Versatility, Thy Name is Mohammed Rafi
Two Rafi Songs from the Film ‘Naya Raasta’- A Study in Contrast
By
Mrs. Usha G Rao- a Senior Member of ‘Baar Baar Rafi’- The Fan Club, Bangalore, India
Mohd Rafi
Call it a cliché, an oft-repeated statement or stating the obvious, I would still like to dwell on this topic and say- ‘Versatility, thy name is Mohammed Rafi’. For me, a discussion on any aspect of Rafi Sahab’s singing amounts to a joyful celebration of his music. Each time I look at the prism of his songs, I see a new angle, a new dimension hitherto unseen by me.
I wish to present here a study of two of his songs from the 1967 film Naya Raasta. The mood and the ethos of the two songs are at total variance with each other and hence are perfect examples for the topic under discussion. The music is composed by Narayan Dutta, better known as N Dutta and the lyrics written by Sahir Ludhianvi Sahab are some of the most meaningful lyrics ever written for films. The two songs are:
- “Ponchh kar ashq apni aankhon se”
- “Main ne pi sharaab, tum ne kya piya”
A brief outlining of the film’s story is necessary so as to understand the mood of the two songs. Balraj Sahni and his screen sister Asha Parekh belong to the economically and socially backward section of society. They are abused, insulted and ill-treated by people belonging to the affluent upper class. Jeetendra who is the love interest of Asha Parekh in the film plays the role of a sheet-anchor in her troubled life.
The first song ‘ponchh kar ashq apni aankhon se’ is happy, upbeat and full of hope and optimism. Saddened by her circumstances, the heroine Asha Parekh is in tears and the hero Jeetendra implores her not to wallow in self-pity and despair but to challenge the existing system and dream of a new social order.
The second antara has some of the most eloquent and thought-provoking words. They are as follows:
“Rang aur nasl, jaat aur mazhab,
jo bhi ho aadmi se kamtar hai,
is haqeeqat ko tum bhi meri tarah maan jaao
toh koyi baat bane.”
Rafi Sahab, as always, breathes life into the poignant lyrics. Gauging the mood of the song, his voice, flowing like a gentle stream, assumes a tender yet cheerful demeanour that is both soothing and comforting. As he sings this song, his voice encapsulates so much of hope, promise and happiness that it encourages the listener to think positively in life.
The second song is “Mainne pi sharaab, tum ne kya piya”.
This song is complex and multi-layered as varied emotions are portrayed in it. There is a sense of doom and despair, anger, frustration, bitterness and even defiance-emotions that are incongruent with each other.
As is evident from the lyrics, the character played by Balraj Sahni is in a drunken stupor while singing this song. Defeated and frustrated by the trials and tribulations he has to undergo in life, he gives vent to his feelings in this song.
As for Rafi Sahab’s singing, well, this is a Rafi song par excellence. This sing should definitely be counted among his best. Rafi Sahab, a teetotaller in real life, does a perfect imitation of a drunken man’s ways of enunciating the words. Notice his slurring and the slight incoherence while singing. When he repeats the mukhda, after each antara, notice how he sings the line ‘main ne pi sharab’ dragging the word ‘pi’.
The second antara begins with the words:
“Tum kaho toh sach, hum kahe toh jhooth,
Tum ko sab maaf, zulm ho ke loot”
While singing the line ‘hum kahe toh jhooth’, he lets out a snigger, a derisive laugh to show the character’s utter contempt, bitterness and a deep sense of hurt towards an unjust society.
Mohd Rafi
The last antara brings out strongly the discrepancies between the haves and the have-nots.
“Reet aur riwaaz sab tumhare saath,
dharm aur samaaj sab tumhare saath
apne saath kya dhool aur dhuan,
aaj chahe tum noch lo zubaan,
aanewala daur lega sab hisaab.”
The intensity of emotion comes out so well in Rafi Sahab’s voice when he sings this antara, especially in the last two lines:
“aaj chahe tum…
……sab hisaab” where he (that is the character played by Balraj Sahni) throws a challenge and warns people around him that future generations would make them pay for their misdeeds.
I urge all Rafi bhakths to watch the video clipping (if they have not done so already) of this song in which Rafi Sahab’s soulful rendition brings out all the subtle nuances of the song and enhances the brilliant performance of veteran actor Balraj Sahni. The entire song sequence, embellished by the two great artistes, makes for a moving visual and aural experience for the viewers.
kishore fan ,once again here to demonstrate his envyness for Rafi sahab and sick state of mind otherwise there is meaning of comparing Rafi sahab……post 199,,u can never understand nicities,,so lets only talk of music,,,,,even today no songs is more famous than that of rafiji,,for example,,on every social occassion,,from marriage to fastivals or national events it Rafi sahab`s songs thats most played,,,even romantic songs are greatly famous with both calsses n masses,,,,,gazals qawaalis,,romantic sad,,oldies etc,,,rafi rafi everywhere,
,,,A year ago and even today,,Actress named rakhi sawant makes more news ,does it mean she is more popular than aishwarya rai,Madhuri dixit etc,,,,,come out of fanatism while talking of Rafi sahab….u controversy makers!!!!
Post 182 – Hussein sheikh ji,
Everybody is going to die one day. You, me and all here.
Post 192 – correct, KK is more popular. Only some hardcore fans of rafi claim that rafi is more popular and internationally famous. I am associated with many people in the last many years, but I have never heard anybody praising or remembering rafi to the extent some rafi fans are projecting here. Excepting few die hard rafi fans (that too mainly old generation people) rafi is not remembered by many today. I have seen even old generation people, who grew up listening to rafi songs, not showing any interest today towards rafi songs. They will say, how many times we will listen the same song, I have heard it many times.
Rafi fans – everything in world is like that. Nothing is permanent. If you eat apple every day, one day you will throw it out, getting bored. Same rule applies to all things in this world – so are rafi songs.
191 – sudit dat
Manna himself claims as greater in some songs – no body can sing like me. Likewise he has praise for lata to a greater extent than rafi. It is clear. He also states that despite rafi singing some songs well, rafi was not preferred. This shows that, as being claimed by rafi fans, rafi is not that great – and much hype is being created by rafi fans.
Lata is claimed by many as the greater singer – even her popularity today is more than rafi.
Rafi fans alway repeat same story – rafi was a nice human being – so what ? there are many nice human beings in this world. Being nice has nothing to do with talent and skills of playback singing. It is altogether a different story.
Post 191…..
sudip dat : I SINCERELY HOPE TO READ A VERY BOLD ARTICLE BY U ON THE “sychopancy” of those female singers who were “insecure” but talented. Manna dey has already said a hundred times that female singers feared competition and therefore did many acts which may be termed as immoral acts.
many composers, radio presenters, lyricists, singers, journos and people in the music industry are aware of deeds and misdeeds of these persons.
male singers were more professional and friendly. the list is long but some names can be safely mentioned. talat mehmud, manna dey, hemant da, mohd rafi, kishore kumar and many more.
W salam Khaja bhai,
Thank you very much Binu and Narayan sir. I’d love to be a part of Rafi Saab’s fan club. My special greetings to all of you. I like your posts a lot. In fact I have been a passive member of mohdrafi.com for the past 8 years and have been following everything very closely. Was little busy shaping up my career which you won’t believe, wouldn’t have been possible without Rafi Saab.
Great to meet hard core Rafians like you 🙂
Samina
Samina Beti, Salam,
Rafi foundation, Banglore chapter is very active foundation. There are so many lovers of Rafi sahab over there. I have one contact , who is an ardent fan of rafi sahab. His shubh naam is Janab HV Guru Murthy. Contact him at this e-mail: hvgurumurthy@yahoo.co.in
With regards,
Die-hard fan of Rafi Sahab,
Dr. Khaja Aliuddin
Samina ji… Post 192… Please write to me , u will get the details of our bangalore unit. they are doing a great job down there.
binu nair, binus2000@hotmail.com
Post 192… Ms Samina,,,]
Referring to ur post you are welcome to join Baar Baar Rafi The Fan Club, Bangalore ,which is a non-profit organisation having more than 450 members. We do not collect any membership fees and anyone can join our club. Our email id is baar.baar.rafi@gmail.com and you can send us ur email.
Or you can sms to me at 09886779557 for more details.
P.Narayan PRO
BaarBaar Rafi Fan Club
Bangalore
PS We are also in regular touch with the founder members of Rafi Foundation Mumbai Binu Nair and Rafi Foundation all cities..
Hi samina,
Thankfully the media cannot do it’s dirty work abroad because mohd rafi already scored internationally with his “jaan pehchaan ho” being used in a cult movie. And his popularity abroad is more than any other indian singer I hear.
Remember in a poll by stardust rafi got 70% of the votes….
Well said everyone. I admire your love for rafi saab. These things disturb me because younger generation does get influenced by such media comments. They have no doubt that KK and RDB were the best. Only few (like me) who were fortunate enough to taste the elixir called Rafi Saab’s voice know his greatness. I am saying that because I belong to this generation (I am 26) and I see my age people around all the time. I am doing MBA (2nd year) at an institute in Bangalore (yeah you guessed it right). I have been in touch with many other colleges. I can hear the kind of songs people play. I do hear some Rafi songs but mostly KK. The reason being over publicity and hype by media. If only media said once that Rafi saab was the greatest or Lata/Asha accepted the fact in public, they would have been forced to think twice. They would have been curious to listen to this Legend called Rafi….
Can anyone tell me if there is a Bangalore chapter of RafiFoundation. I would love to join and help you spread this great legacy amongst youngsters. I keep posting rare Rafi gems on Facebook but hardly get the response I expect. The reason is lack of sensitization and conditioned mentality that KK is the best.
How I became a Rafian is also a very interesting story. Would post soon. Thanks a lot everyone for keeping this site alive and kicking…
Samina
Try to read between the lines in Manna’s interview (Question: Had their gender influenced their decision? )
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Rafi-was-a-better-singer-than-me/articleshow/5085308.cms
The male singers always had “camadarie” and there was friendly competition among them. all got their chances and they proved their “true mettle” in those songs.
look at the female singers list. first, the top lady will play difficult to get. second she would recommend her second or third sister for songs which she would not sing.
many female singers lost their songs and jobs by the monopoly thus created .she “created” a cartel of singers – from her family. this is a legal crime if u care to see the rules of restricting monopoly trade practices.
taking away someones jobs or livelihood is an unpardonable crime which shall “never, never – go unpunished”.
even today, some singers are scared to talk of this lady. see what happpened to suman kalyanpur when the lady patched up with mohd rafi once again. suman was gone and gone.
even if the lady badmouths mohd rafi, tell lies and spread slanders, nothing will change rafi’s popularity. the dirt sticks on her very firmly – because mohd rafi worked on his own terms without injuring any one’s heart.
mohd rafi is a divine singer and a gift to humanity from the gods.
Much as I like to hear about miss ivy’s (mis)deeds, I seriously doubt those were her words.
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Haldar Ji, kindly search out youtube for latest Lata interview with Javed Akhtar, and you will find those words were indeed by Lata Ji only!
Yes, she herself admitted recently-on television- that she didn’t work with Burman Da for almost 14 long years, and it was Rafi Sahab who initiated that popular rift!!
Saif : This work will never end….. It can only grow inspite of many hurdles…..mohd rafi is for ever and real for many past and forthcoming generations.
binu nair
Dear Friends,
I have been reading all these posts for quite some time now. I have replied to some nasty comments written by some ‘crazy ‘elements who visit this site too.
It is very clear from their comments that they cant stop raking up controversies on our dearest Rafi Saab – the greatest ever male singer to have donned The Hindi music scene – because ‘Rafi Saab still sells ‘( these 4 words are not mine , but Binu’s). Yes, Rafi Saab still sells , no doubt about it. These crazy guys are so envious that they cant see their idols – be it KK or some others singer coming up to this level after their death. Only Rafi Saab continues to be ‘living’among us. The others are more or less forgotten, except by some die hard fans of theirs. — (Can someone listen to 5 KK songs on the trot without being bored by the monotony? Well, KK is a great singer but he has had his own limitations – that was not the case with Rafi Saab. You can go on and on listening to him , such was the range and versatility of this singer, this legend )—That is not the case with RAfi Saab- he is not only popular among the middle aged and the older class, but surprisingly, he is very popular among the younger generation – I can vouch for this with my experiences in Kerala. l am sure it must be same with most of the other states in India. Rafi Saab is light years ahead in terms of popularity even abroad- I can also vouch for this as I have spent 80% of my 47 years outside India.
These are factors which make these guys jealous, for they can never imagine their idols rising to these levels. I am very much convinced that they are writing all these nonsense here, as they have no other outlets to vent their frustrations. The moderator of this site is happy with such comments as he wants such controversial remarks to come up time and again, as it would increase the readership of our beloved Rafi Saab site. Yeah, all of them are doing us a big, big favour by further popularising an already immensely popular singer.
Be it Haldar Saab, Binu ji, Hussein Sheikh, or anyone else who is a die hard Rafi Saab fan and writes regularly in these columns, I have one thing to tell all of you. I have been a Rafi fan for 40 years now and nothing, nothing ever is going to change my feelings for the man – I am sure that is the case with all of us. Nothing under the sun will change our love for Rafi Saab !!! We never degrade ourselves to such levels that we go to those sites dedicated to other singers to badmouth them. We dont need to do it, because Rafi Saab doesnt need such cheap propaganda. The others need it and their die hard fans are polluting this great site by writing nonsense time and again.
Let them do it, they will stop it by themselves.
There are some who are ashamed of their own names and appear on this site under pseudo names, others dont dare to write their personal mail ids for fear of a backlash from we Rafi fans, – the examples of these hypocrites are so many.
let us just leave them to their own doom and let us carry on with the legacy of our RAfi Saab- we need to promote his legacy into the younger generation for it is our duty to do so. Let us do it before it is too late and when our energy levels are still on the higher side. That is the greatest tribute we could give to our beloved Rafi Saab and I personally know that Binu and company are working hard to ensure this.
Binu, keep up the good work.
Long live Rafi Saab and long live his legacy !!!!!!
Saifullah
Dubai
saif.196242@gmail.com
Post 180:
Chandra Sekhar Mani Post 180…. well said. u cant ever stop a tide. mohd rafi’s sweet melodies and songs can “never, never” be stopped by any mangeshkar or anyone else in this world. no one will ever succeed how much ever they may try with lies, slander and deception.
I have met so many composers who have the highest personal regards for rafi saaheb . I have met so many ordinary men and women who worship mohd rafi saaheb and his songs.
there are people who garlands his pictures each day at their homes along with their own gods. there is a lady who has a ration card with mohd rafi as a family member in faraway gujrat. her son is a first class magistrate and a great mohd rafi lover. many of mohd rafi lovers not only enjoy his songs but try to emulate him in their daily life like this first class magistrate.
I especially liked ur lines : “the best homage – to rafi saaheb which could be paid is – by popularising rafi songs and taking them to the new generation”. this is the second phase of the activities of the Rafi Foundation.
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Haldar Saaheeb : THE TIMES OF INDIA WIL NEVER PUBLISH SUCH LETTERS…. They are part and parcel of the ” Mangeshkar Mutual Admiration Group “. also, there is another group called the ‘RD BURMAN ADMIRATION GROUP’.
I have seen these groups presenting RDBURMAN ” sung ” songs in memorable musical events and spoiling the musical “mood” of the melody seeking listeners. they wish to present rdb as a great singer. rd burman was a great composer but never a singer in “any” sense.
these groups will go to any extent and ruin the musical sense of many. but, the ray of hope is that there are sizeable number of music lovers who “distinguishes” between the braying sounds, sub-standard musicaL OFFERINGS and the sweet yesteryear melodies.
no one can change peoples musical tastes or the fondness for mohd rafi saaheb songs in his “legendary timbre voice”.
binus
Dear Friends,
I’d request you not to react to the article by Subhash Jha; I’ve read some of his articles before and I think he is an rd-kishore chamcha. Much as I like to hear about miss ivy’s (mis)deeds, I seriously doubt those were her words. First of all, there are several factual errors in the article. For instance, lata and sd did not work together for 5 years, not for 14 years as stated in the article. Also, it is a well known fact that it was Lata who picked up a fight with Rafi, not the other way round. I have heard her admit that on tape, where she narrates the full incident. To sell their articles, the journalists know that all they have to do is to make a controversial comment on rafi and that’s what they are doing. Just imagine what our guest, who claims to be a journalist, will turn out to be. All they want to do is to rewrite history. If you are really mad about the article, you should send comments to the times of india condemning it for publishing such articles.
@post 178
O My God, I can’t believe that Lata can fall down to such levels. Lying against a deceased man who can’t even defend himself. Does she have any fear of god that she is close to end of her life. I want to like Lata but I can’t help if she keeps doing these kind of things.
Priya ji,
If lata mangeshkar praises rafi’s singing even ONCE in the mainstream media,she will be unleashing him into the new gen ears and this will mean disaster for her. She always talks abt his “niceness” or “bhaiyyaness” but never singing. She does not want to lose her naam ke vaaste title of “number one” 🙂
Similarly all singers keep sayin what a nice man he is.
Not once apart from anandji and sonu have i heard ppl talkin abt his versatility.
heck, i even remember in k for kishore them photoshopping rafi’s face with geeta dutt and stickin kishores!!
I am fed up with the darn media!
Sid
Post 178: Nothing to worry, even Lata Mangeshkar is going to die….. She is jealous for Rafi Saheb and had fought with many people…. she’s not a great human at all.
178 .Post….the lies and slanders will never last for ever. in this world there s something called purity of the soul. can lata or asha claim they played no games in the music industry and they are spotless and their souls clean as they exhibit them at the drop of the hat.
in the same interview mentioned by sudip dat lata mentions that mohd rafi had said that he would ” not” sing with lata. mohd rafi did’t announce to the world and the composers that he stopped singing with lata mangeshkar. lata didi did. and thus the mystery unfolds itself here.
she later on says in the interview that she did’nt sing with sd burman for 14 years. why ? why lata has enmity with so many singers and composers in the industry? people will think, surely they will and get their answers lata ji……
leave others. her own sister asha was stopped a day prior to the delhi trip as both were to sing ” ai mere watan ke loga” song together at the venue in front of pandit jawaharlal nehru. ashas tickets were cancelled one day prior to the decided date. she did’nt get the permission from her didi.
c.ramachandra had composed the tunes for two singers and is on record saying the facts that asha was stopped from going ahead.
mohd rafi is not there to reply to lata ji’s old tirade on him . the mangeshkars disliked mohd rafi is very clear to everybody. one reason for this is because mohd rafi was far ahead in terms of popularity and quaity singing. why the mangeshkars disliked mohd rafi is due to purely “professional jealousy” nothing else. second mohd rafi had no nakhras and would sing for free for upcoming composers/producers.
today, the whole industry remembers and sings paens of praises of mohd rafi. his songs and voice remain immortal and divine.
sorry lata lovers. i know u are aware of all these points but would never acknowledge.
I was talking about the ” purity of the soul”. well mohd rafi ‘s soul was pure as the morning dew. that’s the point i wish to make.
binu nair
It is wishful thinking to even imagine that Lataji will praise Rafi Saab from the bottom of her heart. She is undoubtly the best female hindi film playback singer of our times and within her heart she knows that if there is anyone who could outwit her in singing, it was Rafi Saab.So it is in her best interest not to talk highly of Rafi Saab. Well, KK was never in the running for first place.
So much has been discussed on the RDB and Rafi saab relationship. It is a futile discussion. Facts speak for themselves. RDB did all he could to undermine Rafi saab. It was a frustrating period for Rafi saab followers.Well, one can imagine how let down Rafi Saab would have felt.
The best homage we can pay to Rafi Saab is to popularize his songs to the younger generation. Rafi Saab’s voice will do the rest. Anybody who listens with an open heart will be captivated and become a fan like us.
I will also take this opportunity to thank Sheikh Hussein bhai for so generously sharing his collection of Rafi saab songs.
I think Rafi fans should demand an apology from Lata.
I do not care if the incident was true or not. It is common civility to avoid slandering dead people because they are incapable of self defence. And the whole episode could have been narrated differently as just a disagreement.
Lata’s interview makes Rafi a villain.
Unparalleled mud-slinging by Lataji:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/God-wanted-me-to-sing-Lata/articleshow/5063966.cms
Poor Rafi.. he can’t even defend himself.
Priyaji..
Absolutely right… all the media of channels are concocted and tell a different story..
If lataji doesnt mention Rafi sahab’s name so be it… Do you think that makes any difference to the sun and the star which the public n fans love him…
Rafi sahab is reverred like God and if his greatest co-singers like lataji n ashaji doesnt mention.. Let us say that they are unfair to themselves and not to us…
Talking of Rafi sahab is like showing a candle to the Sun-god and nothing else…
So do not get depressed… infact many like us have stopped watching TV- interviews which are always biased…
For the interviewers music starts and ends which Panchamda… So if the tv media is ignorant of Shankar jaikishen or Madan mohan or o.p.nayyar they are only making a laughing stock not the true music lovers like you…
Infact in the total recall of Times now of s.d.burmanda the later half they spoke highly about Rafi sahab ( surprsingly it was babul supriyo talking of Pyaasa song ) and other artistes also acknowledged the great association of Burmanda and Rafi sb
Narayan
all r against Rafi sahab,how un fair r they with rafi sahab!,,yesterday was lataji`s B`day,,,I watched almost every show on every channel,,not even a single time anyone mentioned name of Rafi sahab in relation with Lataji`s song,,,Both Mangeskar sister,,took 100s times name of Kishore kum,,not even a single time Rafi sahab,,,recently on SD burman`s B`day,,,in SD burman tribute show,,they only show kishore-lata song,,not even a single Rafi sahab song,,,,strangly we all know SD burman were not what he is if there were not Rafi sahab playbacked on him,,,everyone know how openly Naushad sahab ,,Ravi ji,,etc,,praised Rafi sahab,,Lata mangeshkar when aksed about muc director,,only mentioned Salil choudhary and both burmans….strange not even a single time she mentioned Naushad sahab…..
.
P..S—recently on this site I publiced Lataji`s interview on Rafi sahab punya-titi in local daily(that is read by very few people),,in which she addressed Rafi sahab as Bhaiya and praised him,,,,but it appears she praise rafi sahab under the curtain but when it comes main stream media she don`t even take name of Rafi bhaiyaa,,,for example,,it was rafi sahab,,who when came to knew about Lataji`s urdu is very weak arranged a urdu teacher for Lata mangeskar just to help his co singer,,,in lata`s early struggle of career,,but yesterday on CNBC,,when talks of urdu teacher came,,she took name of everyone including Dilip sahab,,but not even a single time talked about Rafi sahab,,,but on other ocassion with lesser media aattention she is being heard mentioning that Rafi sahab sent a urdu teacher for her that she was surprised by his charitable nature,,,strange lata ji,,even in 80 year of ur birth u still don`t have peace of mind and envy with rafi sahab!!!!
Dear Usha,
“Ponch kar ashq ” has been a favourite song especially since the lyrics are so inspiring.
Perfectly written, I agree with every word.
Rafifan1:
yes exactly. Rafi saahab is the greatest singer I have ever heard, be it hindi,english,japanese,tamil,etc He is the best.
Anil ji:
Paao choon lene do is what I downloaded recently. Both tunes are magnificent in my opinion, but jo waada kiya I feel has the magic for some reason – perhaps it is because I have heard it a long time back.. abt 1 year, or if the melody had a better balance between simplicity and intricacy(paaon chu lene do is more intricate according to me) or whether the content (that is, eternal love) means more to me (note: i do not know what paao chu lene do is abt 🙂 ).. only time will tell.. let a few years pass and I’ll see which one I’ll remember more because it takes a while for a song to grow on me…
Kapil:
Yeah Roshan saahab made fantastic tunes(unlike his son, he could make original melodies which were of a higher standard) I am going to look for more songs by him sung by rafi saab.. the ones i know are man re tu, jo wada kiya,paao chu lene do and dil jo na keh saka.. oh and of course zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi woh barsaat ki raat.
Sid
please all of you them stop these kindly stop these type of wording the people you have think it’s really disgusting i unable to understand why r u saying like these that kishore is better than rafi saab look both r legendary personality. they both never think that who was better look there are many god and they plays their role i.e lord shiva is doing their duty of destroyer brahamaji is doing their duty of creator. every person came here to give you something do his duties
please stop these nonsense our politicians this things was doing it. it will not suits you RAFI SAAB & KI SHORE DA both are part of god worship them and think them of they are always near to you
i am requesting you please stop it don’t do these
you know in real life RAFI SAAB & KI SHORE DA both are good friends
please stop your quoting one another
Sid,
Same here 🙂 …”Jo vaada kia”, in fact whole Taajmahal soundtrack is my daily dose, it takes me to trance as well … Roshan was such a masterpiece composer yar … and of course Rafi Ji and Lata Ji, divine as always !
168,,,,yes no problem with kishore kumar ji,,why just kishore kum,Mukesh Manna de,,Latajietc,,no problem with anyone,,only respect and love,,,,,,but one day I met a kishore fan,,,who felt I hate kishore kum,,,only for the reason that I adress Rafi sahab as sahab but kishore da or kumar without sahab,,,,,,the point is kishore fan are so illogical as they wanna see kishore kum as a better singer than Rafi sahab,after all there is some difference in the way we look at any induvidual,,it never mean loving one hating other,,,,,,and when they compare,,,, certain “insecurity” captures `em,,because heart of their heart know the difference even comparing Rafi sahab in 70s with kis kum in 70s only,,,,,forget about 60s and 50s or late 40s……….hence,,they react and talk so irrelevent and their querrels play major role for not allowing Rafi sahab having same status of Bharat ratna that some of other singers have…
Sid:
There is another masterpiece in the same movie- ‘paao choo lene do…’. Personally speaking, this one is even better than its more famous counterpart.
Roshan-Rafi is a terrific team, rivalling any other combos in terms of quality and popularity. Yes, Rafisahab wasn’t a one-horse cart; he had so much to offer that every MD (almost all of them) of the golden era found him the best medium to articulate their creativity to the people. Going further, it wouldn’t be an over-statement to say that Rafisahab stretched their artistic creativity to the limit.
167 – sid ji,
correct. jo wada kiya woh nibhana padega – rafi is great – even than lata. Rafi is rafi.
Side-Kick of Detective jee says : the moderator of this site has blocked his post since it’s about binu nair…….( it’s a lie in toto ).
please do not lie here…..please go ahead and publish it in the other – otherwise deserted site…….
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may i say on record that we all love kishore kumar and some of his great songs, his acting talents and many other attributes. as youngsters in abu dhabi we had a ball of a time when kishore ji regaled the indian crowds at the beach side resort on a starry night. those thoughts would never go away.
but this thought always stays : why are few kishore fans so terrible, so sectarian, so much one sided fanatics and bent upon mischief…. is it due to some kind of “insecurity”…. invading their minds????
binu nair
I was just listening to jo wada kiya from taj mahal and It got me into a trance. I felt like I was in heaven.
Whether rdb liked rafisaab or not is not important as mohd rafi doesn’t need to rely on any single composer to excel,( example this song is composed by the late roshan saahab.) He will excel as he is mohd rafi.
thanks,
Sid
My post 165,,,
Sorry typo error..
Should read learned n knowledgable Rafi encylopedia
Adaab Rafi !
Well said Priyaji.. You have truly echoed the sentiments of true music lovers and specially women who are considered n respected as goddess in our country…
I have always felt that female gender had that special extraordinary quality to enjoy all fine arts which includes music,dance,painting,craft,rangoli and decoration….
No wonder we have many leaned n knowledgable Rafi encyclopedia in our fan club who are better than the male in their profound knowledge..
Thanks for ur great insights…
post 157,,Mr binu nairji,,,,,,even a single verse from Rafi sahab`s divine voice would make this site a holy one for I know,u know,,and many of us know why so many adress Rafi sahab`s voice as voice of God,,,,,reason wouldn`t be enough to explain this fact,,as Rafi sahab`s voice was perfect and his singing,,,he could sing in anyway,even the way alien to other singers,,,and his personality,,,,such a saintly and divine person ,,,,,,,Rafi sahab is God`s finnest creation,,,,,,if these bugs understand it or not,it hardly matters………………and feminine,being a women I can say feminine is not a slang,infact feminine is worshippable as also its durga puja everywhere in bengal,,,,,but as far as rafi sahab is concerned,plz everyone,listen to Rafi sahab`s romantic song,,,,desh bhakti song,,religious song,,and sad song,,songs for nature etc,even insane man would loose his own masculinty to utter dirty words for such humble person,,,,masculinity is something that makes a women restless and rafiji`s voice can make every women restless,,and what could be more manly than the song,,kad chale ham fida,,,,,,Rafi sahab`s voice is beyond limit of men and female anyone who has heart and sould would surly like this divine voice,,,,,,,,,,,,,yes on reverse I`ve seen many boys in my native city,,,getting attracted by hard voice of certain singer,,,,something that attract boys could be termed as???????????,
detective ji : atleast now agree that the “inhouse singer” and the singer with the “regional flavour” were also responsible for the downslide in r d b ‘s music career.
mohd rafi played his part too well and gave some great hits to the composer and u will agree that the usage of multi singers by l & P duo, gave them a bigger innings, greater hits and bigger banners during the seventies, eighties and the nineties.
we would like to hear from you about the music of sholay and about seeta aur geeta. how many times people would like to hear the numbers from the above films??? has it not become “bhule bisare geet”….?????
binu nair
Post 150 🙁 for the attention of the Regional Bigot ) If at all r d burman used so many instruments/artists too well “then” his music would’nt have failed him so thoroughly and bombed heavily after the initial promising dream start he got in his career.
the above named men and women are the cream from the music industry. i guesss u are saayyyinggg that rd burman “lost his musical moorings” (very tragic indeed ) inspite of having the best musicians around and in his team.
u must now also give us the picture of his – failed musical offerings vis-a-vis his two main “constant” singers.
binu nair
Manish:
1.Aah I wondered why the singers sounded so horrible in sholay 😮
2.Totally agree with you here. I do not hate kishore,asha or lata just because I listen to rafisaab the most.
If that were the case then naushad,sj, op, roshan etc all did not like kk 😛
MR.J.K.BHAGCHANDANI……. MANY thanks for hitting the nail on its head. Mr.arghya the regional fanatic must concentrate on “the other” website and work for its popularity since it is dwindling in popularity, attention and readership. the group leader has been saying : “this is his last post” but can’t really leave the party. he loves to stay back to spoil the rafians tribute party.
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mr.kajal chakraborty has worked in the film industry for 30 long years as a “violinist”. he too has lots of rich anecdotes to say about the industry and mohd rafi. he is my school pal and i have seen him carrying the instrument at various places for recitals or for work.
Detective : please check the authencity of this and report back .
also, check whether there was a person by the name mr.suresh yadav in the music industry. my query is : which instrument he played and achieved fame in????
please do some investigations mr.detective and report to this popular site. if the investigations are good – we would give u some more jobs and appoint u as our “consultant detective” .
binu nair….. mumbai…
“voice of sholay”
iirc, the audio recording was messed up for that movie. sholay was supposed to have some special quality sound and the audio tapes were taken to london where the engineers screwed up .
“rd/salil did not like rafi – its a fact”
the more correct way to word it is that rd & salil liked other singers more. rd did not have active personal issues or an agenda against rafi. however rd was a human with his own opinions and tastes and liked to other singers better. this is not to say he did not like rafi. of course, in the industry all that matters is who you like more since you can have only one singer render your solo composition. i like to listen to rafi because he’s my favorite but that doesn’t mean i have anything against other singers. if i had my radio station, for a given month, i may play 70% songs of rafi & lata. so i am indirectly, through my taste, promoting rafi & lata over other singers. however, that is not my active intention. same with rd.
I have been watching with dismay the ongoing fight. At the onset I must say that Mr. Arghya has taken up an issue that is unethical to the extent of being horrendous. He is simply hitting below the belt. Agreed that some posts of Rafi fans too have been abusive (including the recent one from Mr. Sandeep Nadkarni) but they are mostly in retalliation to Mr. Arghya’s continued mischief. First Mr. Arghya is sending irritating posts and provoking all to write something in retaliation, then he quotes those retaliatory posts to prove his point. What a crooked smartness!! I just have one question: What will Mr Sandeep Nadkarni achieve by his alleged posturing? Let me remind Mr. Arghya that this a very sacred site dedicated to our Rafi saab. And as the site title (Rafians Tribute to a true Maestro) very appropriately defines the purpose of the site. We the Rafi fans are also true Rafi followers. We trust Mr. Nadkarni just as Rafi saab used to trust all people. Please Mr. Arghya what you have started is simply in bad taste.
About Post 145 : He and his friends are regional fanatic’s it seems – not music buffs . dear moderator : he who calls mohd rafi’s voice as feminine – ought to be barred from this site.
please also delete all the controversial posts for the sake of “purity of the site”.
lets breathe some fresh air.
binu nair
post 149,
simply despicable.
post 150,
is this the complete list of all the musicians rd used from 1961 to 1994? u talked abt foul-mouthing rd/salil. most of them were never asked and did u meet all of them? how do u know? rd/salil did not like rafi – its a fact. but salil maintained that rafi was the better of the two while rd said it was kishore.
post 145 says a last post from me. post 150 n 151 is again coming from the same source. i respect n blv arghya very much. so people, plz understand thr are two or more arghya’s posting here. be selective when u address arghya(s). lolz
Post 145 : the bug says that post no.145 is his last post. but he likes to stay on and refuses to leave.
the bug must perhaps listen to the hit tunes of films mentioned earlier like ishq, ishq, ishq, heera panna, warrant and if he still has time do a research on the 25 flop films of r d burman — on why those films flopped and where al his guru went in search of job in his attempt to come back in his second innings career.
mr.sandeep nadkarni is a small fry of the film industry. he was never as big as rdb or salil da – he never claimed that. so this bug must concentrate on his gurus works and come out with an acceptable post mortem of their works not fight with mr sandeep ji.
i again request this bug to listen to his masters songs and that hoarse voice of sholay and others – for his mental peace rather than quarelling on this site.
binu nair
dear mr araghya, i have never used the name dr. ashish kapoor or katrina on any web site ever. i have the confidence in my own name and have the guts to put my tel no at the end of my posts. i am not like u , who would use aliase’s to write. in fact u r the one who contradicts his own statements on every post. i have never abused any one on any site and neither do i have to,because truth always stands tall. infact it is u who writes bullshit about our rafi sahaab. i had challenged u on the kk website to come up with one religious song of kk and i will give u two. now i challenge u to come up with one patriotic song of kk and i will give u two of rafi sahab’s. in fact u come up with a song in any situation , and i will give you two of rafi sahab’s.
have the guts of calling me up and i shall set right your statistics about rafi sahab.
now when u talk of shri nadkarni sahab, well every body in our fraternity knows about his credentials and his credibility and also his contribution viz-a-viz hfm. u must have spoken to some disgruntled element about him and i am sure that your contact would be only as wierd as u r. and more over, rafi sahab did not need md’s like salil choudhary or anil biswas or rdb to prove himself, in fact the truth is that these md’s were forced to take rafi if there was a difficult song to sing. your “guru” also took rafi sahab’s services for even his home productions, and the ever generous rafi sahab took only 1 re as his fees.
i am the same person who had given u anil da’s daughter’s tel no in the other website. she is the convener of a musical group called as “sangeet smriti”, and on the 4th of april she conducted a rafi night. that’s his popularity!!!.
rdb’s first movie as a md was “chhote nawab’ and all the songs in the male voice have been sung by our rafi sahab. hear the songs and then u will realise the magnanimity and greatness of his voice.
grow up araghya ji………feel free to give a call (missed) any time.
ashish kapoor, vice president, rafi foundation memorial society, delhi.
ashkpr@hotmail.com , tel= 09810087414, 09212587414
yes, sandeep nadkarni.. That is what i wanted to know!!
Your language now bears the testimony that you are not genuine at all..the latest entry has proved that.
This can not come from a 77 year old ailing person, rather from a frustrated soul who has been exposed badly.
Time to leave. But this forum has lost all its shine after your last post, sandip!! Do care to check out the latest musicians list i have given… And dont worry, khel abhi khatam nahi hua..not here anymore, but somewhere else…
Some left outs from previous posts:
MADAL : Ranjit Gazmer alias Kancha.
SPANISH GTR : Bhanuda, Bhupinder, Ramesh Iyer.
ELECTRIC GTR : Ramesh Iyer, Dilip Naik.
ORGAN : Kersi Bawa.
MATKA : Indru Atma.
PEDAL MATKA : Vijay Indurkar(he MADE this instrument)
HARMONICA : Bhanuda, Pancham.
TUMBA : Manya Barve.
TABLA : Bhavani Shankar.
DRUMS : Buggy Lord, and in the 80s/90s Franco.
Here, still a “legend of legends” is missing!!