{"id":9444,"date":"2024-12-24T08:39:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T03:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=9444"},"modified":"2025-01-04T00:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:40:37","slug":"the-a-z-of-rafi-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/the-a-z-of-rafi-songs\/","title":{"rendered":"The A-Z of Rafi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mohd

Mohd Rafi<\/p><\/div>\n

Born in Kotla in Punjab, the young Mohammed Rafi was fascinated by the voice of a wandering fakir. When his father moved to Lahore, the young lad began his classical training under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan. Subsequently, he trained under Feroze Nizami and Pandit Jeevanlal Matto Kashmiri.<\/p>\n

In an interview, Rafi talks about how destiny took a hand, setting his feet on the path to success. At a concert in Lahore, where the legendary KL Saigal was to perform, a power outage led to the concert being delayed. In order to still the audience\u2019s restlessness, a friend (and soon-to-be brother-in-law), Abdul Hameed coaxed the organizers to let Rafi sing. His performance so impressed Saigal that he blessed the young lad. Music director Shyam Sundar, who was in the audience, offered him a chance to sing for him. Rafi was only 13.<\/p>\n

It would take another few years before Shyam Sundar would make good his promise. The year was 1941, the song, Soniye nee Heeriye nee<\/em> for the film, Gul Baloch <\/em>(the film only released in 1944). But even before the film released, the young lad was making a name for himself, and by 1943, he had become a regular fixture on Radio Lahore. It was only a matter of time before Bombay beckoned.<\/p>\n

Rafi\u2019s father was not very encouraging of his son\u2019s interest in music; even less was he enamoured of his son making a career in films. It took Rafi\u2019s elder brother, Mohammed Deen (who was the only family member who encouraged and supported his ambitions) and Hameed\u2019s combined coaxing to get his father, Haji Ali Mohammed, to agree to send Rafi to Bombay under Hameed\u2019s guardianship.<\/p>\n

However, the path to success was not a sinecure. The days of singer-actors was still the norm, and a singer who only wanted to sing was unusual. Though Shyam Sundar signed him to sing a couple of songs for Gaon ki Gori, <\/em>the film only released in 1945. Days of struggle followed though people who heard the young man sing were enthralled by his voice. One of them was poet-lyricist Tanvir Naqvi, who introduced Rafi to industry stalwarts such as Mehboob Khan, AR Kardar and actor Nazeer.<\/p>\n

\"Naushad

Naushad and Rafi<\/p><\/div>\n

Kardar, who was making Pehle Aap<\/em> (1944) at the time,\u00a0introduced Rafi to Naushad, who had been signed to compose music for the film. Naushad gave him Hindustan ke hum hain<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>a group song in which Rafi was accompanied by Allaudin, Shyam Kumar and chorus. Since Pehle Aap <\/em>released in 1944, this is considered to be Rafi\u2019s first-ever Hindi film song. It marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the composer and singer.<\/p>\n

Slowly, but surely, Rafi was beginning to find his feet in the Bombay film industry and the world of Hindi film music. In 1946, one of Rafi\u2019s cherished dreams would come true \u2013 a chance to sing in the chorus for a song in Shah Jehan,<\/em> where the lead singer was his idol, Saigal. The next year, he would sing with another legend \u2013 singer-actor Noor Jehan; the song was Yahan badla wafa ka<\/em> <\/a>for Jugnu. <\/em>He had earlier sung Tera khilona toota balak<\/em> <\/a>in Anmol Ghadi,<\/em> but this was his first chance to sing a duet with the legendary chanteuse. Reports suggest that it was Noor Jehan herself who had recommended the young singer. \u00a0Yahan badla wafa ka <\/em>catapulted Rafi to the top rung of artistes, as much as it gave a fillip to the film’s hero Dilip Kumar’s career.<\/p>\n

Today, on his birth centenary, to celebrate the man who was not only a wonderful singer but, by all accounts, a wonderful human being, I offer a very subjective list of songs that traverse not just the letters of the alphabet but different genres and disparate moods; songs sung for several composers, picturised on many heroes whose careers reached their zenith not least because of Rafi\u2019s contribution.<\/p>\n

You will find a playlist of all the songs listed at the end of the article.<\/p>\n

——xxxx——<\/p>\n

A \u2013 Ajab hai dastan teri ae zindagi <\/em><\/strong>
\nShararat<\/em><\/strong> (1959)<\/strong>
\nMusic: Shankar Jaikishan <\/strong>
\nLyrics: Shailendra<\/strong>
\nPicturised on: Kishore Kumar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shararat<\/em> featured Kishore Kumar in a double role opposite Meena Kumari and Kumkum. Despite an interesting plot of lookalike men (not related) and the conflict that crops up regarding them, Shararat <\/em>soon fell into a morass of melodrama and contrived tragedy. The songs, however, were a delight, and this one, particularly, is a beautiful melody that appears in two versions. Rafi lends his voice to Kishore for this song and for the trippy duet Lushka lushka lushka lui lui. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0——xxxx——<\/p>\n

B \u2013 Baar baar dekho<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

China Town <\/em><\/strong>(1962)<\/strong>
\nMusic: Ravi<\/strong>
\nLyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri<\/strong>
\nPicturised on: Shammi Kapoor (and Shakila)<\/strong><\/p>\n

A joyous serenade to a lover, a public declaration of love, and an exhortation to the people present not to leave when he\u2019s praising her \u2013 Majrooh\u2019s lyrics may not be serious poetry, but the master lyricist fits his verses to the context. Rafi adds all the vim and verve you expect in a Shammi Kapoor song, while Shammi does what he always does best \u2013 cavort on screen, even if in the close confines of a club.<\/p>\n