REMEMBERING THE LEGENDARY SINGER MOHD. RAFI ON HIS BIRTH ANNIVERSARY... Mohammad Rafi (December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980) is considered by many to be the greatest Indian male playback singer of all time in Hindi Film Industry. In his lifetime, he was awarded the National Film Award, Best National Singer Award and six Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. In 2000, twenty years after his death, he was awarded the Best Singer of the Millenium Award.His singing career spanned about 35 years, and he is noted for his ability to sing songs of different moods and varieties.His songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, Qawwalis to Ghazals and Bhajans. He is best known for romantic and duet songs, which he playback sings with the technique to mould the voice according to characters of the actor on the screen. Mohammed Rafi was the second youngest of six brothers. His father, Hajji Ali Mohammad and family lived in Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab (British India).Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, began singing by imitating the chants of a fakir in his village.Rafis father moved to Lahore in the 1920s where he ran a mens salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate Lahore.His elder brother, Mohammad Deen, had a friend, Abdul Hameed, (future brother-in-law), who spotted the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul Hameed later convinced the family elders to let Rafi move to Mumbai and he accompanied him in 1944. In 1944, Rafi moved to Bombay..During this time Rafi Sahab sang a duet with GM Durrani, ‘Aji dil ho qaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi...’, for Gaon Ki Gori, which became Rafi’s first recorded song in a Hindi film. Other songs followed. Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was a partnership in the Hindi film industry. Under Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi produced some of his songs for actors like Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Out of six Filmfare awards,Rafi got his first Filmfare Award for the title song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), composed by Ravi. He got National Award for the song Babul Ki Duaen Leti Ja from the film Neel Kamal (1968),Rafi made a comeback as a leading singer in 1974. In 1974, he won the Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song Teri Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad (Hawas, 1974) composed by Usha Khanna.In 1977, he won both Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song Kya Hua Tera Wada from the movie Hum Kisi se Kum Naheen, composed by R. D. Burman. During his last years, Rafi was involved in a controversy over Lata Mangeshkars introduction in to the Guinness Book of World Records. In a letter dated June 11, 1977 to the Guinness Book of World Records, Rafi had challenged the claim that Lata Mangeshkar has recorded the maximum number of songs (not less than 25,000 according to Guinness). After receiving a reply from Guinness, in a letter dated November 20, 1979, he wrote: I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment..Ms Mangeshkars reported world record has gone unheeded.On Thursday, 31 July 1980, Rafi died at 10:50 p.m., following a heart attack. In an article in Times of India, Rafi is described as a versatile singer, who could render classical, rock and roll, indeed any kind of song with ease, he was Hindi films, favourite male voice through the 1950s and 1960s. Classical and playback singer Manna Dey, who was also a contemporary of Rafi said, Rafi and I could sing everything, and he was such a gentleman. He was a better singer than me, and I will say this - that no one came even close to him! He deserved everything he got.!!
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:13:09 +0000
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