Mohd Rafi - The Legendary Indian Playback Singer
"In a singing career spanning 35 years, Rafi came to be regarded by many as the greatest playback singer the Hindi film industry has ever known. Apart from Naushad, Rafi worked with all the well-known music directors of his time, including SD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishen, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and OP Nayyar. He became the 'voice' of most of the leading stars of the day including Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Amitabh Bachan. He also playbacked for superstar Rajesh Khanna.....that have made Mohammed Rafi live on in the hearts of millions long after he passed away in 1980"
This was the introductory quote from the biography written by his daughter-in-law, Yasmin Khalid Rafi, and was published in 2012. This book is well-worth reading if you're interested in Mohd Rafi's background. It was the first book that I read completely from cover-to-cover within a few days (usually I get bored with most books about half-way!).
He had a golden voice and his range and versatility was absolutely incredible. To give you an idea, here are five of my favorite songs sung by Mohd Rafi:
If you want to see some of my other examples, have a look at my FB page......
https://www.facebook.com/Mohd-Rafi-Ki-Awaaz-390717257686675/
What do you think? Which is your all-time favourite song sung by Mohd Rafi?
This unreleased song, composed by Madan Mohan, and sung beautifully by Rafi Sahib is a real gem and one of my favourites. Just listen to the start of the song and you will see what I mean.....
Just love this extremely romantic song. It's from the first Hindi movie I ever saw when I was a young lad in India. Every time I listen to it, it brings back all those beautiful memories.
Just listen to the amazing range of Rafi Sahib's voice and listen carefully to the lyrics. They don't make songs like these anymore. Don't you agree ?
What a touching song this is....I remember I could not stop the tears flowing when I first heard this song in the movie (Mere Sanam) at Uni in 1974. The storyline, the fine acting by Asha Parekh and Viswajeet and the incredible range and emotion in Rafi Sahib’s voice makes this a masterpiece in my view.
Don’t you agree ?
Rafi Sahib sang for many Bollywood actors as a playback singer. It is amazing how his voice seemed to suit most of these actors when they were only miming on screen. Rafi Sahib made special effort to not only mould his voice to match each actor's individual style (e.g. Shammi Kapoor, Johnny Walker) but also put appropriate feelings in the song to suit the story. The following collage shows some of the actors for whom he sang.....
The video on the following link demonstrates why Mohd Rafi was the only versatile singer who could modulate his voice to suit each of the actors below 🎶🎵👇
https://www.facebook.com/390717257686675/videos/1557422631016126/
This beautiful song is from the Hindi movie, Raaz, which I saw when I first came to UK as a teenager in the late sixties. It is one of the few songs where Rafi Sahib sang for Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh looked so good in this movie and I feel Rafi's voice really suited him. I don't think any other singer could sing the way Rafi Sahib has sung this song.....the emotion and the power in his voice is simply magical. Don't you agree ?
This post is slightly different because the video below is NOT of Rafi Sahib himself but his great grandson, Mustafa Parvez, singing in a programme in Cochin.
Doesn't this prove that the voice and the music runs in the genes ?
I hope to visit Mohd Rafi's village (near Amritsar) next time I go to India....for me it will be like a pilgrimage !
What a gem of a song.....just listen to the way Rafi Sahib expresses the word "muhabbat" So much emotion....don't you agree ?
Listening to this absolutely beautiful song with my brother-in-law who loves it just as much as I do. Hope you do too..
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Had not heard this humurous song before where Mohd Rafi matches his voice so well to Johnny Walker’s character in this old movie...just listen to the unique way in which Rafi Sahib modulates his voice....