under unprecedented pressure to deliver by end-1971. Only SJ’s Andaaz and Main Sunder Hoon now made the 100-days run cut.
Those contrasts
Major 1971 SJ flops – during Jaikishan’s lifetime itself – were Shammi Kapoor’s Jane Anjane and Jawaan Mohabbat. Plus RK’s Kal Aaj aur Kal. Add to that five damp squibs after Jai’s September 11 departure and the 1971 year-end had SJ ceasing to be numero uno. After a grand 13-year reign.
Even as SJ fell, Laxmikant-Pyarelal spectacularly consolidated their gains. With three mega-hits, during 1971, in Haathi Mere Saathi, Dushman and Mera Gaaon Mera Desh.
By contrast, the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, after being second only to LP till end-1970, now lost major ground – with only one 1971 superhit in Johar Mehmood in Goa.
This was the signal for RD Burman, as the neo-pathfinder, to begin his meteoric advance to the No 2 spot – as Amar Prem (with its Chingaree koii bhadke Raag Bhairavi motif) arriving in the wake of Hare Rama Hare Krishna and Dum maaro dum.
In between those two attention-grabbers, Pancham had Carvaan making waves on its own. Thus, from 12 releases in 1971, Pancham had three huge hits. With O P Nayyar losing out even before SJ, the end-1971 field was thus wide open. But Pancham just didn’t have it in him to play LP at their Filmfare award-lifting game.
Coincidences
What further inhibited Pancham was the fact that SD Burman’s 1971 comeback coincided with RD’s breakthrough. While SD’s Naya Zamana and Sharmeelee were top 1971 musical hits, Dada Burman’s Gambler and Tere Mere Sapne, too, won tuneful acclaim during the year.
Pancham buffs might hate to hear this, but RD never really overtook LP in the box-office stakes. LP with 15 films against SJ’s 16 during 1971, snazzily rose to number one by December 31, 1971. Never really to surrender that enviable box-office niche through the 1971-80 decade.
All alone
A loner all the way was Pancham, even after Asha Bhosle came into his life. Asha, after nine years with OP Nayyar, began to grasp market trends. While RD rested on his trendsetting oars. RD waited for things to happen. Never venturing to make things happen – a la S D Burman.
Dear Ali Rashid,
I don’t know who is a greater fan of SJ: you or Souvik. But one thing that makes you different is that you also love all his followers, the three mds who took over from him. I’m not sure if you are aware that SJ collaborated with Ustad Rais Khan on a fusion album, in which they fused 8 different ragas with jazz music. I’m posting one of them for your listening pleasure:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Of1lWWT_I
In this video, you’ll get to see the legendary Sebastian D’Souza entering the venue of an SJ nite in Bombay with Jaikishan. You’ll also see Rafi entering the venue, followed by a string of actors who relied on his voice.
I hope you like it.
Regards,
P. Haldar
Actually the combination of rafisaab shammi kapoor shanker jaikishan hasrat/shailinder/rajinder krishan was,isn will be great history for constant hits,no one can equal or go near even in time to come..they were made for each other…their soul was one…to creat hits from heart whether these r happy,romantic,sad,mischievous and lovely moments…..even galaxy of kk rajesh khanna rd burman anand bakshi could not match even
This is a very beautiful article sovik ji…rafi sahab contributed immensely in shammi kapoor’s successful career. Shammi was incomplete without rafi sahab and especially shankar-jaikishan. they created many soft numbers for rafi sahab and shammi did full justice with personified expressions.not only shankar jaikishan , also ravi and o,p nayyar created many beautiiful romantic numbers for shammi kapoor.. fOR EG: jaane bahar husn tera by ravi from movie pyar kiya tho darna kya was probably one of the best romanic songs of shammi kapoor..Yeh duniya usiki zamana usika by o.p nayyar from kashmir ki kali were also very beautiful songs..
the duo rafi-shammi combination will always be popular till indian film music exists..
really the article is written by studying every thing in detail yes rafi was voice of shammi kapoor shammi kapoor always regrets he was not in mumbai when rafi passed away
DEAR ALL,
I AM A FAN OF RAFI SAAB SINCE MY CHILDHOOD. I GREW UP LISTENING TO RAFI SAAB”S SONGS.RAFI SAAB THO RAB NE IS DHARTHI KO DI YA EK CHIRAG HI JO KABI NAHI BHUJTHA. I ALWAYS LIKE TO DESCRIBE RAFI SAAB AS “RAB KE AWAAZ LIYE SABKO FIDA KIYA INSAAN”. I SING SOME OF THE KARAOKE OF RAFI SAAB.
REGARDS
NAGENDRA.J
09880442335
In reply to Gautam Banerjee,
I have to say that glory of Rafi Shankar Jaikishan and Shammi Kapoor just grew and grew. It did not start with BoyFriend and end in Professor.
Orchestration developed over the years, from Black & white films in the late 50s like Dil Deke Dekho, Shammi Kapoor started acting in coloured films like Junglee. From shooting in Kashmir in those films, fresh shooting took place in Paris in the film An Evening in Paris.
So Rafi Shammi Kapoor Shankar Jaikishan combination is strong and for such a long decade that one article is too small to highlight the contribution of the gems of the industry.
What I tried was to pick and choose few soft romantic numbers from the huge asset of the master combination. The list is not exhaustive.
It is because Shankar Jaikishan had contributed in 22 films of Shammi Kapoor and majority of the songs were sung by immortal Rafi Sahab. So in that list of more than 200 songs, few had been mentioned.
But the message relating to the everlasting combination had been made expressly clear.
Best wishes,
Souvik Chatterji.
i believe that unless i am contributing articles myself…i have no right to complain about others putting forth an effort to share something. they use their precious time to give life to this great site and i greatly appreciate that.
Hi
Without trying to be offensive to the author, I must say this article seems to have been written by someone who just wanted to write something.
So many songs mis-spelt, they alter the meaning of the song itself which was so beautifully rendered by our beloved Rafi saab.
Please contribute with some responsibility and respect for the gem about whom yu are writing. Are there no proof readers on this website who care to look at this.
Regards
Rajeev
dear souvik,
god bless u dear for such a nice article u had released on the ocassion of death anniversary (12th sept) and memory of jaikishan saheb.
two film are left out one is jaane anjaane and preetam.
combo of rafi saheb /shammi with sj , jab bhi yeh dil udhas hota to yehi mere saamne aa jaata hai, waise to shammi saheb ke bhi music sense ka jawab nahin, without sj bhi with other composers ke saath achcha result aaya hai composer chahe nayyar sahib, roshan sahib , r d burman ,kalyan g anand , usha khanna aur ravi saheb ke saath bhi kaam kiya hai . i just want to bring to your notice that rajesh roshan ke saath bhi film mama bhanja mein chala hai.
jeete raho khush raho,
vinod mehru
09768245368
Very nice article with fantastic remembrance of the musically killing triplet of Rafi,SJ and SK.
If you wish to have a rebirth (while still living) at the fag end of your life,then listen to any of the songs of this triplet ; you shall not only be reborn but will never ever die again if keep listening to them.
If you don’t practice yoga or meditation,no problems at all ; just listen to their songs with your morning cup of tea,your mind and soul shall be refreshed better than yoga/meditation,I bet.
The songs of this triplet are preserved in my soul and brain as treasured gifts I have ever received in my life so far.
DEAR FRIEND THANX FOR SHARING NICE ARTICLE WITH US, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE SONGS FROM FILM:DIL TERA DEEWANA, YOU WILL FIND SOME SOFT NUMBERS IN THIS FILM,NAZAR BACHAKAR CHALE GAYE WOH, MASOOM CHEHRA, JANE WAFA JANE JAHAN, MUJHE KITNA PYAR HAI TUMSE,KINDLY VISIT OUR BELOVED RAFI SAAB”S BLOG,TOTAL OVER 300 PAGES ARE THERE,KINDLY VISIT EACH AND EVERY PAGE OF RAFI SAAB”S BLOG,YOU WILL FIND RARE PICTURES,ARTICLES,INTERVIEWS,AND MANY MORE,TO GO TO NEXT PAGE,KINDLY CLICK OLDER POSTS,YOU WILL FIND BOTTOM OF EVERY PAGE,KINDLY VISIT THIS LINKS,TAKE CARE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gRvszWP4dg
http://www.rafifanblog.blogspot.com
Nice article.
Girish Masand
WONDER
WONDERFULL RE- COLLECTION AND KNOWLEDGE. GREAT INFO OF RAFI SAHIB, I LIVE IN VIRGINIA, USA AND AM OLD FAN OF RAFI SAHIB. I SING HIS SONGS IN KARAOKE MUSIC ON STAGE AND IN LOCAL PARTIES HERE IN WASHINGTON AREA. I NEED HIS 8X10 IN. PHOTO GRAPH WITH HIS AUTOGRAPHS ON IT. CAN U HELP FIND ONE.
Not only for Shammi Kapoor, but whenever Rafi sang soft songs like “jinhe naaz hai hind par woh kahan hain” , “AApke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai”, etc… etc… his voice was so sweet that I would say is incomparable in the world. The sweetness came from his heart effortlessly and spontaneously, unlike any other singer who had to put in feelings . This is because Mohd. Rafi was a GOOD PERSON
That is why,Shammi Kapoor says: “without Rafi sahab,Shammi Kapoor was not complete”.Jai.Ketwaru
Very nice article Souvik Daa.. Now I have taken it to http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124884760865166&ref=ts
DEAR MR. SOUVIK
BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN AND THANK FOR ALL THIS WORDS
WE REALLY APPRECIATE AND RAFISAHAB WILL REMAIN GREAT AND GREAT LET THE OLD AND NEW SONG COMES FROM ANY SINGER THE SONG FROM RAFISAHAB WILL REMAIN
JAVED
I was very fond of Shammi Kapoor in my childhood days,i have seen almost all the movies of Shammi Kapoor . Rafi saab and Shammi Kapoor combination was a great success . Ye Chand Jara Chup Ja is still my favorite song as far as Soft songs are concerned,there are songs like pagla kaheen ka the most important song from kasmir ki kali “deewana hua baadal”. we can say because of Rafi saab’s songs all the pictures became big hits.
This article does not give any idea of actual glory dimension of the work of the S-J,Md. Rafi and Shammi Kapoor had manufactured. The main part,meaning the Golden Period which they produced at the beginig were not mentiooned. From ‘Boy Friend’ to ‘Professor’, was the Golden Period. They contributed all real big milestones in the history of modern music of India. Like, ‘Junglee’. ‘Professor’, ‘Rajkumar’,’Janwar’ and ‘Boy Friend’. Without mentioning these priceless gems the article is incomplete.
Gautam Banerjee.
Really it is so sad people ignoring Shankar Jaikishan,If am not wrong Shankar Jaikishan are the best music director ever born in Bollywood but they as been Ignored…..
Shammi ji and mohd Rafi made for each other or I can say Shammi sent by God to sing only Mohd Rafi songs or I can say two body in one one boday with voice and other with action(move)Shammi ji the no1 actor who is more than 90% songs was super hit still to day
What to say about Mohd Rafi only I can say I am wordless