Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

Baharon Phool Barsao

V. Prabhakar Rao Singapore Oct 2009

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

The Golden Voice of Mohammed Rafi has fascinated successive generations of Indians over the past fifty over years, with its melodious, enchanting and expressive beauty full of life, emotions and joy de vivre . whether it was the mystical Duniya ke rakhwale or the classical Thu Ganga ki mauj mein from Baiju Bawra of the 50s or the soft romantical Dil todnewale thuje dil doondrahahe of the 60s or the soulful Kya Hua Tera Vaada from Hum kisise kam nahin of the 70s. Those were the decades ruled by Rafi, the most versatile male voice of Bombay film world. Over the following slides let us take a walk down the memory lane, hand in hand with this legendary singer .. Mohd Rafi Rafi Sahab to the hordes of his fans.

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

The young man/boy of around 15, started singing in Punjabi & his first Hindi movie in the early 40s. I believe it was his duet song with Noorjehan in the movie Jugnu (1947) Yahaan badla wafa ka that drew a lot of attention to him. And he made his own mark soon with his songs in Pyaar ki Jeet & Barsaat.

And then came Baiju Bawra (1953)

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

Baiju Bawra (1953) catapulted Rafi to a household name all over the country.

Remember Man tarpat Hari darshan ko aaj .. remember Thu ganga ki mauj .. remember Duniya ke rakhwale

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

Naushad won the first ever Filmfare Award for Baiju Bawara.

Baiju Bawra topped the first Binaca Geet Mala Mohammed Rafi got the recognition as the numero uno male hindi film singer of the nation

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1960 Chaudvin ka chand ho

Touched heights in sheer romantic poetry. The classic poetry of Shakeel Badayuni, the celestial music of Ravi and the intoxicating way Rafi has sung it .. together make this a masterpiece of a song. The lilt that Rafi brought to the word kasam in the line jobi ho thum khuda ki kasam was really La jawab ho (incomparable) !

Mohammed Rafi got the Filmfare award for this song & Shakeel Badayuni for the lyrics.

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1964 Chahunga mein tuje sanjh savere
Dard bhi tu chen bhi tu daras bhi tu nain bhi tu . a haunting philosophical song. Chahunga mein tuje sanjh savere . Phir bi khabie ab naam ko tere . awaz mein na doonga goes this melancholic song. With his emotion-laden singing in his rich and deep voice, Rafi has brought out the helplessness of the blind character, steadfastness of his faith and devotion, the melancholy of the situation . all at the same time. His full throated cry of mitwaa .. mere yaar pierces the listeners heart and brings forth a lump in ones throat, everytime one listens to it.

Mohammed Rafi was honored with both the National award & Filmfare award for this song, in the year 1964

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1966 Baharon phool barsao

I always felt the combination of Shankar-Jaikishan and Rafi gave us one of the outstanding melodies of all times, in this song. The romantic tenderness in Rafis voice flows like honey throughout this song. When he sings liltingly Hawaaon Raagini Gaao Mera Mehboob Aaya Hai Mera Mehboob Aaya Hai and the clarinet takes over immediately it is as if the very breeze heard him and joins in the mood of melodious romanticism with its own music. I dont know why this song makes me recall the legendary M.S. song Katriniley varum geetham when I hear this song. Shankar-Jaikishans background notes from a string of violins simply add to the grandeur of this song.

Mohammed Rafi got his second National Award and fourth Filmfare award, for this song

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1967 Babul ki duaein lethi jaa

Every father who is about to get his daughter married off or one who just saw off his daughter to her husbands family after the wedding, cannot avoid the running tears down his cheeks if he hears this song sung by Mohammed Rafi with very deep feeling in a trembling voice .. trembling with emotions. Meike ki kabhie na yaad aye sasuraal mein itna pyaar miley when these lines appear it is Rafis weeping and choking singing that gives great life to the superb acting by the father Balraj Sahni. Superb lines from Sahir Ludhianvi and inspired music by Ravi. It is said that Rafi sang this song in his daughters wedding.

Mohammed Rafi was honored with both the National award & nomination for Filmfare award for this song.

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1968 Dil ke jharoke mein

Whenever you try to recall a song where Piano played a big part, this song from Brahmachari is sure to top the list. But actually it plays a big part only in the picturisation. In the actual song itself once again Shankar Jaikishans magic with a wave of violins, soft drums and the enchanting trumpet piece in between dominate the orchestra. It is an unusual song. By no means melodious in the normal sense of the word. A unique galloping composition which brings out the romantic pathos in a very energetic manner. The increasing pitch of the song and the energetic instruments in the background give one the impression of conflicting with the mood of the song. But it is the creativity of SJ that they use the voice of Mohammed Rafi to bridge the two. When he utters saari umar theri puja karoonga the nobility of pure love gets showcased like only Rafi can. The final outcome is a great song once again from Mohammed Rafi & Shankar-Jaikishan.

Mohammed Rafi got his sixth Filmfare award for this song

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi 1977 Kya Hua Tera Wada

Here is a song that can be termed Rafis come-back song in the midst of the relentless wave of Kishore Kumar hits during the 70s. It showed that the magic in Rafis voice was still very much there. It won him yet another Filmfare award after a gap of nine long years. And a National award to boot. The majestic way Rafi starts the very first line of the song is electric. And the tenderness he brings into the song is vintage Rafi. Remember the lines boolega dil jisdin thume woh din zindagi ka akhri din hoga, bewafaa yeh bi kya yaad nahi and the way he dramatically changes the mood of the song! Talking about this song, one cant forget how R.D.Burman used the Electric Guitar, Trumpet and the majestic Rafis voice in a beautiful musical juxtaposition.

Mohammed Rafi got his fourth National Award and seventh Filmfare award, for this song

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Naushad & Mohd Rafi

To many Rafi fans it is the Naushad Rafi combination that is considered the very best that happened to film music. The unforgettable songs, the unforgettable melodies that they gifted to the world are unbeatable. Even as I am writing this piece I am listening to the legendary song Suhani raat dhal chuki from Dulari (1949). The gentle melancholic music in the background and the soulful voice of Rafi tugging at you thadaprehehein hum yahaaan .. I understand this was one of Rafis own personal favourites!

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Naushad & Mohd Rafi
The relationship between the two was one of the Discoverer and the Discovered. Naushad recognised the versatility, range and the classical nature of Rafis voice and gave him lovely opportunities. And Rafi gave out his best for Naushad. Naushad offered Baiju Bawra songs as a real challenge to Rafi and also as an opportunity to rise to greater heights. And what a way Rafi latched onto it ! Rest is history !! Mukesh, Kishore, Rafi were all admirers of Sehgal and were keenly looking forward to an opportunity to sing with him. Naushad gave that opportunity to Rafi in a 1949 Sehgal song (just two lines by Rafi).

Interestingly, in the film Andaz, Naushad used Rafi for Raj Kapoor and Mukesh for Dilip Kumar!

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Naushad & Mohd Rafi
When you talk about Naushad and Mohd Rafi can the discussion be ever complete without the very famous song Mere Mehboob Thuje ! This movie was a blockbuster. This song has remained a landmark of beautiful poetry sung with great dignity and sincerety in his melodious voice by the great Rafi. This song earned Filmfare Award Nomination to Rafi for Best Male Playback Singer, to Naushad for Music and to Shakeel Badayuni for Lyrics.

Mere Mehboob Thuje Mere Mohabbat ki kasam

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi S.D.Burman & Mohd Rafi

SD Burman and Mohd Rafi combined to give the awesome composition yeh mahalon ,yeh takhton, yeh tajho ki duniya in the film Pyasa (1957) for Gurudutt. Rafi brought out the pathos in this song in his own inimicable manner. S.D. combined the sweetness in Rafis voice with his own creative folk orchestration in the the film Tere Ghar ke saamne (1963). Remember tere gharke saamne dil ka bhanwar karen pukar .. Once again the classic combination of S.D. & Rafi brought out classic songs in the majestic voice of Rafi in Guide (1965). The songs Tere mere sapne, din Dhal Jaye"Kaise kya ho gaya bewafa hogaya tere pyar me had millions humming them for decades . even today! It was said that S.D. enjoyed using Manna Dey & Mohd Rafi for his classical compositions.

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi S.D.Burman & Mohd Rafi

Not many know these extremely sweet and melodious gems from the duo of S.D.-Rafi . yeh dil diwana hai and mehbooba teri tasveer from the film Ishq par zor nahin . Both are my long time favourites. The movie Talash gave us a lovely Burman composition sung with gusto by the one and only Rafi Palkhon ke peeche se. And can one easily forget the graceful duet tere bhindiya re from the movie Abhimaan, as late as in 1973, where the genius of S.D.s imagination was matched note by note by the genius of Rafi/Lata! And the way this grand song was brought to life on screen by the majestic performance of Amitabh & Jaya ..

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi O.P.Nayyar & Mohd Rafi
O.P. Nayyar was well known for his blending of eastern & western music forms. The rhythm always played a big role in his songs. And in Mohd Rafi he found a phenomenal voice that had the style suiting his compositions. So much so, in the movie CID (1956) he used Rafi for a song on the comedian Johnnie Walker (the famous bombai meri jaan), on a street peddler (Lekhe pehla pehla pyaar) as well as on the hero Dev Anand (Ankhon hi ankhon mein ishara ho gaya). The duo had given a prolific number of hits including maang ke sath thumahra on Dilip Kumar and the unforgettable Kashmir Ki Kali songs, Diwana hua badal, ye chaand sa roshan chehra, kisina kisi se kabhina kabhi

The magic of Taarif karoon kya uski jisne tumhe banaya (Kashmir ki Kali) was relived, with unbelievable exuberance, by Sonu Nigam in a recent Tribute to Mohd Rafi concert in London

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Shankar-Jaikishan & Mohd Rafi

For more than 20 years during the 50s and 60s the combination of Shankar Jaikishan (SJ) and Rafi produced hit song after hit song. If yeh mera prem pathar padkar from Sangam (1964) was a romantic classic swaying people even after 45 years, a totally different genre of songs on Shammi Kapoor in a number of movies such as An Evening in Paris (Aasman se aya faristha..) bring a smile on everyones lips even now. The sad yaad ne jaaye on Rajendra Kumar in Dil Ek Mandir was a touching song. The ghazal Rukhse zara from Mere Huzoor was like a gentle breeze. Mein Gaoon tum so jao from Brahmachari was a tender flowing melody. And we have already seen the award winning Baharon phool barsao which is a great composition of this combination!

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Lakshmikanth Pyarelal & Mohd Rafi

They were late entrants into the world of Hindi Film music direction. Lata Mangeshkar is said to have helped them in the early part of their career. LP started with Parasmani (1963). Mohd Rafis Woh jab yaad aye was a lovely song in their very first film. And in their very next film Dosti they touched the pinnacle of fame with Rafis Chahunga mein tuje sanjh savere. They won the Filmfare award that year for best music. The tremendous bond between LP & Rafi continued till Rafis last song (1980) before his death was recorded by LP. They came out with wonderful hit songs in Shagird with Joy Mukherjee, in Night in London Nazar na lag jaye with Biswajeet, with Dharmender in Aya sawan jhoom ke & exuberant songs with Jeetendra. The quawali Parda hi Parda in AAA was one of the LPRafi joys of the late seventies. Rafi is said to have recorded the maximum songs with LP.

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi R.D.Burman & Mohd Rafi

The general impression is that R.D. preferred Kishore over Rafi. But if one goes back in time one can see that R.D. had used Rafi extensively during late sixties as his main playback singer. Teesri Manzil songs pulsated Aaja aaja with the energy of Rafis voice and R.D.s new age music. Caravan was another movie that bloomed with Rafis voice. During seventies R.D. came back to Rafi and gave wonderful songs in movies such as HUM KISISE KUM NAHIN & YADON KI BAARAT. We already discussed the song Kya Hua Tera wada. What about the ever-green hit Churalia re from Yaadon Ki Baarat!

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi Ravi & Mohd Rafi

Rafi sang over 200 (around 235) songs for Ravi. Fourth highest after Lakshmikanth Pyarelal, Shankar Jaikishan and Chitragupta. Chaudhvin ka chand ho was a masterpiece from this combination. And the inspired compositions of Ravi from Neel Kamal sung wonderfully by Rafi are very well known. Ajha thujko pukare mera pyaar and Babul ki Duayen linger in our memories ever green .

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

After I started this project and as I was writing slide after slide, I realised what I had not covered yet was much more than what I had covered. How do you do justice to someone .. who is said to have recorded nearly 30,000 songs, a rich repertoire covering the entire musical range, sung for every legendary actor and who was the uncrowned King of Melodies for nearly 40 years . within just twenty odd slides? So what I have presented here is just an appetizer

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

The following slides present some rare photographs of Rafi (thanks to internet and websites offering Tribute to Mohammed Rafi) with some of the other equally legendary names ..

Rafi & latha recording

Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Raj Kapoor, Shankar & Jaikishan

Mohd Rafi with Kishorekumar, Lata, Mukesh and Laxmikant-Pyarelal

This photo is said to have been taken in 1979 when Rafi sang a duet with Krishna Mukherji (Rani Mukherji's mother) in a concert in New York.

Rafi, Manna Dey & Kishore

Rafi & Kishore

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

abhi na jao chodkar ke dil abhi bhara nahi abhi to kuch kaha nahi abhi to kuch suna nahi (Hum Dono 1961 Music: Jaidev)

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

If this little presentation has triggered in some of you many happy memories of the innumerable Rafi songs that you might have enjoyed over the years .. I would think that my effort was well worth it! While writing this I have referred to many websites as well as jogging my own memory. Still if there are any mistakes, I am sure, Rafi fans will kindly overlook them. My thanks to my daughter for her proof reading and

Down the memory lane with Mohammed Rafi

.. It was the way she had taken to the sweet song Mere Mehboob Thuje and her singing it in her own sweet way that inspired me to write this piece. For every father, isnt his daughters singing very sweet! Isnt it universal?

This work is dedicated to my sweet daughter.