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Mohd Rafi, memories & melodies

December 24 marks the birth centenary of Mohd Rafi, whose songs continue to hold sway
His adaptability to the style of the actors made Mohd Rafi their favourite singer. Photos courtesy: Bhim Raj Garg
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Music maestro Naushad once dubbed Mohammed Rafi as “God’s gift to the music world”. Perhaps Naushad, credited as being Rafi’s mentor, was right, as unlike other celebrities, Rafi does not have just a legion of fans, but ‘worshippers’ who revere him as a demigod.

As the world celebrates the birth centenary of this one-of-a-kind singer on December 24, the spotlight again shifts to his matchless versatility. Rafi was known for making stars out of actors with the magic of his voice over his four-decade career. His voice would fit into any genre — fast, peppy numbers, raga-based songs, soothing melodies, romantic songs, qawwalis, soul-stirring ghazals or soulful bhajans.

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In the golden era of Bollywood music from the 1950s to 1970s, Rafi strode like a colossus on the music scene, eclipsing his equally accomplished contemporaries — the melancholic Mukesh, the boisterous Kishore Kumar, the classical Manna De and the melodious sisters Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. It was not without reason that Rafi was held in awe and respect, though humility remained the standout trait all through his life.

During the late 1990s, eminent classical Bollywood singer and one of Mohd Rafi’s illustrious contemporaries, Manna De, told me that Rafi was the greatest Indian singer ever. I did not realise the gravity of the statement then. I understand it better today, 25 years later, as the legendary singer continues to charm millions of music lovers. Lata, his ‘competitor’, who had a run-in with Rafi over the issue of royalty to singers, perhaps paid him the best tribute: “Rafi Bhaiya was not only India’s greatest playback singer, but also a wonderful person. He was one singer whose vocal range could outclass any other singer, whether it was me, Asha, Mannada or Kishore Bhaiya.”

A teetotaller who also abstained from smoking and avoided filmi parties, Rafi’s hobbies included badminton and carrom. Like a typical Amritsari, Rafi had a childlike passion for flying kites and would sulk like a baby if anyone was to snap his kite’s string.

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Numerous awards came his way, starting with the silver medal given by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the first anniversary of India’s Independence. In 1965, he was decorated with the Padma Shri. He won the coveted National Award for the song ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ (1977). He had the distinction of winning the Filmfare Award for the Best Male Playback Singer six times.

Proud of his Punjabi roots, Rafi is credited with rendering 262 songs in 105 Punjabi movies. He reportedly charged no fee or a token amount for many of the Punjabi songs for producers with small budgets.

The screen adaptability and voice modulation to the persona and style of the actor made Rafi the favourite singer for a generation of actors. Be it the classical ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re’, the animated ‘Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera’, the soulful ‘Hum Bekhudi Mein’, the comic ‘Sar Jo Tera Chakraye’, the contemplative ‘Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari’ or the ordinary ‘Ai Ai Ya Karu Main Kya Suku Suku’, he could mould his voice effortlessly to any situation.

Born to Allah Rakhi and Haji Ali Mohammad in Kotla Sultan Singh village in Amritsar district of undivided Punjab on December 24, 1924, Rafi (nicknamed Pheeko) began singing by imitating the chants of a fakir, who reportedly roamed the streets of his village. Rafi’s father moved to Lahore in 1935, where he ran a barber shop. In Lahore, Rafi learnt classical music from, among others, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami.

It is said that once Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo of Radio Lahore went for a haircut to the salon where a young Rafi was singing Waris Shah’s ‘Heer’ in the quintessential Amritsari style. Mattoo took him under his wings to train him in classical music. However, Rafi’s singing talent was first recognised in 1937 after his impromptu performance at an exhibition in Lahore where the legendary singer KL Saigal was in the audience. He is said to have predicted that Rafi would one day become a great singer.

Rafi made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in 1941 with the duet ‘Goriye Nee, Heeriye Nee’ with Zeenat Begum for the Punjabi movie ‘Gul Baloch’ (released in 1944) under music director Shyam Sunder. However, it was his shift to Bombay in 1944 on the invitation of actor-producer Nazeer which ultimately proved the turning point in Rafi’s life. Shyam Sunder gave him an opportunity to sing a duet for ‘Gaon Ki Gori’, which became Rafi’s first recorded song in a Hindi film.

It was his collaboration with Naushad which proved to be a game-changer. Their first song together was ‘Hindustan Ke Hum Hain’ for AR Kardar’s ‘Pehle Aap’ (1944). Naushad would later narrate the story of the recording of this song thus: “In order to give a marching effect to the patriotic song, Rafi asked the chorus singers to wear heavy military shoes and sing the song making a rhythmic sound by hitting the booted legs in unison.” Such was Rafi’s dedication to his craft that after the recording, his feet were bleeding, but his face was glowing with joy.

The Naushad-Rafi pair gave Hindi cinema some of its biggest hits. After initially working in films like ‘Anmol Ghadi’ and ‘Shahjahan’, the all-time hit ‘Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki’ (‘Dulari’, 1949) made Rafi a household name. This, followed by ‘O Duniya Ke Rakhwale’ and ‘Man Tarpat’ from ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952), made him a force to reckon with in the film industry.

SD Burman used Rafi as the voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt, giving timeless melodies in blockbusters such as ‘Pyaasa’ (1957), ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ (1959), ‘Kala Pani’ (1958), ‘Tere Ghar Ke Saamne’ (1963), ‘Guide’ (1965), ‘Aradhana’ (1969) and ‘Abhimaan’ (1973).

Under Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi sang for actors Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Interestingly, out of the six Filmfare awards, Rafi won three for Shankar-Jaikishan songs — ‘Teri Pyaari Pyaari Surat Ko’, ‘Bahaaron Phool Barsaao’ and ‘Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein’. The collaboration resulted in hit films like ‘Awaara’, ‘Boot Polish’, ‘Basant’, ‘Professor’, ‘Junglee’, ‘Rajkumar’, ‘An Evening in Paris’, ‘Sangam’, ‘Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai’, ‘Love in Tokyo’ and ‘Dil Tera Diwana’.

Rafi’s first Filmfare award came for the title song of ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’ (1960), a classic composition by Ravi. He received the National Award for ‘Baabul Ki Duaen Leti Jaa’ from the film ‘Neel Kamal’ (1968), also composed by Ravi.

Madan Mohan exploited Rafi’s versatility and range to the hilt, resulting in such hits as ‘Teri Aankhon Ke Siva’, ‘Yeh Duniyaa, Yeh Mehfil’, ‘Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho’, ‘Kar Chale Hum Fida’ and ‘Meri Aawaaz Suno’.

Around the same time, OP Nayyar and Rafi were instrumental in creating several hits. Nayyar used Rafi and Asha Bhosle for a majority of his compositions in films like ‘Naya Daur’ (1957), ‘Tumsa Nahi Dekha’ (1957), ‘Ek Musafir Ek Hasina’ (1962) and ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ (1964). Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s association with the singer resulted in the Filmfare Award for the song ‘Chahoonga Main Tujhe Saanjh Savere’ from Dosti (1964).

Meanwhile, Kalyanji-Anandji and Rafi went on to work together for the music of the Shashi Kapoor-starrer ‘Haseena Maan Jayegi’ (1968), which had songs like ‘Bekhudi Mein Sanam’ and ‘Chale The Saath Milke’. In fact, Rafi worked with almost all Bollywood music directors such as C Ramchandra, Roshan, Jaidev, Khayyam, Rajesh Roshan, Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Sapan Jagmohan, TV Raju, S Hanumantha Rao, Usha Khanna, Sonik Omi, Chitragupta, SN Tripathi and RD Burman.

In the 1970s, as Rafi recovered from a protracted throat infection, he came out with some of his best songs — ‘Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil’, ‘Gulabi Aankhen’, ‘Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga’, ‘Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paaoge’, ‘Re Mama Re Mama Re’, ‘Kuchh Kehta Hai Ye Saawan’, ‘Chalo Dildaar Chalo’, ‘Aaj Mausam Bada’ and ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo’. A highlight of his career in the later years was in 1977, when he won both the Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ from the movie ‘Hum Kisise Kum Nahin’, composed by RD Burman.

A heart attack claimed his life on July 31, 1980. However, his songs continue to enthral fans across the globe. Generations of singers, including Mahendra Kapoor, Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, SP Balasubrahmanyam, Mohammed Aziz, Shabbir Kumar and Sonu Nigam, have been inspired by Rafi’s style.

(L-R) Anandji, Rafi, Raj Kapoor and Kalyanji. Photo courtesy: Bishambhar Dutt Sharma

The Shining Star

In 1977, Mohd Rafi won the Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song ‘Kya Hua Tera Vada’ (‘Hum Kisise Kum Naheen’).

Rafi won the National Award once and the Filmfare Award six times.

Proud of his Punjabi roots, Rafi sang 262 songs for 105 Punjabi movies, charging a token amount for a majority of songs.

Rafi cried while recording the iconic ‘Babul Ki Duaen Leti Ja’ from the movie ‘Neel Kamal’. It later won the National Award.

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