Truly unforgettable!
VINAY KUMAR
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Music lovers remembered Mohammed Rafi on his 25th death anniversary this past week.
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Nostalgia and romance, Rafi had a mastery over them All. No raga was beyond his reach and no emotion was left untouched.
THE MAESTRO Mohammed Rafi.)
It was a quarter century ago that the melodious voice of Mohammed Rafi fell silent. His 25th death anniversary this past week provided an occasion to his compatriots, fans and admirers to remember him and refresh their memory banks with Hindi film songs that Rafi had rendered in his long and distinguished career as the leading playback singer in Bollywood.
At the age of 55 when he bid adieu to this mortal world, Rafi had enriched the lives of millions with his songs.
He could have easily continued for another decade or so if cruel hands of destiny had not snatched him away from us.
There were generations in the 1960s, `70s and `80s who grew up listening to the songs of Rafi. Those were simple and uncomplicated times.
Those were the times when radio waves ruled the air and people had not been introduced to a plethora of private channels and MTV type of music.
Key role
Those were the times when you went to see a movie for your favourite heroes like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand, etc., but came out humming songs from their movies. Songs and music played a key role in making a hit film.
Mind you tapes or cassette players came much later, those were the days of Binaca Geet Mala with Ameen Sayani on Radio Ceylon and Vividh Bharti on All India Radio. There was no Ulta Pulta Nitin. Or Pratap. Or Happy Hours with Sachin.
Transistors had made life a wee bit simpler, replacing the old bulky radios manufactured by the likes of National Ecko. Radio artistes were looked at with awe and respect and programmes like Urdu Majlis had very high ratings among the listeners.
Postcards to AIR
Presenters were not called `RJs' or radio jockeys and they spoke softly and at an easy pace, imparting a soothing touch with their style of presentation.
People wrote postcards and sent them to AIR for airing their favourite songs and there were no telephone lines that would be picked up by an ever-perky RJ, anxious to tear apart all the details of your personal life.
Oh, those were the times when the voice of Rafi and those of his contemporaries like Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar and the bubbly Kishore Kumar were the ones that provided entertainment to the people. Each one of them had a distinct style and each one of them sang for their favourite screen heroes.
If Rafi was the voice of Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Dharmendra, Bharat Bhushan, Guru Dutt, Raj Kumar and to some extent Dev Anand, other heroes took delight in regaling and entertaining in the voices of other leading playback singers.
Music directors picked their choices carefully so you had Madan Mohan, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Jaidev rooting for Rafi and others like S.D. and R.D. Burman going for Kishore Kumar and Shankar Jaikishen making Mukesh their favourite singer. Some of the well known names with well respected literary credentials were writing songs for movies and these included Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Rajendra Kishan and much later Anand Bakshi.
Romantic or ecstatic, Rafi had command on every situation and song. Remember the note of sorrow in his voice on the daughter going away after the wedding when he rendered "Babul ki duayen leti jaa" in "Neelkamal" that became an instant hit.
Once he himself had told that the day when he recorded this song for "Neelkamal", he had gone to the studio after marrying his daughter.
Or you can imagine Shatrughan Sinha singing "Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai" without which no marriage party is complete even today.
In Kamal Amrohi's celebrated "Pakeezah", Rafi came up with "Chalo Dildar Chalo" that took the film to dizzy heights.
Or it could be "Naunihal" where Rafi sang Pandit Nehru's favourite "Meri awaaz suno, pyar kaa raaz suno" and if it was the turn to be patriotic Rafi "Kar Chale Hum Fida Jano Tan Saathiyo'' in "Haqeeqat" is enough to move anyone.
Friendship acquired new meaning when Rafi sang "Meri dosti mera pyar" and even if it was S.D. Burman's "Guide" Rafi was given two crucial songs "Tere Mere Sapne" and "Din Dhal Jaye" and that was the time when Kishore Kumar was going up on popularity charts.
Nostalgia and romance
If "Baiju Bawra" was made on the life and times of Tansen and Baiju Bawra, it was Rafi who rendered "Man tarpat Hari darshan ko" in the classical mould and Guru Dutt's "Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai" took you down at the ground level with harsh realities portrayed by Sahir.
Nostalgia and romance, Rafi had a mastery over them. No raga was beyond his reach and no emotion was left untouched. "Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki qasam" is till today the most soft expression for addressing one's beloved.
Though much was sought to be made out of Rafi's rivalry with Kishore Kumar and tiff with Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi himself never believed in paying much attention to them.
It did not matter to him if he recorded 1270 songs in a particular decade or his contemporaries outdid him.
Even today
Even now Rafi's songs are a hot number on remixes which squeeze the soul out of a song. True, it seems Rafi Saheb is still singing one of the all-time favourites "Tum mujhe yun bhula no paoge".
Truly unforgettable, Rafi.
Genius, like none before or after.
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