July 31, 2009.Meri Jaan,
I really apologize for not making it to the studios, par kya karein: "aur bhi gum hain zamane main .." :)
But I hope none of you forgot that July 31st went by and hopefully all you absolute music fans remembered that
"Na Fankar Tujhsa tere baad aaya,
Mohammad Rafi Tu bahut yaad aaya ! "
Meri Jaan, July 31, 1980 was the day when THE VOICE of Rafi Saab left us to sing for all the angels, up in music heaven.
Mohammad Rafi was undoubtedly the greatest singer and his voice still echoes in reverberations across all the music channels and more importantly in our hearts!
Today, let me make this blog a small memoir diary of my memories associated with the one and only Mohammad Rafi ! My association with Mohammad Rafi goes back to the times when I saw an Actor, acting like a waitor on screen kept running around singing "John Johnny Janaradhan, Tara Rum Pum Pum".
I probably did not know at that point in time that the voice behind this actor had been in the industry for more than 30 years then, and I was completely oblivious of his best work !
If we really go back into Rafi Saab's career, it was the music composer Naushad that actually moved Rafi Saab from being just another Sehgal Clone to the pedestal of THE VOICE.
Rafi Saab started his career in the early 50s and his asociation with Naushad saab made him the choice and voice of the all the lead actors of that time and specially the tragedy king, Dilip Kumar. In movies like Mela, Babul, Deedar, Amar, Anmol ghadi, Tarana, Udan Khatola, Aan, Azaad, Mughal-E-Azam, Kohinoor, Ganga Jamuna, Dil Diya Dard Liya and endless movies Rafi Saab's voice became the voice of Dilip Kumar.
While Rafi Saab's association with Naushad Saab, continued in endless other movies like Baiju Bawra, Shabab, Mother India, Mere Mehboob, Palki and many more. During the 60s Rafi Saab's voice and combination worked magic with composers like SD Burman, OP Nayyar, Shanker Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Ravi, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji and many more.
So be it Dev Anand, Joy Mukherjee, Shammi Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan or Biswajeet, Johnny Walker or Mahmood, if there was one playback voice, it was of Mohammad Rafi.
From the 50s to the 70s, Rafi Saab pretty much sang for each and every actor and every music director of that era, and rendered classics after classics be it O Duniya Ke Rakhwale, Madhuban Main Radhika Naachi Re, Man Re Tu Kaahe na, Pukarta Chalaa Hoon Main, Yahoo, ya phir, Aye Dil Hain Mushkil jeena yahaan. Rafi Saab's touch converted any disc into a Golden hit.
I probably did not know at that point in time that the voice behind this actor had been in the industry for more than 30 years then, and I was completely oblivious of his best work !
For me the voice had only sung songs like John Johnny Janardhan, Chal Chal Mere Bhai, Ek Rasta Aha-Aha, Dard-E-Dil, Maine Poocha Chand Se and likes.
But, Rafi saab's voice was way beyond those numbers from the 80s. This was just an era where shamaa ki lau thodi teyz thi, akhiri baar bhjune se pahle !
If we really go back into Rafi Saab's career, it was the music composer Naushad that actually moved Rafi Saab from being just another Sehgal Clone to the pedestal of THE VOICE.
Rafi Saab started his career in the early 50s and his asociation with Naushad saab made him the choice and voice of the all the lead actors of that time and specially the tragedy king, Dilip Kumar. In movies like Mela, Babul, Deedar, Amar, Anmol ghadi, Tarana, Udan Khatola, Aan, Azaad, Mughal-E-Azam, Kohinoor, Ganga Jamuna, Dil Diya Dard Liya and endless movies Rafi Saab's voice became the voice of Dilip Kumar.
While Rafi Saab's association with Naushad Saab, continued in endless other movies like Baiju Bawra, Shabab, Mother India, Mere Mehboob, Palki and many more. During the 60s Rafi Saab's voice and combination worked magic with composers like SD Burman, OP Nayyar, Shanker Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Ravi, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji and many more.
So be it Dev Anand, Joy Mukherjee, Shammi Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan or Biswajeet, Johnny Walker or Mahmood, if there was one playback voice, it was of Mohammad Rafi.
From the 50s to the 70s, Rafi Saab pretty much sang for each and every actor and every music director of that era, and rendered classics after classics be it O Duniya Ke Rakhwale, Madhuban Main Radhika Naachi Re, Man Re Tu Kaahe na, Pukarta Chalaa Hoon Main, Yahoo, ya phir, Aye Dil Hain Mushkil jeena yahaan. Rafi Saab's touch converted any disc into a Golden hit.
But, the 70s saw the rise of Rajesh Khanna as the first super star of the Bollywood silverscreen, and they say that SD Burman had recorded the first 2 numbers for the movie Aradhna with Rafi Saab when SD Burman fell ill and RD Burman took over the responsibility of assigning a singer to the remaining compositions; and RD Burman chose Kishore Kumar for all the remaining songs in the movie.
The rest as we all know is history. Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar took the Bollywood silverscreen and playback scene by storm and Rafi Saab had to take a back seat.
During those years, Rafi Saab also had conflicting arguments with Lata Mangeshkar over the royalty and monetary gains that a singer should have above and beyond singing the song. Rafi Saab always stood by his belief that a singer's monetary gains ends once he/she sings the songs.
He was a very noble person, never demanding or expecting more than his share !
During those years, Rafi Saab also had conflicting arguments with Lata Mangeshkar over the royalty and monetary gains that a singer should have above and beyond singing the song. Rafi Saab always stood by his belief that a singer's monetary gains ends once he/she sings the songs.
He was a very noble person, never demanding or expecting more than his share !
There always have been fan clubs and groups that have compared the two singers, but the fact always remains that Rafi Saab's voice quality, versatility and range is par zenith !
I am not going to go into the songs of this behtareen singer, but lets all salute the Gods for giving us a singer like Mohammad Rafi !
With that Meri Jaan, I will be taking a break for a few weeks ! I will try and update some information, but it will be very impromptu !
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome at pankajonebc@yahoo.com
Till Next time...stay safe and stay in loeve !
- Pankaj
I am not going to go into the songs of this behtareen singer, but lets all salute the Gods for giving us a singer like Mohammad Rafi !
Nakhush Hai Khuda Apne Farishto Se, Varna,
Dharti Ke Farishte Ki, Zarurat Use Kya Thi?
With that Meri Jaan, I will be taking a break for a few weeks ! I will try and update some information, but it will be very impromptu !
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome at pankajonebc@yahoo.com
Till Next time...stay safe and stay in loeve !
- Pankaj
10 comments:
Pankaj, I thought you were on vacation or something? Missed the show. Nice Blog.
wonderful. I love Mohammad Rafi. thank you for remembering him in your blog.
Great one Pankaj. Do you know that he actually took only Ruppees 1 from Laxmikant Pyarelal to sing songs in Dosti? A great noble person with a very soothing voice. I really liked your blog.
Bahut khoob. Hazaron saal roti hain nargis, tabhi kahin paida hota hain ek deedaawar, woh jo hain mohammad rafi.
Mohammad Rafi's songs are great. I think he and Kishore kumar were the best singers in Bollywood. I just love the barsaat ki raat kawaali and title song and oh duniya ke rakhwale. Great lyrics and music.
You took me to my days of Naushad, Dilip Kumar, Mehboob Khan. Never again will the movie industry see such great personalities. Thank you Pankaj for the blog.
Mohammad Rafi has been and will always remain the best singer in the world. Kishore was never comparable to Rafi.
You are missing in action Pankaj. Miss your show and where is the new blog?
Where are you?
--------- Thank you all - Pankaj Responds -----
Reena:
I am sorry to disappoint you, but I will not be continuing the EBC evening show. I will still continue to update the blog. I will try and update something for you tomorrow.
Shruti, Vibha, Sunil, Rashid, Anonymous friend:
Rafi Saab was and will always be the one and only voice that could go from kharaj, madhyam to teevr saptak in less than a milli-second. Mohammad Rafi ko Salaam kijiye!
Post a Comment