Remembering Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) is one of the most popular and respected playback singers of India and widely considered the greatest singer of Indian cinema. He was one of the most versatile singers: his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor lip-synching the song. Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought after singer in the Hindi film industry, Rafi received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. Rafi is primarily noted for his songs in Hindi, over which he had a strong command. He sang in other Indian languages including Assamese, Konkani, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Maghi, Maithili and Urdu. Apart from Indian languages, he also sang songs in English, Persian, Spanish, and Dutch. Mohammed Rafi was the second oldest of six brothers born to Hajji Ali Mohammad. The family originally belonged to Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near present-day Amritsar in Punjab, India. Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, began singing by imitating the chants of a fakir in the streets of Bhati gate Lahore where his family lived. Rafis father moved to Lahore in the 1920s where he ran a mens salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate. His elder brother, Mohammad Deen, had a friend, Abdul Hameed, (future brother-in-law), who recognised the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul Hameed later convinced the family elders to let Rafi move to Mumbai; he accompanied him in 1944. Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami.[5] His first public performance came at the age of 13, when he sang in Lahore featuring K. L. Saigal. In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam Sundar, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet Soniye Nee, Heeriye Nee with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (released in 1944). In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them. He made his Hindi film debut in Gaon Ki Gori in 1945. Rafi married twice; his first marriage was to his cousin; Bashira and took place in his ancestral village. The marriage ended when his first wife refused to live in India following the killing of her parents during the riots of Partition of India and moved to Lahore, Pakistan. Rafi had four sons and three daughters. He was very much a family man, following a recording-room, to home and to recording-room itinerary. He rarely attended film parties, did not smoke or drink, was religious, and was considered a humble man. He used to perform his riyaz (musical practice) regularly. His only indulgences were playing carom, badminton, and flying kites. Uday Balse Source: Wikipedia https://youtube/watch?v=2On9ix8wy9w
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:19:20 +0000
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