Rafisaab – Naam me jaan daalthe hein
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. Â 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.
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The recall value it created for the movie among the listeners was tremendous. The popularity of these title songs also had a bearing on the actual success of the movie, though in some cases, it may not have been so. Â In turn, the popularity of these title songs entirely rested on the shoulders of the music director, the lyricist and of course, the playback singer.
This is where our Rafisaab comes into the picture. Rafisaab’s voice has delivered some of the most memorable title song hits over a career spanning nearly 3 decades. These songs, encompassing all the possible genres and moods, were sung with great gusto by Rafisaab. Even though it is very difficult to list out all the title songs sung by Rafisaab, a humble attempt has been made here to bring out the most significant ones. Analyzing these listed songs in itself would be an herculean task for an amateur writer like me. My sincere request to the other illustrious Rafifans writing on the board to analyze these songs as and when time permits them to do so.
Mohd Rafi
- Dil deke dekho –  Dil Deke Dekho – Shammi Kapoor – Usha Khanna – Majrooh – Romantic
- Jab pyar Kisise hota hai – Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai – Dev Anand – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat – Romantic
- Ek ghar banaonga – Tere Ghar Ke Samne – Dev Anand – S.D. Burman – Hasrat – Romantic
- Chaudvin ka chand – Chaudvin Ka Chand – Guru Dutt – Ravi – Shakeel – Romantic
- Aaji aisa mauka phir – An Evening in Paris – Shammi Kapoor- Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat / Shailendra? – Romantic
- Love in Tokyo – Love in Tokyo – Joy Mukherjee – Shankar Jaikishan -Shailendra – Romantic
- Kal ki daulat – Asli Naqli – Dev Anand – Â Shankar Jaikishan -Shailendra- Philosophical
- Kaun hai jo sapno me – Jhuk Gaya Aasman -Rajendra Kumar – Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat – Romantic
- Banda parwar – Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon- Biswajit – O.P.Nayyar – Majrooh – Romantic
- Aaj Kal humse roothe – Aamne Samne – Shashi Kapoor – Kalyanji Anandji – Anand Bakshi – Romantic
- Ni sultana re – Pyar ka Mausam – Shashi Kapoor – R.D.Burman – Majrooh – Romantic
- Patthar ke sanam – Patthar Ke Sanam – Manoj Kumar – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Majrooh – Sentimental
- Na ja kahin ab na ja – Mere Humdum Mere Dost – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Majrooh – Romantic
- Meri dosti mera pyar – Dosti – Sudhir Kumar & Sushil Kumar – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Majrooh – On HopeÂ
- Mere mehboob tujhe -Â Mere Mehboob – Rajendra Kumar – Naushad – Shakeel – Romantic
- Dilruba maine tere – Dil Diya Dard Liya – Dilip Kumar – Naushad – Shakeel – Romantic / Sentimental?
- Ye dil kisko doon – Ye Dil Kisko Doon – Shashi Kapoor – Iqbal Qureshi – Qamar Jalalabadi – Romantic
- Tumhare pyar me hum – Shikar – Dharmendra – Shankar Jaikishan  – Hasrat – Romantic
- Dekha hai teri aankhon – Pyar Hi Pyar – Dharmendra – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat – Romantic
- Rukh se zara – Mere Huzoor – Jeetendra – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat – Romantic
- Yun to humne – Tumsa Nahin Dekha – Shammi Kapoor – O.P.Nayyar – Majrooh / Sahir? – Romantic
- Chahe Koi mujhe – Junglee – Shammi Kapoor- Shankar Jaikishan -Shailendra – Exhilarating / Romantic?
- Janewale zara hoshiyar – Rajkumar – Shammi Kapoor- Shankar Jaikishan -Shailendra- Heroic
- Budtameez kaho ya kaho – Budtameez – Shammi Kapoor- Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat- Romantic
- Dil ek mandir hai – Dil Ek Mandir – Meena kumari & group – Â Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat- Sentimental
- Aapko pehle bhi – Tum Haseen Main Jawan – Dharmendra & Hema Malini – Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat- Romantic
- Dono ne kiya tha pyar – Mahua – Shiv Kumar – Sonik Omi – Â Qamar Jalalabadi – Sentimental
- Dil ne phir yaad kiya -Â Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya – Dharmendra / Nutan – Sonik Omi – GL Rawal – Sentimental
- Lo ek kali muskayee – Ek Kali Muskayee – Joy Mukherjee – Madan Mohan – Rajendar Krishan – Romantic
- Dil tera deewana hai – Dil Tera Deewana – Shammi Kapoor / Mala Sinha – Shankar Jaikishan -Shailendra- Romantic
- Zindagi bhar nahin bholegi – Barsaat Ki Raat – Bharat Bhushan – Roshan – Sahir – Romantic
- Aashiq hoon ek mehzabi – Pagla Kahin Ka – Shammi Kapoor – Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat- Romantic
- Kabhi humne nahin socha tha – Tumse Accha Kaun He – Shammi Kapoor – Shankar Jaikishan -Hasrat- Romantic
- Paise ki pehchan – Pehchaan- Manoj Kumar – Shankar Jaikishan – Neeraj- Sentimental / Philosophical
- Choti si mulaqat pyar – Choti si Mulaqat – Uttam Kumar / Vyjanthimala – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat- Rock N Roll
- Yakeen karlo mujhe – Yakeen – Dharmendra – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat – Romantic
- April fool banaya – April Fool – Biswajit – Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat- Mischievous
- Saare zamane me – Aap Aaaye Bahar Aayi – Rajendra Kumar – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi – Romantic
- Aayi milan ki bela – Aayi Milan Ki Bela – Dharmendra / Saira Banu – Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra- Romantic
- Ek banjara gaye – Jeene Ki Raah – Jeetendra – Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi – Philosophical
One can find that most of the movies in the list were successes at the box hit, thanks in no small measure to Rafisaab’s golden voice.  A question that always haunts my mind; did the movie’s success increase the popularity of Rafisaab’s songs or did Rafisaab’s songs increase the popularity of the movie ? I am biased heavily in favour of the latter and guess most Rafifans are.
dear girish ji thanx for nice article,unique article on title songs,i would like to share ,documentry on rafi saab,produced by films division of india,i have uploaded in you tube,in 8 parts,also i have uploaded rare songs,tributes and interview of rafi saab,kindly visit this link,take care
http://www.rafifanblog.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/mohamedparvez?feature=mhum#p/u
regards
mohamed parvez
Helo dosto can you please tell me where can i download Zindagi ek safar hai suhana sung by Rafi sahab
Title song of film Aankhin (eyes) is also very facinating.
I can recollect one more lovely gem…
Aaja Tujko Pukare Mere Geet Re… Geet… Rafi & Lata
Cheers
dear sir,
i am very much interested in sankar jaikishan music with most of the heros and singers with Md rafi, i wish record all shammikapoor hits with sankar jaikishan, kindly help me in this regard, no web site till now.
thanking you,
yours
k sridhar prasad
Thank you Girishji for the informative article and thank you everyone who have given additional inputs.
Sanjayji, I envy you! How much information you have at your finger tips!
First of all i would like to thank to this site due to which we are sharing valuable information about our Rafi sb and secondly all those Rafi Fans who are providing these opportunities.
Dear Mr. Girish Prahlad,
Thanks for Your write up as it is very informative and Rafi fans enhance it with their sharing. I am getting opportunity to become the part of this article by just providing one gem of Rafi sb. which is my favorite song.
Kaun Apna Kaun Praya form movie Kaun Apna Kaun Praya.
Regards,
-Imran-
Some more title songs
1 ) `US MULK KI SARHAD – AANKEN – RAFI SAAB
2 ) `NAACH UTHE SANSAR- NAACH UTHE SANSAR- RAFI -LATA
3 )` KAALI GHATA CHHAYEE -KALI GHATA- RAFI SAAB & ALSO LATAJI
4) `HUM KISI SE KUMA NAHIN-HUM KISI SW KUM NAHIN – RAFI SAAB
5 )`CHIRAG DIL KA JALAO – CHIRAG – RAFI SAAB
6 )`GARIBON KI SUNO WOH – DUS LAAKH – RAFI SAAB – ASHA
7 )`DO AKALMAND – AKALMAND – RAFI SAAB & KISHORE
8)`NIGHT IN LONDON- NIGHT IN LONDON – RAFI SAAB & LATAJI
9)`AMAN KE FARISHTE – AMAN – RAFI SAAB
10)`LADKI PASAND HAI – LADKI PASAND HAI – RAFI SAAB&-HEMLATA
11`MAIN RAAHI ANJAAN – ANJAANA – RAFI SAAB
12)`BEDARD ZAMANA KYA JAANE- BEDARD ZAMANA KYA JAANE- RAFI SAAB
13)`LE LO DUAYEN – MAA BAAP M-RAFI SAAB
14)`EK MAHAL HO SAPNO KA – EK MAHAL HO SAPNO KA- RAFI SAAB & LATAJI
15)`YE DUNIYA PATANG – PATANG – RAFI SAAB
16)`JISKE LIYE SABKO – SAJAN KI SAHAELI -RAFI SAAB-SULAKSHNA PANDIT
17)`GANGA TERA PAANI AMRIT – GANGA TERA PAANI AMRIT-RAFI SAAB
18)`DHARAMVEER KI JODI- DHARAMVEER- RAFI SAAB & MUKESH
19)`BANE CHAHE DUSHMAN – DOSTANA- RAFI SAAB & KISHORE
20)`YEH ZINDAGI KITNI HASEEN HAI – YEH ZINDAGI KITNI HASEEN HAI-RAFI
21) `KEHTE HAI MUJHKO- HASEENON KA DEVTA- RAFI SAB
22)`SAJAN SAJAN PUKAROON – SAJAN – RAFI SAAB & LATAJI
23)`LOVE MARRIAGE KAR LAAYE – LOVE MARRIAGE- RAFI SAAB-GEETA
24 ) DIL HAMARA – FAULAD – RAFI SAAB
25)`APNA BANAKE DEKHO- APNA BANAKE DEKHO – RAFI SAAB-.
26)`MAIN SHAADI KARNE CHALA- MAIN SHADI KARNE CHALA-RAFI SAAB
27)`VALLAH KYA BAAT HAI – VALLAH KYA BAAT HAI -RAFI SAAB
28)`BANDHA HUA EK EK -RAKHI- RAFI SAAB
29)`OH AWAARA ABDULLAH -AWAARA ABDULLAH -RAFI SAAB -GEETA
30)` KAHIN PYAR HO NA JAAYE- KAHIN PYAAR HO NA JAAYE-RAFI SAAB-LATA
31)`KAUN APNA KAUN PARAYA- KAUN APNA KAUN PARAYA- RAFI SAAB
32) KYA KEHNE MAASHA ALLAH -JEE CHAHTA HAI – RAFI SAAB -SUMAN
33)`EK SAPERA EK LUTERA- EK SAPERA EK LUTERA- RAFI SAAB -SUMAN
34)`RAJU KA HAI EK KHAWAB- RAJA SAAB -RAFI SAAB
35)`ANJAAN HAI KOI- ANJAAN HAI KOI-RAFI SAAB
36)`DUNIYA NE SAMJHA- NAALAYAK- RAFI SAAB
37)`DHARTI KAHE PUKAR KE- DHARTI KAHE PUKAR KE-RAFI SAAB
38)`SHATRANJ KI CHAAL HAMARI- SHATRNAJ- RAFI SAAB
39)`PATANGA JAL JAL- PATANGA- RAFI SAAB
40)`JAB SE AANKHEN – DHARTI- RAFI SAAB
41)`HIMMAT KARE INSAAN -HIMMAT – RAFI SAAB
42)`JAWAN MOHABBAT – JAWAN MOHABBAT- RAFI SAAB
43)`TU ITNA SAMAJHLE- RAKHWALA- RAFI SAAB
44) `YAAR JINHE TUM BHOOL-WOH DIN YAAD KARO- RAFI SAAB & LATAJI
45)`HINDUSTAN KI KASAM-HINDUSTAN KI KASAM- RAFI SAAB& M.DEY
46) `TU GADDHAR SAHI – GADDHAR – RAFI SAAB – AARTI MUKHERJEE
47) `DUKH SUKH KI HAR EK – KUDRAT – RAFI SAAB
48)`YAADON KI BAARAT – YAADON KI BAARAT- RAFI SAAB & KISHORE
49)`MAIN WOHI- NAYA DIN NAYEE RAAT- RAFI SAAB
50)`GAAL GULABI NAIN SHARABI-GAAL GULABI NAIN SHARABI-RAFI SAAB-KRISHNA KALLE
51)`MAA TUJHE DHUNDU KAHAN – MAA-RAFI SAAB
52)`KI MAIN HOON -AADMI SADAK KA- RAFI SAAB
53)`SAR-E-MEHFIL- AB KYA HOGA- RAFI SAAB & ASHA
THERE ARE SOME MORE TITLE SONGS RENDERED BY RAFI SAAB,
THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TITLE SONGS WERE COMPOSED BY THE DUO OF SHANKAR SAAB & JAIKISHAN JI AND THE MAXIMUM WERE FILMED ON SHAMMI KAPOOR JI.
Ashoksaab
Thanks for your appreciation and for the trouble of going through the article. You are spot on regarding the background songs sung by Rafisaab. As you say it is difficult to recall these songs when we want and it comes to our mind at it’s own leisurely pace. A few songs that i can recall –
taqdeer kahan lejayegi – Saanjh Aur Savera-sj (Saanjh Aur Savera also has a title song sung by Rafi/Asha that is missing in the list)
nafrat ki Duniya – Haati mere saathi -lp
meri awaaz suno – naunihal – mm
ye hanste hue phool – pyaasa – sdb ( not sure if it is a full fledged song)
dekhi zamane ki yaari – kagaz ke phool – sdb
chal udjaare panchi – bhabhi – chitragupta
na tu zameen ke liye – dastaan-lp
…the list goes on.
Murthy Sir,
I concur with your observation that most of the title songs became bigger hits some times when the other songs were better than the title song. “Dil Deke Dekho†is a perfect example where all the songs composed by Usha Khanna are fabulous, but somehow, it is always the title track that comes to the mind.
Anwarsaab,
Bande ko maaf kijiye. Ajeeb baath hai ke aapke man ki baath humne cheenli.
Aapke comments ke liye Shukriya.
Sabnavees ji
Thanks for your kind words. Hope your encouragement will inspire me to write some more articles on our GOD
Krishna Kumar bhai
Many thanks for taking time off from your busy schedule to post your comments.
Anilbhai
Nice to know that you also second my opinion that, Rafisaab’s songs increased the popularity of the movie and not vice versa.
Abdul Salamsaab
I completely agree with your observation.
Dhanyavad Uttharaji,
Your words of appreciation will definitely encourage a beginner (in writing articles) like me . It is also nice of you to include some more songs to my list which by no means is a comprehensive one. Infact, here are two more songs that I have completely given a miss!!
Khilona jaan kar – Khilona- Sanjeev Kumar-Laxmikant Pyarelal-Anand Bakshi-Sentimental
Na aadmi ka koi bharsoa – Aadmi – Dilip Kumar – Naushad-Shakeel-Sentimental
Bijoor saab
Nice trivia regarding J.Omprakash and his movie titles.
Irfan Baigsaab
Please accept my heartfelt thanks for writing about that wonderful title song from “Waqt†which is missing in my list. One must admire Raviji for being adamant with his producer regarding the song, otherwise “Waqt se din aur raat†would never have been the same song that it is now. And also Sahir’s fantastic lyrics would have lost the voice it needed.
commendable efforts girishiji for listing rafisaab’s title songs. it would be interesting to know that rafisaab must have sung equal or may be more background numbers than the tile numbers, there are instances where the title songs are also background scores – two such songs appear in above list of title songs which are; dil ek mandir hai and paise ke pehchaan yahan. another such number waqt ke din aur raat is mentioned in post no.13.
listing such background numbers is more difficult as it could be done by memory or while seeing such films / songs and not by merely from the title of the song or by listening such songs.
a few such songs coming to my mind at this moment are:
zindagi ek safar hai suhana – aandaz
woh muqadar ka sikandar – muqadar ka sikandar
kar chale ham fida jano tan – haqeeqat
tu kahin aas paas hai aye dost – aaspaas
bhala karne wale bhalai kiye jaa – ghar sansar
watan pe jo phida hoga – phool bane aangare
mati ke putle itna na kar tu gumaan – sheroo
i am sure rafisaab’s fans on this forum will add many more such songs to this list.
with regards
Mr. Prahlad, congratulations on writing a nice article on the topic of “Title Songsâ€. Title songs were an integral part of the movies and most of the songs were released on the air-waves way before the release of the movie. Since most of the times the songs became popular with the masses even though the movie was yet to be seen, supports your assertion that the popularity of the songs derived the popularity of the movies. Of course the music directors, the song writers and the singers, all played an equally important role in popularizing these songs. For obvious reasons, the mds preferred the golden voice of our beloved Rafi Sahab.
One song that I would specifically like to mention is the title song of B. R. Chopra’s “Waqtâ€. This beautiful song has a little story behind it. As this song had the objective of summarizing the story of the film and advancing its theme, the md (Raviji) wanted it rendered by Rafi Sahab. However, there was a little tension between Rafi Sahab and B.R. Chopra on account of his refusing to sing along with Mahender Kapoor in one of Mr. Chopra’s movies. With the importance of this song towards the success of the movie, Mr. Chopra relented and agreed that it should be sung by Rafi Sahab. When Rafi Sahab found out about this, he told Mr. Chopra that he will sing this song only if he was paid one Rupee more than the sum that was paid for all the songs of the movie. Extremely arrogant and may be too demanding. But there was no other way. Raviji insisted on Rafi Sahab. So, Mr. Chopra agreed to pay the amount.
A funny thing happened afterwards, though. Did Rafi Sahab accept that money? Yes, he did. Not for himself but for all the musicians that were participating in the recording. All the money was distributed among them. Rafi Sahab did not take a single Paisa from that recording. Looks like he had a special affinity for the musicians! He did not think that they got paid enough. So he try to help them anyway he could. May be Mr. Nadkarni on this forum can elaborate on this story. I do not have any doubts about it because another story that another md mentioned shows how much regards he had for the musicians.
Anyway, the song “waqt se din aur raat†became a mega-hit.
hello Girishji, here are 4 more title songs sung by Rafi saab.
1. Pyar mohabbat ke siva __ Pyar Mohabbat – Rafi, Asha Bhonsle __ Shankar Jaikishen
2. Mujhko apni gale lagalo __ Humrahi __ Rafi __ Shankar-Jaikishen
3. Raton ka raj hun mein __ Raton ka raja __ Rafi__ RD Burman
4. Yeh zindagi ke mele __ Mela __ Rafi __ Naushad
Cheers
Utthara
The curator of the title songs in the films can very well rest with none other than the great producer-director Mr J Omprakash, the father-in-law of Mr Rakesh Roshan & grandfather of Mr Hrithik Roshan.
J Omprakash made almost all his films starting with the alphabet A and his son-in-law Mr Rakesh Roshan is now continuing with the legacy of making all the films with the title K.
Probably Mr J Omprakash has a unique record of having a title song in almost all of his films and a few of such films are enumerated as follows
1) Aas ka Panchee
2) Aayee Milan ki Bela
3) Aaye din baharke
4) Aan milo sajana
5) Aasha
6) Aap ki Kasam
7) Arpan
8) Aas Paas
Girishji, wonderful article. Great effort in listing these title songs. Four more come to my mind.
1. Aha aha aaye suhana safar __ Suhana Safar__ Laxmikant-Pyarelal
2. Chaleja chaleja chaleja jahan pyar mile __ Jahan pyar mile __ Shankar-Jaikishen
3. Rang rang ke phool khile….aan milo sajna __ Aan milo sajna __ lLxmikant-Pyarelal__ Rafi and Lata
4. Aaya sawan jhoom ke __ Aaya sawan jhoom ke __ Laxmikant-Pyarelal __ Rafi and Lata
Cheers
Utthara
it is not the success of the films that make rafisab’s songs a hit.there are alot of hit songs by rafisab in flop films too.
Grt8 ariticle girishji.
Undoubtedly the ACE voice. I second you in your opinion about Rafisaab’s songs increasing the popularity of the movie.
Kudos mate. Great info.
If am not wrong Mohd Rafi sang title song more than any other singer and music Director SJ they gave music than any other music director
Gurumurthy saab I personally think that in case of title songs , the one that one the race was ‘Junglee’.Aap ka kya khayal hai??
well truly a great singer, and the songs that u have listed here, are a nice collection of his hits.
one song most of the indians would know or sing when u say Rafi is “chahe Koyi mujhe junglee kahe”. I guess thats probably his biggest hit. (not sure though). Nice one sir. Hope to see more!!!
dear mr prahlad ji,
yes you are 100% correct in telling rafi sahab naam mein jaan daal detey hain.you have taken a lot of pains to mention the names of the films. its great sir.
keep writing please.
Dear Girish ji,
Very interesting topic and very nice article indeed. This topic was also in my mind, but you have defeated me…
Many congratulations for a very nice article.
Thanks.
Anwar-ul-Haque
One thing to be noticed. Most of the title songs became bigger hits as compared to other songs in the movie, even some times when the other songs were better than the title song. For example An Evevnin In Paris, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, etc.