All Time Greats
Mohammad Rafi: The creative musical titan
A little-known story about great Hindi and Urdu playback singer Mohammad Rafi (December 24, 1924-July 31, 1980): Once when a less known composer Nisar Bazmi, who migrated to Pakistan in the early 1960s, didn't have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him. In the words of Laxmikant (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo). "He always gave without thinking of the returns."Apart from his philanthropy, Rafi won laurels for his mellifluous voice which backed up many an actor of his times. He was on par with the musical titans Kishore Kumar and Mukesh. Even with the passage of time, he still remains popular in the Indian subcontinent and even in distant climes such as the UK, Kenya, West Indies which have a large Indian expatriate community. His legacy remains alive with new Bollywood singers such as Sonu Nigam, Mohammad Aziz, Shabbir Kumar and Anwar. Rafi has lent his voice to actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Rajesh Khanna to Balraj Sahni, Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor. Rafi personified the rebellious image of Shammi Kapoor and also sang for younger heroes such as Biswajit and Joy Mukherjee. He even sang for singer-actor Kishore Kumar in films such as Raagini, Baaghi shehzaada and Shararat. Rafi's songs encompassed a large range of genres, such as classical to patriotic songs, desolate lamentations to romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans and from slow tunes to peppy songs. Among his well known numbers are Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan, Hum kisise kum nahin, Sukh ke sab saathi, Hindustan ki kasam, Madhuban mein Radhika naache re and Yeh mera prem patra. His singing endeavours won him wide recognition. He received Filmfare awards for Chaudhvin ka chand ho (from the film of the same name), Baharon phool barasao (Suraj), Dil ke jharoke mein (Brahmachari) and Kya hua tera vaada(Hum kisise kum nahin) . In 1965, Rafi was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Sri award. Rafi also sang duets with Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle. With Lata he was known for Teri bindiya re (Abhimaan), Dafliwale (Sargam) and Atthara baras ki (Suhaag), among others. In conjunction with Asha Bhosle, he sang Gunguna rahe hai (Aradhana) and Chura liya hai tumne (Yaadon ki baaraat) and others. Rafi joined forces with famous composers such as Shyam Sunder, Naushad, OP Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, SD Burman, Madan Mohan and Laxmikant Pyarelal. OP Nayyar went so far as to say, "If there had been no Mohammad Rafi, there would have been no OP Nayyar. " When Rafi passed away, he left a vacuum in the musical and film world. Yet the maestro's legacy remains alive with his successors and numerous fans. Compiled by Cultural Correspondent
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Mohammad Rafi |
