Mohammed Rafi’s Voice Remains Eternal

Forty
four
years
after
Mohammed
Rafi’s
untimely
demise
on
July
31,
1980,
at
the
young
age
of
55,
the
singer’s
work
continues
to
enjoy
a
musical
afterlife
on
radio,
television
and
modern
streaming
channels.

With
one
of
the
most
recorded
voices
in
human
history,
Mohammed
Rafi
is
an
iconic
playback
singer
from
the
golden
age
of
Hindi
film
music.

His
rich
repertoire
comprises
thousands
of
songs
that
helped
him
scale
the
popularity
charts
for
over
30
years
from
the
late
1940s
to
the
early
1980s.

Blessed
with
a
mellifluous
voice
which
he
honed
with
technical
finesse,
Rafi
had
a
range
as
wide
as
the
Himalayas.

This
virtuoso
had
the
rare
ability
to
juggle
rumbustious
songs
(Chahe
Koi
Mujhe
Junglee
Kahe)
with
high-pitched
emotion-soaked
numbers
(O
Duniya
Ke
Rakhwale).
He
could
jump
genres
from
classical
(Madhuban
Mein
Radhika
Nache)
to
pop
(Jaan
Pehchaan
Ho)
without
missing
a
beat.

His
gift
for
expression
could
distil
a
song’s
philosophy

(Main
Zindagi
Ka
Saath
Nibhata
Chala
Gaya)
to
its
essence,
and
his
vocals
could
also
create
a
seductive
aura
(Yeh
Jo
Chilman
Hai)
by
lovingly
caressing
certain
notes
with
breathy
inflections.

Forty
four
years
after
Mohammed
Rafi’s
untimely
demise
on
July
31,
1980,
at
the
young
age
of
55,
the
singer’s
work
continues
to
enjoy
a
musical
afterlife
on
radio,
television
and
modern
streaming
channels.

Rafi
still
enthrals
legions
of
fans,
old
and
new,
who
revere
him
for
his
talent
as
well
as
his
famed
modesty.

Rarely,
if
ever,
did
Rafi
strike
a
discordant
note,
either
in
his
inspired
singing
or
in
his
real
life.

This
humility
stood
the
20-year-old
Rafi
in
good
stead
when
he
struggled
as
a
chorus
singer
in
the
Hindi
film
music
world
of
the
mid-1940s
despite
having
debuted
under
Shyam
Sundar’s
music
direction
with
the
Punjabi
film

Gul
Baloch
(1944).

Maestro
Naushad
said
the
young,
classically-trained
Rafi
was
‘bahut
sharmile,
bahut
shareef’
and
was
paid
Rs
10
for
singing
a
line
in
his
composition

Hindustan
Ke
Hum
Hai
Hindustan
Hamara
for

Pehle
Aap
(1944).

Rafi
was
also
part
of
the
legendary
K
L
Saigal’s
song
from

Shahjehan
(1946),

Roohi
Roohi
before
Naushad
finally
gave
the
young
crooner
solo
songs
filmed
on
non-leading
actors
in
Anmol
Ghadi
(Tera
Khilona
Toota
Balak)
and

Mela
(Yeh
Zindagi
Ke
Mele).

The
popularity
of
these
numbers
led
to
Rafi
being
flooded
with
assignments
including
the
burnished
romantic
nugget

Suhani
Raat
Dhal
Chuki
from

Dulari
(1949).

Rafi’s
successful

jugalbandi
with
Naushad
and
Dilip
Kumar
played
a
pivotal
role
in
his
career.
It
wasn’t
Naushad,
however,
who
first
gave
Rafi
the
opportunity
to
playback
for
Dilip
Kumar.

That
credit
goes
to
Feroz
Nizami
(Yahan
Badla
Wafa
Ka
from

Jugnu)
and
Ghulam
Haider
(Watan
Ki
Raah
Pe
from

Shaheed).

In
fact,
Naushad
alternated
between
Rafi,
Mukesh
and
Talat
Mahmood
those
days.

Ironically,
Naushad
pencilled
Rafi
in
to
playback
for
Raj
Kapoor
while
assigning
the
four
solos
filmed
on
Dilip
Kumar
to
Mukesh
in

Andaaz
(1949).

To
Rafi’s
advantage,
he
remained
focused
on
singing
prolifically,
while
Mukesh,
Talat
Mahmood
and
Kishore
Kumar
were
distracted
from
playback
singing
by
their
acting
careers
as
leading
men
in
films.

This
paid
off
tremendously
when
Rafi
scored
a
major
breakthrough
with
two
Naushad
scores
in
1952.

In

Aan,
Rafi’s
talent
shone
in
jaunty
hits
like

Maan
Mera
Ehsaan
Arrey
Nadaan
while

Baiju
Bawra
immortalised
him
thanks
to
his
impassioned
rendering
of
renowned

bhajans
like

Man
Tarpat
Hari
Darshan
Ko
Aaj.

Rafi’s
polished
vocals
in
the
latter
film
made
it
seem
plausible
for
leading
man
Bharat
Bhushan
to
play
fabled
singer
Tansen’s
competitor.

Hereafter,
Rafi
became
the
predominant
male
singer
for
both
Naushad
and
Dilip
Kumar.
But
other
leading
music
directors
were
surprisingly
slow
to
jump
onto
the
Rafi
bandwagon.

Shankar
Jaikishan,
C
Ramchandra
and
S
D
Burman
found
vehicles
for
Rafi’s
vocals
only
sparingly
till
the
late
1950s.

It
was
O
P
Nayyar
who
consistently
boosted
Rafi’s
commercial
standing
in
the
mid-1950s
with

Aar
Paar,
Mr
And
Mrs
55,
CID,
Naya
Daur
and

Tumsa
Nahin
Dekha.

Nayyar’s
rhythmic
hits
were
primarily
playful
songs
like

Ude
Jab
Jab
Zulfein
Teri
but
simultaneously,
in
1957,
Rafi
could
also
breathe
a
thousand
shades
of
despair
into
D
Burman’s

Yeh
Duniya
Agar
Mil
Bhi
Jaaye
(Pyaasa)
and
Chitragupta’s

Chal
Ud
Jaa
Re
Panchhi
(Bhabhi).

This
paved
the
way
for
Rafi’s
dominance
in
the
1960s
as
the
unchallenged
supremo
among
male
playback
singers.

It
was
a
glorious
decade
for
Rafi
as
he
became
the
premier
voice
for
the
foremost
composers
such
as
Shankar
Jaikishen,
Naushad,
S
D
Burman,
O
P
Nayyar,
Ravi,
Roshan,
Madan
Mohan
as
well
as
upcoming
talents
like
R
D
Burman
(Teesri
Manzil),
Kalyanji
Anandji
(Jab
Jab
Phool
Khile)
and
Laxmikant
Pyarelal
(Aaye
Din
Bahar
Ke).

Consider
1961
when
Rafi
sang
for
a
half-a-dozen
hit
films
like

Ganga
Jamuna,
Junglee,
Sasural,
Gharana,
Hum
Dono,
Jab
Pyar
Kisise
His
Hai.

Running
the
gamut
from
the
romantic
serenade

Abhi
Na
Jao
Chhodkar
to
the
rustic
Nain
Lad
Jaye
Hai,
Rafi
effectively
showcased
his
ability
to
retain
total
control
of
his
rendition
while
parsing
every
emotion.

Rafi
was
now
also
the
predominant
singing
voice
for
most
of
the
decade’s
leading
men,
be
it
Dilip
Kumar,
Rajendra
Kumar,
Pradeep
Kumar,
Joy
Mukherjee,
Shashi
Kapoor,
Dharmendra
and,
in
particular,
Shammi
Kapoor
(Taareef
Karoon
Kya
Uski,

Akele
Akele
Kahan
Jaa
Rahe
Ho).

Rafi
bagged
five
Filmfare
awards
in
the
decade.

The
only
unexpected
hiccup
came
in
1964
when
Rafi
had
a
fallout
with
Lata
Mangeshkar,
the
undisputed
queen
among
female
playback
singers,
over
the
royalty
rights
of
singers.

The
two
dynamos
stopped
working
together
which
led
to
Rafi
vocalising
a
bunch
of
popular
duets
with
Suman
Kalyanpur
in
this
period
(Na-Na
Karte
Pyar,
Aaj
Kal
Tere
Mere
Pyar
Ke
Charche).

Concurrently,
in
the
classic
film,

Guide,
Lata
teamed
up
with
Kishore
Kumar
for
the
duet

Gaata
Rahe
Mera
Dil
though
Rafi
was
the
voice
of
leading
man
Dev
Anand
in
the
film’s
three
male
solos.

Fortunately
for
Lata-Rafi
fans,
the
rift
in
the
lute
was
soon
mended
and
they
started
collaborating
again
with
their
earlier
bonhomie,
without
either
having
experienced
any
detrimental
effect
on
their
careers.

Rafi’s
career
did
suffer
a
shock
when
the
Kishore
Kumar
tsunami
in
conjunction
with
Rajesh
Khanna’s
superstardom
swept
the
nation
post

Aradhana
(1969).

Even
in
this
period,
Rafi’s
voice
remained
in
peak
form
and
the
hits
didn’t
entirely
come
to
a
grinding
halt.

Rafi
scored
with

Gulabi
Aankhen
(for
Rajesh
Khanna),

Kitna
Pyara
Waada
(for
Jeetendra),

Aaj
Mausam
Bada
Beimaan
(for
Dharmendra)
and
that
iridescent
gem
lifted
by
his
ability
to
articulate
the
subtext:

Tum
Jo
Mil
Gaye
Ho
(Hanste
Zakham).

The
tide
turned
in
1977
when
Rafi
staged
a
thumping
commercial
comeback
with
crowd-pleasing
qawwalis
in
blockbusters

Amar
Akbar
Anthony
(Parda
Hai
Parda)
and

Hum
Kisise
Kam
Nahin.

He
also
bagged
the
National
Award
for
the
latter
film’s
rather
mawkish

Kya
Hua
Tera
Wada.

Rafi
was
back
to
recording
pitch-perfect
songs
in
his
robust
yet
sensitive
style.

He
had
big-name
supporters
like
Laxmikant
Pyarelal,
Manmohan
Desai
and
Dharmendra
rooting
for
him,
and
hit
songs
in

Suhaag,
Sargam,
Asha
and

Naseeb
crowded
Rafi’s
already
golden
oeuvre.

Alas,
the
second
innings
was
sharply
abbreviated.

In
1980,
Rafi’s
rich
voice
was
stilled
forever,
even
as
his
latest
hit

Dard-E-Dil
from

Karz
with
the
line

Aur
Thodi
Der
Mein
Bas,
Hum
Juda
Ho
Jayenge
poignantly
tugging
at
the
heartstrings
of
music
aficionados
everywhere.

RAFI’S
DEFINITIVE
HITS
WITH
HEROES