Mohammed Rafi Centenary: Man with a velvet voice & his golden pairing with composers

The late legendary singer Mohammed Rafi turned 100 years old on December 24, 2024. (Photo via X)

Dilip Kumar, in his memoir The Substance and the Shadow (2014), recalls an incident from 1962, soon after the conflict at the Indo-China border, where he and Mohd Rafi were present to entertain the beleaguered jawans of the Border Security Force. A day prior to their show, Rafi lost his voice owing to the severe cold causing throat infection. A teary-eyed Rafi was inconsolable at the thought of letting down the jawans who were sending song suggestions on chits of paper to them. Kumar served Rafi a concoction of ginger and honey drink, which seemed to work. The show did go on. In the years to come, Mohammed Rafi would go on to earn the moniker: Voice of God.

In his Foreword in Sujata Dev’s book Mohammed Rafi: Voice of a Nation (2013), the legendary actor wrote about the man with the angelic, velvet voice: “Mohammad Rafi was my voice in practically all my memorable films. He was also the voice of all the leading men of Hindi cinema who enjoyed great popularity with the masses in their time.” The “humble, unpretentious, and unaffected by adulation” Mohd Rafi, a “karmayogi”, had what Dilip Kumar calls a “God given ability to mould and adapt his rendering” to a number of factors, from the film’s setting, given situation and character’s mood. “…with Rafi Bhai it was a mystical bonding as if he was a part of me when he sang for me, knowing without being told how I would perform the song during the filming of the sequence.”

Seventh among eight children, young Pheeko, who was born on December 24 in Kotla Sultan Singh village, 15 km from Amritsar, and who turned 100 today, came to be called Mohammad Rafi, literally The Exalted One. Aged 12, Pheeko (urf Rafi), along with his family, joined his father in Lahore in 1936. Instead of school, he joined his elder brother’s salon as a barber but music kept its pull on him. He followed and listened to a singing mendicant, with his ektara, who passed by the shop daily. Come March 1943, Rafi successfully appeared for an audition at the studios of All India Radio, Lahore.

In Lahore, Rafi obtained taleem (training) under Bade Ghulam Ali, Chhote Ghulam Ali, Barkat Ali Khan, Abdul Wahid Khan. He sang in mehfils and fairs. A new music composer Shyam Sunder was looking for a fresh voice for a then upcoming Punjabi film, Gul Baloch. He recorded his first playback song, a duet with Zeenat Begum, Goriye Ni Heeriye Ni. The film released in 1944, when Rafi was packing his bags for Bombay, where lay his future but where even findinf Rs 5 to pay the rent was difficult.

At mehfils in Bombay, a star-struck Rafi couldn’t believe his eyes watching KL Saigal perform live. At another time, Rafi asked the tabla player to play jhaaptal (10-beat intonation). The percussionist did not know how to play it. Rafi then asked him to play Raag Darbari and himself sang a classical number leaving vocalist and musicologist Khan Saheb (Ustad Abdul Karim Khan) stunned, Dev writes in her book.

In the 1940s, film industry was in dire need of trained singers because only they could sing the compositions by the accomplished music directors of the day. Such as Naushad. Come 1944, Naushad gave Rafi a break in an ensemble song, Hindustan ke hum hain, Hindustan humara, in Pehle Aap (1944). After the recording, the composer showered praise: Shaabaash! and Rs 10 on the young Rafi and then noticed Rafi’s feet was bleeding owing to ill-fitting shoes. In 1946, the composer-singer teamed up again for Anmol Ghadi, and followed a chance to sing in chorus for KL Saigal for Shahjehan the same year (for the song Mere sapnon ki rani….ruhi, ruhi, ruhi).

If Naushad was an integral part of the evolution of Hindi cinema since his debut in Premnagar (1940), his greatest contribution was to introduce Rafi to Hindi playback. Rafi had a special place for the poet-composer whose couplet expresses it best: Meri sargam mein tera zikr hai/Mere saazon mein teri awaaz hai (My music sings your praises/My musical instruments have your voice in them).

Sujata Dev writes, the charisma of Rafi’s voice had a magical hold on the box-office during a time when songs formed the backbone of films. In the 1940s decade, Rafi sang in nine out of the top 30 box-office earners. Between 1944 and 1948, he sang 100 songs. Mohd Rafi’s name joined the list of established and upcoming male playback singers of that era: Hemanta Kumar, Talat Mehmood, Manna Dey, and Mukesh. And in the years to come, competition will come in the form of Kishore Kumar. Hemanta and Talat’s vocals were at times not suitable for the characters being conceptualised for the screen, thereby opening up the path for Rafi, who had a mind-boggling range. Take this, in Bimal Roy’s Madhumati (1958), Rafi sings the comic and peppy for Jungle mein mor naacha for Johnny Walker and the full-of-pathos Toote huye khwaabon ne for Dilip Kumar. With Ae dil hai mushkil (C.I.D., 1956), Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji (Mr and Mrs 55, 1955), Sar jo tera chakraye (Pyaasa, 1957), and Suno suno miss Chatterjee (Bahaarein Phir Bhi Aayengi, 1966), among others, Rafi became the voice for the difficult-to-playback-for Johnny Walker.

And, then, he waltzed to the other end of the emotional range to sing the pathos-filled pièce de résistance in Pyaasa for Guru Dutt, Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai. In Bollywood Melodies: A History (2008), Ganesh Anantharaman writes, “Pyaasa required a singer with range and feeling [for Guru Dutt’s voice], something only Rafi had.”

Rafi’s range remains unmatched. From a frolicky Ramaiyaa Vastaa Vaiyaa (Shree 420, 1955) to the title song of Chaudhvin ka Chand (1960), from Dukh bhare din beete re bhaiyya (Mother India, 1957) to Ae Mohabbat Zindabad (Mughal-E-Azam, 1960). And the classical raga-based O Duniya Ke Rakhwale from Baiju Bawra (1952) and Mujhe bhool jana from Taqdeer (1967), both for Bharat Bhushan (remember the dad from Pyar ka Mausam, 1969? A film where composer RD Burman made both Rafi [for Shashi Kapoor] and his favourite Kishore Kumar [for Bharat Bhushan] sing the same song: Tum bin jaaoon kahan).

In the 1950s, India emerged as a new nation. The period was marked by social and political exuberance, which reflected in the films of that decade. This decade saw Rafi singing in nearly 50 per cent of the box-office releases. From 164 films in the ’40s, Rafi sang in 594 films in the ’50s, notes Dev.

Here is a list of six winning composer-singer combinations Mohammad Rafi shared and their partnership belted out some evergreen songs:

Rafi and Naushad

The early ’50s were the formative years of the Naushad-Shakeel-Rafi team, writes Sujata Dev in her book. The trio stormed the industry with films such as Deedar (1951), Aan (1952) and Baiju Bawra (1952). The latter, including O duniya ke rakhwaale, made the trio a superhit success formula. Naushad, who celebrates his birthday a day after Rafi’s, on December 25, was a perfectionist who’d make Rafi practise a song for hours. Even after the day ended, Rafi would continue to sit and practise, or remark “yeh gandhaar nahin jam rahi hai (this stanza isn’t sitting right)” and Naushad would tell him jokingly, “Now go and practice other songs or you will never become rich.”

Rafi and SD Burman

The evergreen Din dhal jaye haye, raat na aaye (Guide, 1965) couldn’t have been sung by anyone else, like any Rafi song. Ironically, Rafi an already established voice for Dilip Kumar was not used for Dilip Kumar (Deedar, Hulchul, Aan) in Bimal Roy’s Devdas (1955) by SD Burman. Talat Mehmood sang for Kumar. In 1957, SD Burman found Rafi’s voice fit the poet’s agony in Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa (Yeh mahalon, yeh takhton, yeh taajon ki duniya) and the former filmmaker’s isolation in Kaagaz ke Phool, 1959 (Bichhde sabhi baari baari). SD composed 46 Rafi solos and 53 Kishore solos, with a wider range seen in SD-Rafi repertoire, writes Dev. From the slow Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukaare chale gaye to the playful Achha ji main haari chalo maan jao na in the Dev Anand and Madhubala-starrer Kala Pani (1958).

Rafi and Khayyam

The first song Khayyam composed for Rafi was the melancholic Akele mein woh ghabrate toh honge (Biwi, 1950). This was the first time that a ghazal was tuned into a tarannum (the manner of reciting a poem in the form of a song). Khayyam, too, tapped into Rafi’s range, from ghazals (Ghazab kiya tere waade par aitbaar kiya) to bhajans (Tere bharose hey Nandlala).

In 1954, an album named This is Mohammad Rafi, and also featuring Asha Bhosle, was released. During its making, each song was rehearsed nearly 18 times. “Rafi Saab was very intelligent, highly adaptive and non-compromising. My humble contribution to this great legend’s career was adding some sweetness to his already God-gifted voice”

Rafi and OP Nayyar

Nayyar and Rafi worked for the first time in Guru Dutt’s Baaz (1953). But it was the three hit Rafi duets with Geeta Dutt in Aar-Paar (1954) — Sunn sunn sunn zaalima; Mohabbat kar lo jee bhar lo; Na na na na na tauba tauba — which gave Nayyar’s career the much-needed push. From the rustic robustness and Punjabi folk and bhangra beats in Yeh desh hai veer jawaanon ka (Naya Daur, 1957) to the tonga-beats in Maang ke saath tumhara (Naya Daur, 1957), Aankhon hi aankhon mein ishara (C.I.D., 1955) and Yun toh humne laakh haseen dekhe hain (Tumsa Nahin Dekha, 1957), Nayyar gave us many earworm songs with a playful, peppy Rafi.

Once OP Nayyar, who was known for punctuality, cancelled Saawan ki Ghata song recording when Rafi arrived late from a Shankar-Jaikishan recording. A livid Nayyar, by his own admission in an interview (in the book Remembering Mohammad Rafi by Vijay Poolakal), and vowed never to work with Rafi thereafter. Three years later, a teary-eyed Rafi visited Nayyar and the two touched the other’s feet out of respect, as Nayyar said: “Rafi, by coming here today you proved that you are much greater than OP. You could overcome your ego, I could not.” Rafi, Naayar said, often sang to him: Yun toh humne laakh sangeetkar dekhe hain, OP Nayyar sa nahi dekha.

Rafi and Madan Mohan

The two came together for the first time on Aankhen (1950), with Hum ishq mein barbad hai, barbad rahenge. They teamed for 165 songs, across 67 films, over 25 years. Sujata Dev calculates to assert that Rafi sang 56% of 165 male solos Madan Mohan composed: including Ek haseen sham ko dil mera; Yeh duniya, yeh mehfil; Main paighaam; Tum jo mil gaye ho.

Rafi and Anil Biswas

Often referred to as Bhishma Pitamah of the film industry, Anil Biswas is known to have introduced iconic singers to the film industry, Mukesh in Pehli Nazar (1945) and Talat Mehmood in Arzoo (1949). While Biswas is said to have reportedly mentioned that Rafi was a great singer but his open-throated renditions in high octave didn’t suit his compositions in low or mid octaves, like the songs KL Saigal sang in the ’40s. With the ’50s, as romance replaced revolution for the youth of a newly independent nation, thus came the rhythmic, fast-paced romantic song numbers. Biswas made Rafi sing all the songs in Do Raahen (1954), Dev notes in her book.

Rafi and Laxmikant-Pyarelal

Praising Rafi, Pyarelal once remarked: “What can I say about a man jo tareef se bahut hi oopar hai. Rafi Saab aisi sargam thhi, jisse koi bhi raag ban sakta thha. He could sing in any range or octave. The Almighty should create nine Rafis more!” The duo composed the maximum number of songs for the King of Melody, Mohd Rafi. After Rafi recorded his first song with the duo, Tere pyar ne mujhe gham diya for Chhaila Babu (1967; lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri), Laxmikant-Pyarelal could afford to only pay Rs 1,000 to him. But Rafi returned the money to the duo: Rs 500 to each, and blessed them, according to old interviews.  Rafi’s Woh jab yaad aaye and Roshan tumhi se duniya, from Parasmani (1963), catapulted the duo to success.

Rafi and Chitragupta

Adaa se jhoomte huye; Chal udd jaa re panchhi; Chali chali re hawa chali, Rafi sang 248 songs (in 1950s films like Hamara Ghar, Sindbad the Sailor, and the superhit Bhabhi) for Chitragupta, third-highest after Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Shankar-Jaikishan.

RD Burman-Kishore Kumar era fazed out Rafi’s stardom

“Rafi was as critical to SC Burman’s music as he was to Naushad’s. In the early 1950s, Shankar-Jaikishan ignored Rafi for Mukesh in Raj Kapoor’s films…Rafi’s awesome talent couldn’t reverse the relentless march of time. With the Kishore hits of Kati Patang (1971) and Amar Prem (1972), RD Burman almost single-handedly ended the Rafi era in Hindi films…every Rafi loyalist switched over to Kishore in the early 1970s,” writes Anantharaman. And yet, Pancham did compose some songs for Rafi, which remain evergreen. “RD Burman broke through on the strength of Rafi’s vocals with the jazzy score of [Shammi Kapoor-starrer] Teesri Manzil (1966). Rafi played a bigger role than Asha [Bhosle] in the success of the film,” Anantharaman writes.

However, Mohammad Rafi single-handedly, in his inimitable range, overtook all other male playback singers. And Rafi created superstars out of ordinary actors with his vocal virtuosity, such as Rajendra Kumar, who modelled himself on Dilip Kumar, and piggybacked on Rafi towards success. Rafi sang for him more than 150 songs. The velvet voice of Rafi evokes for his audience the words of his song: Tum mujhe yun bhula na paoge. Indeed.