On the birth anniversary of legendary singer Mohammad Rafi, here’s a tribute to the great man

Ranjit Singh

There are some names without whom Bollywood music would never have been so popular. One such name is of legendary singer Mohammed Rafi. Born in a rural milieu at Kotla Sultan Singh, then part of Amritsar district (now in Pakistan), he was gifted with a golden voice and was under the spell of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan during his childhood. On his death anniversary today (July 31), here’s a look at some of his famous songs.

Recognising his divine gift, his elder brother Hamid encouraged him to develop his talent. Nurtured under the tutelage of Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan of Kirana Gharana, he did a lot of riyaaz and obtained mastery over classical music with his sheer dedication and hard work.

At the tender age of 16, he got an opportunity to sing for All-India Radio. Sham Sunder, a music director from Lahore, spotted his talent and offered Rafi a song for his Punjabi film, Gul Baloch. Hindi film actor Nazir, who happened to be in Lahore, was so impressed with his talent that he invited Rafi to Bombay. Rafi’s first Hindi film disc was recorded in 1944 when he was only 20 years old. It was named Gaon Kee Gori.

One of his hit patriotic songs was in the movie Saheed (1948) — Watan ki raah me watan ke naujawan shaheed ho. The music was given by late Ghulam Haider.

The same year brought one more super-hit to his credit from the movie Pyar kee Jeet — Is dil ke tukde hazar hue, koi yahan gira, koi wahan gira. However, a song most remembered was from the movie Mela released in the same year — Yeh zindgi ke mele, duniya me kam na honge, afsos hum na honge.

Mohammad Rafi sang for almost every top hero from 1948 to 1980. He was blessed with such a voice that it suited every type of song. Rafi was a very punctual and kind-hearted gentleman. He was so disciplined that he rarely came late for recordings. When somebody asked him to name his favourite song, among the many he had sung, he replied: Mann re Tu Kahe Na dheer dhare. It is from the movie Chitralekha.

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