Subah Na Aayi from Cha Cha Cha
By Chirag
Mohd Rafi
One of Mohammed Rafi’s famous songs is “Subah Na Aayi” from the movie, “Cha Cha Cha” which was released in 1964. It had a now forgotten hero, called Chandrashekhar and Helen was the heroine of this movie. Lyrics were written by Neeraj and music was given by Iqbal Qureshi.
The song conveys the greatness of love, and that love is superior to all other material things. The Hero has set out in search of his true love. He remembers her every second and every minute of the day. Without her memory his day is incomplete and he remains unaware of other happenings. He is so madly in love; his happiness is incomplete without her as well as his sadness has no meaning without her. If only she belongs to him and they get united in love, he will be the happiest man in the world. The words of this song talk about the depth of the love of the hero. They have great meaning hidden in them.
This immortal song composed by Iqbal Qureshi is one of the more popular songs from Mohammed Rafi. The song touches your heart with the hero remembering the times he spent with her. He says that he remembers the good times all mornings and evenings. This tender song was picturized on the heroine of the film Helen. The wonderful lyrics are so well written and touching that the listeners just fall in love with them. The male singer’s heart is filled with love and it pours out the words to touch the heart of his beloved sweetheart.
Rafi Sahab has done a magnificent job with his heart wrenching voice supported by the superb music composition from Iqbal Qureshi. It is a magnificent example of Hindi poetry from Neeraj. This timeless classic was created by the musical team constituting Rafi, Quereshi and Neeraj. The delicate lyrics have been strung together in a melodious tune by Qureshi. Rafi’s singing clearly indicates the intensity of the true lover’s emotions. The effect of the heart wrenching voice on the heroine is shown beautifully with the lady feeling the incredible urge to meet her lover and running out of the house despite her missing leg. The leading man’s presence is not shown at all and it is the effect of his singing on the heroine that highlights the intensity of his emotions. It is a romantic classic but not really picturized on the top stars of that period.
The poetry has tremendous literary value and it is supported by the soul touching composition from Qureshi. You just should listen to it in the calm of your house to feel the intensity. The combination of these wonderful lyrics with the soulful voice of the great Rafi Sahab gives an ethereal quality to the song. Today the great Rafi Sahab is not with us anymore but his divine voice remains with us in the form of his songs. He remains a major contributor to Hindi film music having sung songs about all emotions from love and hope to despair and grief.
from no. 1 to 100 it is Rafisaab and no one else!.
iqbal qureshi as a music director had very few films other famous songs were from the film “love in simla” all the songs of this film were memorable
dear chirag bhai
this is indeed a wonderful song that you have chosen to write about. the film may have bombed, but this song and the other one from the same film- woh hum na they woh tum na they have remained fresh in our minds all these years. i think both the songs have been underrated and rafi saab himself must have got a lot of sukoon singing them.
thanks for posting this nice article
regards
achal rangaswamy
Ref No: 3 Ashokji just watch Zee Classic channel next week at 7:30 evening on sunday the actor Chandrashekhar biography program will be telecast on the program “The legends”.
Ref: No 21- The writer told me that Iqbal Qureshi was very simple and humble personality and among the tallest one. He took his friend writer to some of the recording sessions also. He told me one incident that when he and his one friend was sitting in a sofa discussing something suddenly somebody told that Rafisaab is coming and they were very surprised and happy that it was luck coincidence it was rafisaabs recording that day. When they stood up suddenly Rafisaab with his usual dressed in white shirt and pant came and with his humble smile said “Salaam” to everybody who was there in the recording studio. Once he told Iqbal Qureshi oneday when he invited in his house he just told that he was very lucky to meet rafisaab. Iqbal qureshi asked him why he didnt informed he would have introduced him with rafisaab. but one day one of the recording Iqbal qureshi invited the writer and introduced with rafisaab he just said few words and went inside the recording room. He told that Iqbal qureshi had lot of tunes with him recorded by him in his house and some gave to the writer and also showed some rare photos also of Iqbal qureshi. He had some collections of photos and writer was very close to iqbalji. the music director freely has to tell him everything else. when the music director passed away the writer said to me that he was very sad before his death some days back he told him that he may not be in this world when he came to his house.
Rafi is the Best…… Today many singers are there beause of singing limitation..
In past one man was there…. M Rafi
He was able to sing any simt of singing….
dard ke liye…..alag singer…atif sheikh
love ke liye……alag singer…sonu nigham
joshile songs….alag singer…sukhvinder
classic ke liye…alag singer..Sultan Khan etc
Rafi sahib was………is……..will……… Great…..
subha na aayi
shaam na aayi
jis din teri yaad na aayi,
yaad na aayi.
if ever there was an song exploiting the total range of rafi’s singing capabilities this is one. another is that oft sung by orchestra performers ‘meri mahua’. if these songs were not sung by the meastro, they would have bitten the dust or not composed and recorded at all, that s the feeling i get everytime i listen to them. again i repeat myself that its rafi’s purity of soul which makes them sound so good.
swapn jhade phool se…
daal ke babool se…
aur hum khade khade bahar dekhte rahe
karvan guzar gaya, gubaar dekhte rahe…….
solo song of Mohd rafi……
a longish poem in free flowing style …. also by neeraj
film is cha cha cha….
Binu Nair ji…. post 19.
Rafi’s sahab’s contemporaries to be awarded on birthday…..
A very well known such contemporary singer is always stating “Rafi sahab bahut ooncha gaate the , hum hamesha unki tarah uncha gaane ki koshish karte the “. that the end of the reply on the question , which is often more elaborate than the reply.
a. r. rehman is one of the best composers in bollywood today. and also the most original. some of his songs, especially those sung by sonu nigam, javed ali, do give the feel of rafi style songs. i think such songs convey silent tribute to rafi sahab, as rehman is nothing if not a man of few words. from rehmans earlier songs “aye ajnabi tu bhi kabhi ” from “dil se” (Udit Narain), also reminded me of a style typical of rafi. it could easily be SDB song for rafi. of course these r my opinions,
regards to all.
Dear mr.binus nair, I am still waiting the video special and the song about Lord Christ oF Badsha Mohammed Rafi,you primise me, Regards.
Post 20:
Shashank Chickermane ji,
I request you to share that rare information about music director Iqbal Qureshi that you gathered from his writer friend.
Yes, it is a fact that Iqbal Qureshi did not get too many films in spite of being immensely talented. Apart from Cha Cha Cha (having great songs as already discussed on this thread), there were ‘Ye Dil Kisko doon’ (having Rafi/ Asha’s gems like ‘Phir aane laga yaad wohi pyar ka aalam…’, ‘Jab tak duniya rahi rahega tera naam mera naam…’), ‘Umar Qaid’ (having Mukesh’s gem ‘Mujhe raat din ye khyal hai…’), ‘Love in Shimla’ were some of the films done by him.
It was overwhelming to learn that Rafi saab did not charge money for ‘Subah na aayee…’. Yet another example of Rafi saab’s saintliness.
-J.K. Bhagchandani
Dear Chirag,
I also agrees you one point is “forgotten heros”. Yes indeed I am also saying same things for the last many years that where this artists whose names the people are not talking about or media publishers also. what to do? today like you have written an article on this rare information to us it is like somebody is remembering this heros till now also.
Last year I have met an writer who was the greatest fan and also close friend of music composer Iqbal qureshi. He had lot of rare information about this composer who didnt got too many of films due to politics. Iqbal qureshi has to come to in his place often and gave many rare songs which we dont have the most songs was sung by rafisaab in his music direction and this song which you told us was that the song record was over and rafisaab was so happy that he didnt took money from him, but helped him. So he told me that iqbal qureshi got the break through rafisaab in the films. The film “Cha Cha Cha” was hit due to this song what Iqbal qureshi told him.
friends : what about the song of iqbal quereshi: woh hum na the woh tum na the….. from the same movie..cha cha cha..in the voice of inimitable divine singer mohd rafi saaheb..
In Mumbai:
let me announce that mohd rafi lovers willl be meeeting atttt rang sharada at bandra on dec 24th evening and will see two mohd rafi contemporaries receiving mohd rafi awards……
and there will be a musical function at ghatkopar too….. many of my musical friends will be at both the places… to see the love of mohd rafi lovers and celebrate the legendary singers – 86th birhday anniversary..
Unheard melodies of mohd rafi saab released… an article follows on the ‘magic’ of mohd rafi saab. follow this website pls…
If the music is good, the heart will Sing..
When rafi saab sings, the world will sing..
from the rafi foundation , mumbai
e mail : binus2000@hotmail.com
cell : 9833 250 701
Hi,
I want to know about venue of Mohd Rafi’s birthday celebration this year.
Please let me know , I also want to attend.
Thanks Yogesh.
Chandreshekar was indeed a known name in his time as a leading actor who later on went on doing character roles mainly of police inspectors. He also had a memorable movie with great songs in Kali Topi Lal Rumal: a duet- laagi chhute na, and a solo- diwana aadmi ko banati hai rotian, both by our beloved rafi sahab. Yes, rafi sahab can sing for anybody, any raag any mood. In fact I have been trying to find songs that rafi sahab sang for two or more actors in the same song. so far I have come up with two (am sure there are many, so fans help me) 1. for prem chopra and premnath from sikander-e-azam – Jahan daal daal per…. 2. for pran, iftekhar, vinod khanna, and others the title song from gaddar. the third one is from Naya daur but the credit says rafi and balbir – yeh desh hai veer jawano ka, but it sounds like rafi sahab is singing for dilip as well as ajit, can someone please shed some light on it? I also a video from B grade movie of unknown four actors riding horses and rafi sahab singing for all four of them, unfortunately i don’t remember the movie name from YouTube. Thanks, and hoping some die-hard rafian helps me in my quest. rafi sahab zindabad.
Thanks to Chirag for choosing this gem of a song for this write-up. But surprisingly he and also all others (who have sent nice posts) perhaps forgot to mention another gem from the same film. The song ‘wo hum na the wo tum na the…’. This song has remained under-rated since its inception in 1964 and in my opinion is as great as the ‘subah na aayi, sham na aayi…’ Please listen to the wonderful lyrics of Neeraj, music of Iqbal Qureshi and magical voice of Rafi saab at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNQnfCagrJU
And of course there is ‘Ek chameli ke mandwe tale….’- Rafi- Asha duet from the same film.
-J.K. Bhagchandani
It is really an excellent song to remember,as you said even iF RAFI saab is not there his divine and beautiful voice will be remembered by us.
Chandrashekhar, an 87 years now, is a prolific Indian film actor working in the Bollywood film industry.He has appeared in some 112 films since his first appearance in 1954 in Aurat Teri Yehi Kahani. Chandrashekhar retired from the industry in 2000.
Almost all songs in this movie are all time hits. Iqbal Qureshi’s music is fantastic. Rafi Saab poured the soul into those songs penned by Kavi Neeraj. There is also a famous song ” Ek Chameli ke mandwe tale” written by Makhdoom Mohiudeen in Cha Cha Cha.
truly this is great song of rafi saab. It only proves that although cha cha cha was a low budget movie with relatively lesser known actors of that time, the music has been timeless. my salute to iqbal qureshi ji for this wonderful song. we are not going to get singers, lyricists and playback singers of this calibre anymore. my special thanks for neerajji for the lovely lyrics. Long Live our Old Times and melody.
binuji,
well said – colour does matter sadly. the avataar stands in isolation in this regard.
ramesh.
Many persons have written great tributes to the greatest (Rafi Saab). Whatever I say is just an addition, although a very small addition, to the glowing praises of a great man, husband, singer, father, son, friend and brother, the one and only Mohd. Rafi.
Whenever I listen to his songs, I always try to identify which actor he must have sung that song for..
He had a style for every actor, which of course made it very easy to identify those he sang for. There was no style of music that he could not sing and fit his melodious voice into.. each year.. his birth anniversary..his death anniversary is celebrated throughout the world.. There has not been a single year (since his demise) that his birth or demise is not celebrated throughout the world with shows and concerts and recitals and mehfils. I dont think any other singer commands this.
One singer i will always remember his voice for is Johnny Walker. He had a very unique and set aside voice for Johnny Walker. There is a song I recall from the movie “musaafir Khana, in which Rafi Saab sang for Johnny Walker. I wouldnt say sing because no words were sung by Rafi Saab.. rather, as i am sure all Rafi lovers already know, he made the sound of the trumpet in that song.. The song is thodda sa dil lagaa ke dekh. Again a very unique and one of a kind song. In another movie, Preet na jaane reet (Johnny Walker, Shammi Kapoor and Mala Sinha), the song Rafi sang for Johnny Walker, yahaan bhi tho nahin hai wahaan bhi tho nahin hain, na jaane mera dil, chotta sa mera dil, nanhaan sa mera dil kahaan kho gaya, kamaal ho gaya, was as if Johnny Walker sang that himself. Of course the other songs in the same movie, teri zulfein pareshaan, and O jaane waale sun zara were priceless too..
One can go on and on about Rafi Saab’s songs. Gosh I think I could write on forever, but we all just contribute little by little to make this wonderful man, or rather to give to this man his honors bestow to him his honors. With each adaab that we give to him, we also give to his memory, his soul, blessings for all eternity.
May his Birthday be celebrated each year for all eternity even after we, who have immortalized him and his songs, are gone from this world.
more next time.
Dear Chirag-ji,
What a wonderful treat to the heart and mind of this Rafi fan! It is gem of a song, and so are a couple of other songs from this film!
As to Chandrashekhar (as also pointed out by Ashok), he was a well-known actor of that era, and had, if I remember rightly, another musically successful film – ‘Street Singer’ – in mid-sixties, and of which he was both producer and directo. Its music was composed by Suraj (apparently a Shankar-Jaikishan assistant, but could have been S-J themselves!) The highly popular songs of this film were blessed by voices of the great Rafi-saab and unique Sharda.
Thanks for your nostalgia-evoking article!
Rashmin,
Leicester, UK
Subah na aaye shaam na aaaaaye is a masterpiece of composer iqbal quereshi. after some great works sadly, very sadly he receded to the background, giving mediocre numbers.
the great actor chandrasekhar is around and stays next to Andheri west rly station.
Neeraj kavi stays by the rivers of the ganga in benaras. never we can forget his poetic numbers including : Caravan gujar gayee…
neeraj saab has penned the above mentioned songs. great and unique work.
this song is taken up in every third musical show i must say.
jai ho, jai ho…. is forgotten already. if subah na aayeee was made by a britisher, it would have fetched an oscar many decades back…. colour of the skin do matter i strongly feel.
enjoy great songs by our legends. thank you chiragh for the bright write up.
from the rafi foundation…mumbai
cell : 9833 250 701
Dear Chirag ji,
Very nice article and description on the song “subah na aayi sham na aayi…”. This is one of my favorite songs. What are the wordings/lyrics & music of this song and above all what is the soft & strong voice of our beloved RAFI SAHAB in this song.
I think that only RAFI SAHAB can sing this song.
Thanks for sharing the video of the song.
Regards,
-Sanjeev Dixit
Lucknow
Dear Chiraj ji,
Thanks for writing about one of the finest songs of the Hindi Film World so beautifully sung by our Rafi Saab. It has been 46/47 years ago that he sang this song and even today it is so fresh and no other human being can match this divine voice.Credit should also go to Music Director Iqbal Qureshi and Neeraj who wrote the song.Where will we get such fantastic people now?Today’s music is no music at all but only noise.Today’s generation doen’t know the rich heritage that these past masters have left behind.They are only interested in lousy music dished out by the present lot .What a pity! Long live Rafi Saab.
chiragjee,
aapney vakai bahut acchhee tarah sey likhaa hai – you have entered deep into the lyrics and even more deep into analysing rafi sahab. these songs are unforgettable and treasure troves – the more you hear them the more you are in awe of these personalities.
iqbal qureshi – rafi sahab – what a combination.
” khudaa kee khudaayee ek taraf – rafi sahab doosri taraf “.
a sequel to rafi sahab shortly from me would go about explaining things in the right perspective.
thanks chiragjee – keep it up – keep writing.
Chirag,
You brought back memories of long years with the song which is one of my favorites. I remember more than 20 years ago, the song was staged by then very young singer Mohamed Aslam in a concert that froze the entire audience to listen to the beautiful song rendered by a very talented lean ‘kid’ who mesmerized all of us. Mohd Aslam became famous especially in South and is a member of AR Rehmans troupe and the one who sang the title song of Jodha Akbar.
Thanks for the post.
Dear Chirag ji,
A straight-from-the-heart tribute to Rafi sab’s magical abilities. Iqbal
Qureshi’s lyrical luminosity too best exemplified. Thank you immensely
for the review.
Rafi sab’s rendition has the power to move mountains. What chance do
I have ???
Adaab Rafi !!
Nagesh
Dear Chirag,
I object to your phrase “forgotten hero” used to Chandrashekhar Sahab.
He is a great actor. Much greater than today’s Salman, Shahrukh, or anyone else…He is much and much popular and I refuse to forget him and the like.
100 Shahrukh Khans cannot make one Chandrashekhar or Pran Sahab or Om Prakash, Ajit, Mukri, Amrish Puri, Jeevan, Madan Puri, Nana Palshikar, David, Balraj Sahani, Kanhayyalal….
All these are the real superstars of Indian Cinema…..Kindly refer the following website for Chandrashekhar Sahab….
http://www.chakpak.com/celebrity/chandrashekhar/movies/9616
Sorry if I might have hurt anybody….
Regards,
Ashok
Dear Chirag ji,
What a song you have shared! It is one of my all time favourite Rafi Sahab’s songs (that list is also endless, by the way). The lyrics are just awesome and treat to listen; in fact the lyrics are so powerful that these don’t require any composition for their impact, these are great even for reading. Look at the starting stanza’ “Khushi jis ne khoji”, it is the example of great poetry. And there are many phrases in the lyrics which haunt you; like “Aansu sab rehen ho gaye”, “Sanson ne hathkadi lagayi”, “Ek taar ki doori hai bas daman aur kafan mein”. Hats-off to Neeraj ji for producing such a great poetry for a film song.
The composition is also very heart touching (heart breaking, I must say). Iqbal Qureshi at his best in this song. And what we can say about Rafi Sahab! He is definitely beyond any words and praises. Just listen and admire his greatness in your own heart; because whatever you will say, it would be less for his greatness.
Many thanks for this beautiful article on a great song.
Thanks and best regards.
Anwar-ul-Haque
anwarhq25@yaoo.com
dear chirag ji you have chosen exellent song ,exellent topic,to discuss,amoung rafi saab,fans,iam inviting each and everry body to visit our beloved rafi saab”s blog,to go to next page,kindly click older posts,you will find bottom of every page,please don”t miss any page,kindly post your valuable comments in the blog,kindly visit this link,take care
http://www.rafifanblog.blogspot.com