Legendary singer Mohammad Rafi has left an indelible mark on the Indian cinema and music industry. He is considered not only one of the most inspired,celebrated and influenced singers of the Film industry, but the entire Indian subcontinent.
Rafi Sahab's singing career of over four decades from 1940s to 1980s can be called as the Golden Era of Indian Film Music. To commemorate his contribution to Indian cinema Rafi@100 is being celebrated as a tribute to the legendary singer on his birthday on 24th December 2024.
Born on 24th December 1924 in a Punjab Jatt Family, Mohammed Rafi began singing at a young age by imitating the chants of a fakir who roamed the streets of his native village Kotla Sultan Singh. He learnt classical music from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami and gave his first public performance came at the age of 13.
Young Rafi admired the singing of K L Seigal and made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Goriye Nee, Heeriye Nee" with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch released in 1944 with music director Shyam Sunder. In that same year he was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing. He made his Hindi film debut in Gaon Ki Gori in 1945. Young Rafi in his early phase of his career also followed G M Durrani's style of singing, but later evolved his own, unique style. He sang with Durrani in some of the songs such as "Humko Hanste Dekh Zamana Jalta Hai" and "Khabar Kisi Ko Nahiin, Woh Kidhar Dekhte".
Rafi Sahab as he was popularly known in the industry, had an incredible ability to adapt his voice to suit any actor, mood and genre which established him as a versatile singer. He not only lent his voice for the actors he also lip- synced according to the actors persona while he sang for Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Shammi Kapoor, and Amitabh Bachchan amongst others.
Known for his versatility Rafi Sahab sang a wide variety of songs from fast peppy numbers to patriotic songs, romantic ballads, qawwalis, ghazals, bhajans, and even classical and semi-classical compositions. He was adapt with various Indian languages, and in a career span of four decades Rafi Saheb recorded 7400 songs, which included 1000 songs in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi, over which he had a strong command. He recorded songs in several languages and dialects such as Konkani, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Odia, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Magahi, Maithili, etc. Apart from Indian languages, he also sang in some foreign languages, including English, Persian, Arabic, Sinhala, Mauritian Creole, and Dutch.
Some of his popular songs depict a range of emotions he portrayed from joyful and playful songs like Yahoo! Chahe koi Mujhe Jangali Kahe to deeply emotional romantic songs like 'Kya hua tera wada' , 'Aaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salami Lele' to devotional songs like 'Man Tarpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj' to classical songs like 'Madhuban Main Radhika Nache Re'. He also sang patriotic songs like 'Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaan-o-Tan Saathiyon' along with songs with social messages, like 'Insaan Ka Insaan Se Ho BhaiChara'.
Rafi Sahab was the favourite singer of all the music directors of his time, while he created masterpieces with Naushad Ali, S D Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R D Burman, O P Nayyar, Roshan, C Ramchandra, Jaidev, Khayyam, Rajesh Roshan, Ravindra Jain, Bappi Lahiri, Sapan Jagmohan, T V Raju, S Hanumantha Rao etc. He had a special and major associations with Naushad Saheb, Usha Khanna, Sonik Omi, Chitragupta, S N Tripathi, N Datta and R D Burman.
His partnership with Naushad Saheb was especially notable while his first song with him was "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain" for the film Pehle Aap. Initially, Rafi Sahab sang a number of songs for Naushad Saheb as a part of the chorus, including 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Roohi Roohi' with K L Saigal, from the film Shahjehan. He sang 'Tera Khilona Toota Balak' from Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi and a duet with Noor Jehan in the film Jugnu, 'Yahan Badla Wafa Ka'.
In 1949, Rafi Sahab started getting solo songs by music directors such as Naushad for the films Chandni Raat, Dillagi and Dulari. With Naushad he created timeless classics like "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki" and "Tere Husn Ki Kya Tareef Karoon". He also got solo songs from music director Shyam Sunder who gave him songs for Bazaar and Husnalal Bhagatram made him sing in the film Meena Bazaar.
Infact,Talat Mehmood used to be Naushad Sahab's favorite singer before he met Rafi. But,once he found Talat smoking during a recording he got annoyed and hired Rafi to sing all the songs of the movie Baiju Bawra. His association with Naushad Sahab helped him to establish himself as one of the most prominent playback singers in Hindi cinema. His songs from Baiju Bawra 'O duniya ke rakhwale' and 'Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj' furthered his credentials, and he ended up singing a total of 149 songs, 81 of them solo for Naushad Sahab.
Then came the era of S.D. Burman who used his voice as the singing voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt. Rafi worked with Burman in 37 films, including Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Kala Bazar, Nau Do Gyarah, Kala Pani, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne, Guide, Aradhana , Ishq Par Zor Nahin and Abhimaan.
Rafi and O. P. Nayyar created music in the 1950s and 1960s. Rafi sang a total of 197 songs with 56 solo songs for O P Nayyar. He gave some of his best songs with O P Nayyar including, 'Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan'. He sang for singer-actor Kishore Kumar 'Man Mora Baawara' for the film Raagini followed by Baaghi, Shehzaada and Shararat. O. P. Nayyar collaborated with Rafi and Asha Bhosle for most of his songs, creating many melodies for the movies such as Naya Daur, Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, and Kashmir Ki Kali.
Some of the best Rafi-Nayyar melodies include 'Jawaniyan yeh mast mast', 'Yun to humne lakh hansee dekhe hain tumsa nahin dekha', 'Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra' from Kashmir ki Kali which are still popular amongst the younger generation of today. O. P Nayyar once said, "If there had been no Mohammed Rafi, there would have been no O. P. Nayyar"
Rafi Sahab also associated with several of his contemporary singers to sing duets. He sang the highest number of duets with Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar. One of his song with Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and Mukesh for the song 'Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar' for the film Amar Akbar Anthony became a legend in itself,for being the only song rendered by three legends.
Rafi Sahab was bestowed upon many awards and recognitions for his contribution to the Indian Cinema. He won six Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1977 for Kya Hua Tera Wada. He was honored with the Padma Shri in 1967, one of India's highest civilian awards. In 2001, He was honoured with the 'Best Singer of the Millennium' title by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine. In 2013, He was voted for the Greatest Voice in Hindi Cinema in the CNN-IBN's poll.
Rafi Sahab sang not only films but recorded many private albums in various genres and languages. Some of his notable albums is Chris Perry's Konkani album 'Golden Hits with Lorna Cordeiro'. He also recorded Hindi songs in English and sang 2 songs in Mauritian Creole while on his visit to Mauritius in the late 1960s.
Rafi Sahab gave some of the best songs in 1970s and 1980s such as 'Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil', 'Gulabi Aankhen', 'Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga', 'Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Na Paaoge', 'Chalo Dildaar Chalo', 'Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai', 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne', 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat' and 'Teri Bindiya Re' to name a few.
Rafi Sahab was not just known for his talent but also for his humility and generosity. Despite his fame, he remained approachable and kind-hearted, often helping struggling artists. He made many compositions immortal even of lesser-known music directors while he sang for free for them. He selflessly believed in financially assisting producers and helping small-time projects who could not afford much. Many in the industry received regular financial help from him.
Rafi Sahab has been an inspiration for many singers. His voice has become an integral part of the Indian cultural heritage, celebrated across generations. His melodious voice continues to inspire budding singers and remains a benchmark in the playback singing industry.
Indian cinema commemorates Rafi Sahab's Centenary year on December 24th with musical evenings and tribute functions by singers, remembering his musical legacy which continues to resonate with music lovers across the globe. He will be always remembered for his Contribution to Indian cinema and the music industry.
