By Anuj Sharma

The Rahul Dev Burman baton may have associated overwhelmingly with Kishore Kumar, but there was an area where the son, as disparate from the father as anyone could be, was in complete confluence with the senior Burman. Both despite their propensity for Kishore could never as shrewd composers do injustice to the Tansen of hindi film music: Mohammed Rafi. (more…)

By Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi with Jeetendra

Jeetender started his career in the early 1960s with the patronage of eminent director V. Shantaram. He was launched as hero opposite Rajashri in the film Geet Gaya Pattharone in 1964. At that time Jeetender had to face the competition from the rulers of bollywood films like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rajender Kumar and others. Probably Jeetender spend his toughest time of the career to cement his place between 1964 to 1970, when viewers starting recognizing Jeetender and appreciating his acting and dancing skills. (more…)

By Shashikant Dubey and Ahamed Kutty

Mohd Rafi

I am a huge fan of Rafi Saahab. When i was around 10 in the year 1993, the first song that I heard of his voice was ‘Yahoo!! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe. At that time I did not knew who was Rafi, then I heard another gem of his and that was ‘Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai Bada‘. (more…)

By: H.A.K. Walijah

Mohd Rafi, Laxmikant, Pyarelal

Praising Rafi Saab, Pyarelal ji once said: “What can I say about a man jo tareef se bahut hi oopar hai, and had countless golden qualities? I am only able to feel my deep regard for him, not to express it. Rafi Saab aisi sargam thi jisse koi bhi raag ban saktaa tha. He could sing in any range or octave. If today’s composers are to flower, the Almighty should create nine Rafis more! Can we find even a single song of his that is badly rendered? Of course, he had a major role in our career, and yet I would single out one song to show his greatness as a human being. Laxmi-Pyare have the honor of composing the maximum number of songs for the King of Melody, Rafi Saab. Their total output for Rafi is closely followed by S-J. Together the LP-Rafi combination gave us many treats and amongst Rafi saab’s best ever sung songs are those composed by L-P.  “Tere pyar ne mujhe gham diya” from Chaila Babu (1967) lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri was LP & Rafi saab’s first song together. It was recorded in 1961 but it got released in 1967. After the song was recorded LP gave Rafi saab 1000 rupees as that is what they could afford. (more…)

This article is written by: Zaheen Danish

Rafi Sahab with RD Burman

When we talk about the combination of Rafi Sahab and R.D. Burman and about their partnership,  some of the finest songs that were composed by RDB trying to resurface on the thin layer of memory instantly  such as – “Tum bin jaoun kahan”, “Ni sultana re pyar ka mausam aya”  “ kitna pyara wada” , “Arrey ho goriyan kahan tera desh re”,  “Chura liya hai tumne jo dilko”, “Yeh ladka hai alla kaisa hai diwana”,  “Hai agar dushman zamana gham nahi”, “Kya hua tera wada”,  “Chand mera dil”, “Pal do pal ka saath hamaara” and Maine poocha chand se. RD Burman started his journey with Chote Nawab in 1962 with the help of the man with the golden voice, Mohammad Rafi.

Major songs in the film was sung by Rafi and RD Burman commanded respect in the musical community of that period, who were still mesmerised with the classical compositions of Naushad, folk songs of SD Burman, western effects of Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Salil Chowdhury, Ghazals of Roshan, Madan mohan. RD Burman had other skills like playing the mouth organ, tabla and other related instruments and he showed his skill while playing the mouth organ for Laxmikant Pyarellal in the film Dosti, 1964 where Rafi had galvanised the silver screen with his tragic andaz. (more…)

By H.Krishnan

In the worlds of business today innovation is a great differentiator. It can make or break a business.  But Rafi sahib is the personification of innovation in playback singing starting in the 1950’s. he had a great voice, but he honed it to perfection as any artist will do. But to make an impact you need to innovate and stand out from the others. Rafi sahib was the first person to create a style for each of his heroes, by imbibing essential features of the hero and bringing out in his song presentation.

By: Jagat Kant Choudhary

Kishore Kumar and Mohd Rafi

It was inevitable. The Comparison. With two phenomenal singers like Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar dividing the lion’s share of the male playback music industry between themselves, it was only a matter of time before the big question would crop up- who is the better singer?

The huge fan following, bordering on reverence for the two singers coupled with the alleged preferences of certain music directors for one over the other, often triggered this question. However and fortunately so, while the fans swore by their respective idols, and still do, there has never been a clear polarization either in the fan following or the music industry as a whole. (more…)

By Jagat Kant Choudhary

Filmfare

The Filmfare Awards, since its inception in 1953 has been one of the most coveted awards in the Hindi Film Industry. It was at the Regal Theatre in South Mumbai (then Bombay) on March 21, 1954, that the first awards were handed over to the winners. Hollywood star Gregory Peck, who was the guest of honour at the inaugural Awards ceremony, was delayed on a flight from Colombo and could only attend the banquet at Willingdon Sports Club later on.

Incidentally the Awards were called Clare Awards in the beginning, named after Clare Mendionca, the well known film critic of the Times of India in the 1940s and 50s. A couple of years down the line, however, the Awards began to be known as Filmfare Awards instead. (more…)

“Chahoonga Main Tujhe Saanjh Savere,” sung by the legendary Mohammed Rafi, is a timeless classic from the film Dosti (1964). The song, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri, is celebrated for its emotional depth and Rafi’s mesmerizing rendition. The track earned Rafi the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1965 and is considered an anthem among his fans, capturing the essence of friendship and love in the movie. The song’s enduring popularity reflects Rafi’s unmatched versatility and the brilliance of the composition.
By: H.A.K. Walijah

Many songs of Rafi Saab are ceaseless but some have achieved the status of immortality, means it can be heard million of times even though it does sound fresh and vibrant.  You may call it the miracle of the singer’s voice or the marvelous composition or the magical words embedded in the lyrics that suited the mood of the song. 

By Mr. Biman Baruah, Assam

Mohd Rafi with Sanjeev Kumar

APNE  LIYE  JIYE  TU  KIYA  JIYE
TU JI  YEH  DIL  ZAMANE  KE  LIYE
It is one of my beloved songs which depict the great personality of our beloved Rafi Sahab and the song was picturised on versatile actor Sanjeev Kumar in the film BADAL (1966). Long back in my school days, I had seen this song for first & last time in RANGOLI telecast by DD-1 at 07:00 AM. From that time, I was under presumption that it was being sung by Rafi Sahab. Since, I do not have collection of this song and recently with a plan to work on Rafi – Sanjeev Kumar combination; I searched the song details and disconsolately came to know that it is being sung by Manna Dey not by our beloved Rafi Sahab, though the song was composed by Rafi devotee composer Usha Khanna in the lyrics of Javed Anwar. (more…)