Rafi Sa’b had come from Lahore, Punjab. It has been 25+ years now, we have not get a replacement for Mohd. Rafi. It is unusual that in a country whose population exceeds 100 Crore they have, as yet, failed to find a suitable voice to sing songs the way Rafi sang. They have, of course, been many imitators but none like the original.
For Rafi, singing was a passion and something which had to be taken seriously. He started his singing career way back in 1942 and held sway in the film industry till his death in 1980 - 38 years with innumerable variety of songs. As a human being, he was extremely humble and religious and surprisingly so soft spoken.
He is the only singer who had the unique distinction of opening out his voice when singing on high scales. Other singers’ voices narrow down as they reach high pitches. The song from Mughal-e-Azam titled zindabad ai mohabbat is proof enough. His voice carried expressions and gave the listener an understanding of the scenes and actions without having actually seen the film. For example, in Barsaat Ki Raat the song zindagi bhar nahi has a poetic line, surkh aanchal ko dabakar jo nichora usne. And the way Rafi has emphasized the word nichora, you could almost imagine Madhubala wringing her aanchal. Or if you listen to the song from Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi, phrased aap ke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai, you can imagine the detailed facial expressions as expressed in the song.
In 1948 on the death of Mahatma Gandhi, Md. Rafi sang the song ’’Suno, suno ae duniya vaalon, bapuji ki amar kahaani’’, written by Rajinder Krishan and music scored by Husnlal Bhagatram. Rafi’s voice echoed the sadness of this great tragedy and listeners soon had their eyes filled with tears. Such was the magic in his voice and soon he became the favourite of millions. THen during his long career he sang a vast number of songs for all kinds of characters portrayed on the screen. Be it a hero, a drunkard, a beggar, a comedian etc., Rafi catered to all and did justice to the lyricist, the music director, and to the song itself. Music directors had a choice of many singers but there was always the thought at the back of their minds, that in the event no other male singer could do justice to their song, there was always Mohd. Rafi to sing for them. Even other singers have admitted that to sing a duet with him was extremely taxing. Being trained in classical music, he sang a number of very good classical numbers, both solos as well as duets. He has also sung a song for Kishore Kumar in the film Ragini.
Music Directors Anil Biswas claimed that his soft music was not suited for Rafi’s loud voice and he never repeated him in his film music. But Rafi has sung some very good soft numbers, such as apni to har aah ik toofan, jaane kya dhoonti rahti hai, tumse kahoon ik baat, which is proof enough of the control he had on his voice. Naushad-Shakeel-Rafi was a team that started off way back in the 1940s and produced hits upon hits till mid 1960s. They seemed to be made for each other and none of the three let the other down. Who can forget songs such as is duniya mein si dilwalo Dillagi, tasveer banata hoon teri Deewana etc. Rafi had grown to be Number One among India’s popular male playback singers under the music of Naushad. Baiju Bawra reached the silver screen in 1952, had seen the Naushad-Rafi team reach its apogee.
Zindagi Tho Bewafa Hai, Ek Din Tukaraayegi, Maut Mehebooba Hai Apne Saath Lekar Jaayegi
Three years after singing this song, Rafi had passed away on July 31st, 1980. It was after he recorded his last song for the film ’’Aaspaas’’ (Too kahin aaspaas hain dost’’, scored by Laxmikant-Pyarelal). He may be absent from this world but his golden voice will echo for generations to come.
I am ending this review with listing out various songs that have been my personal favourites for a long time and will remain so.
Zindagi ke safar mein akele - Nartaki
Ba hosh-o-hawas mein - Night in London
Raaz-e-dil unse chhupaya na - Apna Banake Dekho
Dil mein ek jaan-e-tamanna - Benazir
Tu mere saamne hai - Suhagan
Pahle mile the sapnon mein aaj - Zindagi
Gar tum bhula na doge - Yakeen
Mujhe le chalo aaj phir us gali- Sharabi
Saaz ho tum awwaz hun - Saaz aur Awaaz
Teri zulfen pareshaan - Preet Na Jaane Reet
Paas baitho tabiyat behl - Punar Milan
Haaye tabassum - Nishan - Usha Khanna
Teri tasveer bhi kuch - Kinare Kinare
Zara sun haseena - Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya