Subhash K Jha refltects on the incredible career of one of film’s greatest singers, Rafi, and reveals his choices for the best of his ravishing repertoire.
1. ‘O duniya ke rakhwale’ (Baiju Bawra):
Rafi had a strong command over Hindi and Urdu and a powerful range that could accommodate anything from the sublime ‘O duniya ke rakhwale’ for Bharat Bhushan in Baiju Bawra to the eccentric ‘Badan pe sitare lapete huey’ for Shammi Kapoor in Prince. This bhajan is peerless for many reasons. For one, it was sung, composed and written by Muslim artistes.
2. ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika’ (Kohinoor):
He never really had to rough it out. Success was his from almost the start. Born in 1924 in an area that today lies in Pakistan, Rafi moved to Lahore at the age of 14 to learn classical music. Discovered by Radio Lahore he used to lend his voice for the station when he started out. It was in 1944 that he sang his first film song in Punjabi. But superstardom came his way when Naushad noticed him and picked him up for some compositions. This semi-classical composition cut across consumer barriers to prove that even the masses loved raga-based songs if Rafi sang them.
3. ‘Kiss kiss kisse pyar karoon’ (Tumse Achcha Kaun Hai):
While Naushad made sure that Rafi became the ghost voice of the 1950s’ superstar Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor preferred Rafi’s contemporary Mukesh and Dev Anand was more comfortable with Kishore Kumar. But, among the titanic trio, only Rafi could cut across the image barrier to sing for every face and occasion. He was comfortable doing a seduction song like ‘Kis se pyar karoon’ for Shammi Kapoor where he punned mischievously on the word ‘kiss’. Shammi puckered up to the vocal impetus.
4. ‘Yahoo, chahe koi mujhe junglee kahek (Junglee):
Rafi’s voice went a long way in shaping Shammi Kapoor’s superstardom. From the time Shammi Kapoor zoomed into stardom with the jungle call of ‘Yahoo, chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe’, Rafi became an integral part of India’s first screen icon to have a wild sexy image, belting out one hit after another until the star and the voice became one in the public’s mind.
5. ‘Baharo phhol barsao’ (Suraj):
Another star whose image went a long way through Rafi’s voice was Rajendra Kumar for whom the singer sang sober ballads like ‘Teri pyari pyari soorat’ and ‘Baharon phool barsaao’. Rafi ruled the charts throughout the 1960s. ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ topped the Binaca Geetmala annual list of 1966 charts. It was Rafi’s favourite.
6. ‘Mere sapnon ki rani’ (Shahjehan):
Not the Kishore Kumar one. A new superstar named Rajesh Khanna spun into sight. And Khanna preferred Kishore Kumar’s voice. It’s ironical that the song that made the Khanna-Kumar pair a national rage was ‘Mere sapnon ki rani’ in Aradhana. Twenty-three years earlier, Rafi had soared to new heights with a song of the same title in the 1946 film Shahjehan.
7. ‘Tum bin jaaon kahan’ (Pyar Ka Mausam):
Rafi’s era clearly ended in the 1970s. The final insult to the tremendous titan was to have his version of ‘Tum bin jaoon kahan’ in the film Pyar Ka Mausam overpowered in the charts by Kishore Kumar’s version although Rafi’s version of the film was filmed on the hero Shashi Kapoor while Ksihore sang for the hero’s father (Bharat Bhushab). Try Rafi Saab’s version.
8. ‘Doston mein koi baat chal jaati dosti dushmani mein badal jaati hai’ (Prem Kahani):
A precious song that ‘dares’ to explore the dark side of male bonding. When a deep friendship is torn apart what happens to the buddy-buddy feelings? Shashi Kapoor oozes cynicism as he hurls barbed accusations at Rajesh Khanna. Raj Kapoor had done the same squirmy stab-in-the-back dosti song with Rajendra Kumar in Sangam. Dost dost na raha…..
9. ‘Yeh mera prem patra’ (Sangam):
Apparently Mohammed Rafi and Rajendra Kumar had only one song to themselves and they wished it to be a solo. When Raj Kapoor, a huge Lata Bhakt insisted she will be part of the song ‘Yeh mera prem patra’ (as per the script) Rafi Saab and Rajendra Kumar requested that Lataji’s portion be kept only in the film.
10. ‘Tu kahi aas paas hai dost’ (Aas Paas):
His final song, Rafi’s last recordings were for Laxmikant-Pyarelal in the film film Aas Paas. He had a heart attack and died on July 31, 1980, leaving behind a rich legacy. Not many people know that Rafi also acted in some films like Jugnu and Mela in the 1940s. His benevolence and charitable nature are still talked about in the industry.
