RMIM Archive Article "42".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Padmashree Mohammed Rafi
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# Posted by: Mavani, Jagat N. (MAVANI@KGNVMT.VNET.IBM.COM)
# Written by: Mavani, Jagat N.
#
PADMA SHREE MOHAMMED RAFI
SABHI SE JUDA JISKI ANDAZ HAI
JAMI TA FALAK JISKI PARVAZ HAI
WAHI JISPE SANGEET KO NAAZ HAI
MOHD. RAFI KI WO AAWAZ HAI
Mohd. Rafi was born on the 24th of December, 1924 in kotla sul-
tanpur, a small town in Punjab (now part of the Punjab province
of Pakistan). Interested from childhood in music, he obtained
formal training in classical music from Ustad Khan Abdul Wahid
Sahab.
K.L. Saigal once said to him "Rafi the magic of your voice will
be recognized by this whole world". Rafi's recollection of that
meeting in his own words "When Saigal was tapping me on my head I
felt that the lord himself was giving me the keys to his king-
dom".
His first break into the world of films came in 1940 when he sang
for the punjabi film 'Gulbaloch'. The music director was Shyam
Sunder and the song was "Suniye Hiriye ni, teri yaad ne bahut sa-
taya..". This song went on to become a hit. It was under Shyam
Sunder again that he sang for his first hindi film in 1944. The
film was 'Gaon ki gori'.
His debut as a singer for Dilip Kumar came in Shaket Hussein's
film but it was another song from the same film sung with Noor
Jehan that became a hit "Yahan badla wafa ka bewafai ke siva kya
hai..". The popularity of this song put Rafi's singing career on
a firm footing. To add to the list, this was also the film in
which Rafi had a small acting part.
His great moment arrived in 1947 when he was asked to sing Ra-
jinder Krishan's song depicting the life of Mahatma Gandhi. "Suno
Suno ae duniya walo bapuji ki amar kahani..". That same year, he
was also invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to sing at his house and
next year on the anniversary of the independence day he received
a silver medal from Nehru.
In 1965 he was awarded the title of Padma Shree by the Indian
Government.
It was said in the world of Bombay's film industry that no one
had ever heard of a music director saying that a particular song
was not Rafi's type. From classical tunes, gazals, quawalis to
the wild Shammi Kapoor songs, Rafi's range was fantastic.
Almost all music directors used Rafi's voice to give life and a
magical quality to their tunes. Rafi used to be concerned about
the actors for whom the songs were recorded and went to great
lengths to change his style to suit the actor and the scene.
Johnny walker recalled the days when Rafi spent time with him
trying to match his singing with the actor's style, accent and
pronunciation.
Shanker Jaikishen the unquestioned masters of hindi film music
used the talents of Rafi for a host of their films. The song
"Baharo phool barsao, mera meheboob aaya hai..." went on to win
an award.
However it was his association with Naushad that produced some of
his greatest songs. Rafi who was a devout muslim refrained from
smoking and drinking alcohol. His neat appearance, mild manners,
timely arrival at recording studios endeared him to Naushad. This
association flowered at its peak in the music for 'Baiju Bawra'.
On hearing about his death Naushad said "For those who say that I
helped Rafi in his career, I would say that I only showed him a
way. It was his voice that enriched my music. The void left by
his death cannot be filled. Yes that is impossible."
Raj kapoor's reaction on hearing the news about Rafi's death "In
the world of music, the uncrowned king of singing has left us".
KIS KAAM KI YE DUNIYA
JO JINDAGI SE KEHLE RE
HUM KO BHI SAATH LE LE
HUM RAHE GAYE AKELE
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian