Mohammad Rafi: The eternal voice of India

Forty years have passed since Mohammad Rafi, arguably India’s greatest playback singer, passed away, yet his songs continue to enthrall billions of people the world over. Rafi’s sudden death had left the entire film industry in a shock, and actor Shammi Kapoor, for whom the singer sang some of his most memorable songs, confessed that on 31 July 1980, he had actually lost his voice. Life for him, like innumerable Rafi fans, was never the same again. When his body was being laid to rest in the Juhu graveyard, it poured non-stop. It was evident that even the Gods were crying and the heavy rain did not prevent his admirers from paying their homage.

The singer’s versatility was unmatched by any of his contemporaries, and he provided perfect playback for actors as diverse in talent as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand, besides comedians like Johnny Walker and Mehmood. There was hardly an artiste who did not sync his lips with Rafi’s voice. Kishore Kumar, another doyen of the times, held him in very high esteem and once when attempts were made to run Rafi down, wrote a letter to the Filmfare, that even he was a great Rafi fan. Not many people know that the phenomenal singer also lent his voice to Kishore Kumar, not once but on at least four occasions. Although people found it odd to believe that a gifted artiste like Kishore would have needed someone to sing for him, the fact is that both in Ragini where Rafi crooned “Man Mora Banwara” to O.P. Nayyar’s music or Shararat when Shankar Jaikishen composed “Ajab hai dastan teri hai zindagi”, it was Rafi who sang for Kishore.

The hallmark of the notable singer was that he had great humane values as well. When Laxmikant Pyarelal embarked on their musical journey, Rafi just accepted Re 1 as token money for his first rendition under their baton, while wishing them a bright and musical future. Many of his philanthropic activities came to light post his demise as some of the beneficiaries went to his home to pay their respect. Every singer has clones but no one could ever imitate him completely. The Anwars, Shabbir Kumars and Jaspal Singhs, all tried to sing the way the thespian sang, but always fell short of his high exacting standards. Even at the peak of his glory, he always rehearsed before going to the recording room. There was a time when Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar had differences over the royalty issue, sending the entire industry into a panic mode. Shankar Jaikshen, the top most composers of the time, who also provided music for innumerable Lata hits, chose to side with Rafi when it came to recording duets. Lata was replaced by either Suman Kalyanpur or Mubarak Begum. But to everyone’s relief, the dispute was short-lived.

 Rafi was the King of melody and along with Manna Dey, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Kishore Kumar and Mahindra Kapoor will always be remembered.