Continuing the series of tributes to RD Burman with his best songs for Rafi on the latter’s 45th Remembrance Day
RD Burman composed over 125 songs for Rafi. He was friends with Kishore Kumar, and their personal and musical temperaments matched. Plus, post-Aradhana (1969) an era changed, and Kishore Kumar’s vocals seemed to be transformed to fit the new youthful Phenomenon, Rajesh Khanna. Kishore Kumar was the new Rafi with most big music directors adapting to suit his style. That reflects in the number of about 500 songs RD Burman composed for Kishore Kumar. Considering that Kishore Kumar in his entire career sang only 55% of the songs sung by Rafi, this is even more skewed.
But can numbers tell the real story? Not in music surely. RD Burman’s number of songs for Rafi outnumbers that by SD Burman, Husnlal-Bhagatram and Roshan, but there is no doubt the latter three are counted among the best composers of Rafi songs. As for RD Burman, Rafi was the only male singer in his debut film Chhote Nawab (1961), though the songs did not set the box office on fire. The first super-duper hit of RD Burman, Teesri Manzil (1966) was entirely based on Rafi’s vocals. RD Burman had to prove that he could produce music for a Shammi Kapoor film no less than Shankar-Jaikishan or OP Nayyar, then the top dogs for music, especially for Shammi Kapoor films. And what emphatic manner in which he proved himself! He had another outstanding score in the film Padosan (1968), but it was entirely a Kishore Kumar and Mehmood (Manna Dey) vehicle. The next three years RD Burman gave some very good songs for Rafi, including for Rajesh Khanna in the film The Train (1970), but in the meanwhile the Phenomenon had stormed Hindi films, and RD Burman had composed some great songs in the voice of Kishore Kumar for Kati Patang (1970) and Amar Prem (1971).
Despite the beginning of the big tilt towards his friend, Kishore Kumar, RD Burman continued composing superhit Rafi songs for many actors. The over 125 songs of this combo contain some real gems. Here is some of my favourite songs as a joint tribute to RD Burman and, also to Rafi on his 45th Remembrance Day.
1. Deewana mujhsa nahin is ambar ke neeche, aage hai qatil mera aur main peechhe by Rafi from Teesri Manzil (1966), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
I start with the song that made RD Burman, RD Burman. In this crime thriller of mistaken identity in Hitchcockian mould, the heroine has come for avenging the murder of her sister. Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote some beautiful lyrics, and RD Burman gave a superlative score.
2. Tumne muhe dekha hokar meharbaan, tham gai ye zameen, tham gaya aasman by Rafi from Teesri Manzil (1966), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
Another of superb Rafi solo from Teesri Manzil.
3. Zulfon ko aap yun na sanwara karo by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Chandan Ka Palna (1967), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music RD Burman
Chandan Ka Palna – Neither the film nor the music created much waves. But tucked inside is a soft song in complete contrast of Teesri Manzil. With Dharmendra and Meena Kumari in the lead RD Burman composes a soft melody to go with their personality. Gone are the drum and loud percussion instruments, and he uses only melodic string instruments.
4. Wadiyan mera daaman, raaste meri baahein jaao mere siwa tum kahan jaaoge by Rafi from Abhilasha (1968), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
Sanjay Khan is the hero, and it seems he found Rafi’s voice a good fit. There is also a twin version in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar, and readers are aware of my theory of the male version generally becoming a front-runner and the female version a laggard.
5. Tum bin jaaun kahan by Rafi from Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
RD Burman must have had a wicked sense of humour to create this twin song – one in the voice of Rafi and the other in the voice of Kishore Kumar, to set Rafi and Kishore Kumar fans at each other’s throat. Gun will not settle which version is better. To give a perspective, Rafi’s version is picturised on Shashi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar’s on Bharat Bhushan. Here are both the versions: Rafi first, then Kishore Kumar’s version.
6. Gulabi aankhein jo teri dekhin by Rafi from The Train (1970), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music RD Burman
This very popular song was picturised on Rajesh Khanna when he had already become the Phenomenon on the vocals of Kishore Kumar.
7. Kitna pyara wada hai by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Caravan (1971), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
An excellent song from the early 1970s. He had another duet with Lata Mangeshkar, Chadhti jawani meri chaal mastani; and another with Asha Bhosle, Goriya kahan tera des re. Jitendra was the hero again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-6rS_EjRMU
8. Rut hai milan ki saathi mere aa re by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from Mela (1971), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
This song picturised on Sanjay Khan was quite popular those days.
9. Koi aur duniya mein tumsa haseen hai, nahin hain, nahin hai, nahin hain, nahin hai, nahin hai by Rafi from Pyar Ki Kahani (1971), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music RD Burman
But to me, the best Rafi song of 1971 is Koi aur duniya mein tumsa haseen hai. I was surprised that this beautiful song from a nondescript film was picturised on Amitabh Bachchan. Then I realised that it was from the early phase of Amitabh Bachchan, his superstardom as an Angry Young Man was still a couple of years away.
10. Yaadon ki baaraat nikli by Kishore Kumar and Rafi from Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
This film, with the story of three lost brothers who meet after fifteen years in the climax scene, was a big blockbuster. This is the song that brings the brothers together who happened to be in the club, as they used to sing it in their childhood. In this climax song RD Burman gives primacy to Kishore Kumar but Rafi gets the same airtime. This is more equitable distribution than Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko, which is dominated by Asha Bhosle and Rafi joins in quite late.
11. Kya hua tera wada wo qasam wo irada by Rafi and Sushma Shreshth from Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin (1977), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music RD Burman
This turned out to be a big song in the later career of Rafi. It fetched him the Filmfare and National Awards. I agree with some readers that National Award for this song was a kind of joke on Rafi. He had sung much superior songs than this at the top of his career. The film world and the authorities have been miserly in the matter of recognition to Rafi.
12. Maine poocha chand se by Rafi from Abdullah (1980), lyrics Anand Bakhshi, music RD Burman
I have a great liking for this melodious song from the film Abdullah, picturised on Sanjay Khan, in the last year of Rafi’s life. Do we see a pattern here in RD Burman songs for Rafi?
Readers may please note some songs recorded earlier might have been released in post-1980 years. But I have confined my list of RDB-Rafi songs to my greatest favourites.
Acknowledgments and Disclaimer
The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest, and it does not directly or indirectly make or suggest any copyright over these songs which vests with respective copyright holders.
{ 76 comments… read them below or add one }
CHOTE NAWAB, though not successful, had a good musical score.
Rafi had 2 diverse solos ( kid language Aam chum tam chum; solemn Ilahi tu sunle.. ) and 4 duets ( 3 with Lata and one with Shamshad Begum ).
The Rafi, Lata duet
Matwali ankhonwale
is a nice song. The second most popular song after the brilliant
Ghar aa jaa ghir aaye..
ZAMANE KO DIKHANA HAI , 1981
had the lovely
Poocho na yaar kya hua…
1.Rafi with chorus.
2.Rafi, Asha , chorus with brief dialogues by Rishi Kapoor and Padmini Kolhapure.
The song we discussed in the last post…
Pyar hai ek nishan…
MUKTI, 1977.
There is one more title song with a heart warming background about Rafi’s generosity and moral values.
Dukh sukh ki har ek mala…
That plays with the credits in
KUDRAT, 1980.
Originally, RDB had composed the song ( with 4 antaras ) in the voice of Chandrashekhar Gadgil. But, on the insistence of the produces it was then recorded in the voice of Rafi . After recording 3 antaras , Rafi came to know about the song having been earlier recorded by someone else. He heard the song and refused to sing the fourth antara and said the first recorded song should be retained. It wasn’t as if Rafi was the reigning singer then. He was just finding his form again after a very bad patch professionally.
However, the fil was released after his death and it was his version retained. However, I think the LP s of the movie have only the C Gadgil version.
The essentially Kishore Kumar album
KAALIA, 1981
had
Kaun kisi ko bandh saka..
with some interesting orchestration.
Chunri sambhal , Aa jaa piya , Kya janoo sajan etc overshadowed
Zamane ne mara
Jawan kaise kaise…
Fairly good song.
BAHARON KE SAPNE, 1967.
AKji,
Nice tribute to the great singer on his Remembrance Day, coupled with the continuing celebrations of RD Burman’s music.
Faisla, a much delayed film released in 1988, was the last released film with Rafi singing for RDB. Its music records had released way back in 1975, when the film was titled Aaj Raat Ko.
Champa khili daar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIGp0CylVYA&list=RDCIGp0CylVYA
The popular solo from Shaan (1980)
Naam abdul hai mera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeGugCrSLQc&list=RDTeGugCrSLQc
RDB-Rafi may not have gained enough attraction during the Kishore Kumar 2.0 era, but the numbers and quality (to a fair degree) do merit a balanced article like the present one.
Off the cuff, I recall another good number –
Chand Mera dil Chandani Ho Tum – Hum Kissi Se Kum NahiN (1977)
Rafi is quite in his elements in the song.
https://youtu.be/_FSCznHS9l0?si=SYTIcGFfZJhnk5Fy
Rafi-RDB combo gave us many enjoyable and popular qawwalis:
Here are some:
This is my most favourite: Pal do pal ka saath hamara – The Burning Train (1980) with Asha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtlW1geOWxM&list=RDgtlW1geOWxM
This one is the most popular – Hai agar dushman – Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977) with Asha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS9AkfRtFd4&list=RDrS9AkfRtFd4
Salaam kijiye aali janab – Aandhi (1975), an unusual qawwali , as part of election campaign, with Amit, Bhupinder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U0hFgLe_ZE&list=RD9U0hFgLe_ZE
Ek shokh haseena se – Chandi Sona (1977) with Manna Dey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNchIwrEFm4&list=RDzNchIwrEFm4
Jeena to hai usi ka – Adhikar (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi_zD3M3Yo0&list=RDMi_zD3M3Yo0
Yaar mil gaya to khuda mil gaya – Ganga Meri Maa (1982) with Manna Dey, Asha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JHaBisp5i4&list=RD3JHaBisp5i4
Ye choodiyan nahin
Hatkadiyan hain…
BALIKA BADHU
( Choodiyan are normally associated with shringar, choodiwala, mela , romance etc. But, here a part of the freedom movement. )
Botal se ek baat chali…
( With Asha Bhosale )
GHAR.
Jab ek qaza se gujro…
DEVTA.
For me, the quintessential, iconic Rafi-RDB song is “main ne poochhaa chaand se.” Surprsed that nobody has mentioned it so far.
Though glad that “kyaa huwaa teraa wa’ada” has also gone unmentioned (so far).
Dr Shetty @1,
Matwali aankhonwale is obviously well-known. The other songs you have mentioned are all very good. I am surprised they were not heard often.
@2,
It so happened that the song by Shailendra Singh, Hoga tumse pyara kaun topped the charts.
@3,
From Mukti again Mukesh’s Suhani chaandni raatein humein jeene nahin detin became a superhit.
Nice recall of Sukh dukh ki har ek mala from credit-titles of Kudrat. There is a version by Chandrashekhar Gadgil, too, on the YT. One has to see the film carefully to check which version finally went in th commercial print. Your story further consolidates Rafi’s generosity to new singers.
@4,
Nice song.
@5,
Exactly. I agree with you. Some good songs in a film are overshadowed by very popular songs.
@9,
Same phenomena again. Ultra-popularity of some songs overshadows rest of the songs. Example: Chaand chura ke laya hun
Dr Deshpande @6,
Thanks a lot for highly informative comment about Champa khili daar. Agree about Shaan‘s Naam abdul hai mera. This has been referenced in a very endearing and funny manner in Laapata Ladies.
@8,
You have made me aware of three songs I heard for the first time. The last three songs were new to me. Liked these qawwali-style songs, especially enacting by Pran is lovely.
Ashokji @7,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. And also for adding Chaand mera dil chaandni ho tum.
Zafar @10,
I agree with you entirely. It figures in my list as the lasot song.
AK Ji
Although there has been a surfeit of R D Burman of late, nice article on a team that is generally not talked about much. Wadiyan Mere Daman is my all-time favourite from this combination-for many years I was under the impression it was an SJ composition! The style resembles very closely.
Dr Shetty in #3 very graciously acknowledged Rafi’s magnanimity toawards a new singer.
But the line ” He was just finding his form again after a very bad patch professionally” must have unconciously crept in , with everyone creating a myth that after 1969 Rafi didn’t sing much!!
A quick analysis of number of songs from 1944-1969 & from 1970 till his demise..if you consider a career of 36 years , it is roughly 71% and 29%:
Songs from 1944-1969-25 years- around 3960—74%
Songs from 1970-1980-10 years -around 1400—26%
If possible, one day I can write an article about the ‘so-called’ bad patch of Rafi sahab!!! They have many good songs , though not of the quality of the pre 1969 but that in my purely personal opinion was due to all the legendary music dircetors having passed away or faded away.
My comments are not to criticize but to bring out a view point , especially on the legend’s 45th death anniversary , is that if a myth is repeated everywhere , all get carried away and it becomes a ” truth”!!
Sivanandamji,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comments about your perspective. Aradhana (1969) was a Black Swan event. No one could have predicted it would change the film and music industry so much. It couldn’t be all due to propaganda for which the gullible fell.
Something did change and one obvious change was the emergence of The Phenomenon Rajesh Khanna, for whom the girls now swooned and slashed their wrists. The other, and more relevant for our purpose, was the emergence of Kishore Kumar as a ‘new’ singer. He had been there since at least since 1948. His is the only case in which there was no linear decline in tonal quality. There was a different Kishore Kumar earlier, Kishore Kumar 2.0 sounded a refreshed singer with a youthful tonal quality. If you look at relative numbers, you can flip the percentages you have given for Rafi between his songs 1948-69, and post-1970. It would be around 20:80% for Kishore Kumar.
When we say Rafi has been the greatest playback singer of Hindi films, we think about his superlative songs of 50s and 60s by the doyens like Naushad, SD Burman, OP Nayyar, Shankar-Jaikishan, Roshan, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Chitragupt etc. Most of these doyens were in terminal decline – a natural process. Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji were able to retool themselves, SD Burman continued to be relevant. RD Burman created a new kind of sound. Some of us find it jarring, too loud, but that was the prevalent currency.
About Wadiyan tera daaman, I used to confuse it with Chitragupt. I remember he composed some very popular scores during post-Aradhana period.
@Sivanandam
Will be eagerly awaiting your article on Rafi’s “downfall” post Aradhana. Would be an interesting read.
AK Ji
I am not at all denying the Aradhana wave. In fact in my own blogsite I had two blogs dedicated to Kishore -pre Aradhana and post Aradhana. I had written about how he richly deserved more songs before 1969 and personally his songs were too good prior to that. Popular choice is something different.
After 2-3 years Rafi was already singing and Teri Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge kadam brought him back in a big way -that was 1974.
My remark was to that specific reference that in 1980 , during Khudrat film was Rafi really ” struggling” from a bad patch??? In fact in 1980 he was doing maximum number of films before he passed away.
Even during 1970, 71 , immediately after that wave he sang some exceptional songs.
The issue was with the hype created that Rafi was totally a failure post 1969, which is not at all true
I am not going to enter into any further debate…as you said Aradhana was an abberation; Rafi is a phenomenon-pre or post 1969.
Any other time I wouldn ‘t have responded but in an article supposed to be tribute to him , this seemed to be a bit out of place.
Just one point I forgot at address:
“His is the only case in which there was no linear decline in tonal quality. There was a different Kishore Kumar earlier, Kishore Kumar 2.0 sounded a refreshed singer with a youthful tonal quality”
Does this imply he was too good even in the song Salami ishq meri jaan from Muqaddar ka sikandar-when KK enters the song, i switch it off!
There was marked deterioration in KK 2.0 in late 70s that happened with almost all singers. To be fair , Rafi in Dard-E-Dil dard-e-jigar sounded not his best ( it is a different matter that this song is popular with the public! One more example where popular perception always seem to be different..am I the abberation now??!!)
Once again to make myself clear -personal choices may differ but there seems to be a hidden bias towards some singers and music directors , couched in articles that appear to be a tribute!
Anyhow this is my final comment on this issue.
AK ji
Nice tribute to the RDB -Rafi combination.
After your list and subsequent comments of Dr Pradeep ji and Dr Rajesh ji not many songs are left.
I think after Rafi-dominated albums of Mela and Caravan, RDB shifted his preference to KK. This despite the fact that both were hits ( Especially Caravan)
Mela had another good duet of Rafi and Lata
Ek bar rakh de – Majrooh
https://youtu.be/eFAedm3_E60?si=Hjukb0zjzTtSlYkq
Waris is not a much discussed score of RDB but had good songs including this duet
Kabhi kabhi aisa bhi to – Rajendra Krishn
https://youtu.be/ybKJxEDIuh8?si=jFs-T_TT4lzCNX-O
And in The Train there was a Rafi-Lata duet
Mujhe se bhala ye kajal tera – Anand Bakshi
https://youtu.be/24lc4aXl7fA?si=sUdErgeJ5K0Dv8fU
The great gambler had Rafi singing for Big B
Raquasa mera nam – Anand Bakshi
https://youtu.be/dL5alUqykmk?si=Ze9ZWDGhhzmoyykr
Rahul ji,
Ek bechara pyar ka mara..
WARIS
was fairly popular.
It had FARZ influence written all over it…in my opinion.
All the songs selected here are well known and popular songs . One duet by Rafi and Mannadey in Abhilasha Ek janib shamme was a rare song not often heard and two duets from Raton Ka Raja were also very popular like Aana to sajani and wished that one song from WAARIS was also included such as Kabhi Kabhi aisa bhi . To sum up, Rafi did very well with RD particularly during the sixties and seventies till Kishore took over for majority of songs composed by RDB.
Mr Muli @20,
Most of the songs were well-known. The last song was unknown to me. Some relationships are becoming clear. Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra and Dharmendra had a preference for Rafi.
Dr Shetty @21,
Very apt observation. After the Jumping Jack Jeetu succeeded some producers wanted to play safe.
KB @22,
Thanks a lot for your comments
AK ji, Dr Pradeep ji
Yes ek bechara had Farz influence written all over. The very next year JJ acted in a film titled Ek Bechara.
Waris also had another pleasant duet
Lehera ke aaya hai – Rajendra Krishn- Rafi and Lata
https://youtu.be/4knf4k48rSs?si=XHHDIKnQ-9hogDwt
Incidentally Anu Malik composed Babli badmash hai getting inspired from this song.
AK ji
Despite there preference for Rafi, Jeetendra, Shashi Kapoor and Dharmendra all used KK’s playback liberally in 70’s even for composers other than RDB.
Perhaps the only actor who in 70’s ( and for that matter throughout his career) steadfastly stayed away from KK was Manoj Kumar.
Mr Muli,
For some reasons Manoj Kumar settled for poor man’s Rafi, and occasional Mukesh for niche songs. In the Golden Era Rafi sang some outstanding songs for Manoj Kumar in Do Badan.
Apart from Manoj Kumar as indicated by Mr. Muli, Rajendra Kumar also remained with Rafi except for Aap Aye Bahar Aye (one song ) and one other duet from Sunehra Sansar ( 1975) never got included in the movie.
AK Ji,
Thanks for this wonderful compilation with your insightful commentary. But one song that I cannot stop myself from humming alongside is Tum bin jaoon kahan…!
Incidentally, the tune is based on a Bangla song ‘ Ek din paakhi ure jabe je akashe … from a Durga Puja album , sung by Kishore and composed by RD
Vermaji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. The Bangla song is indeed excellent. Since Hindi film and the Bangla Pujo collection both came in 1969, it is not clear which is the original version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T-VtXNWEGY&list=RD4T-VtXNWEGY&start_radio=1
Unlike SD Burman, Hemant Kumar and Salil Chowdhury, RD Burman did not earn great fame in Bangla music. Probably he leveraged his fame in Hindi films to sell his records in Bangla. But I am willing to be proved wrong.
AK,
A nice selection of songs. I have seen that RDB’s songs with Lata and Rafi have more melody than his songs with other singers. There is a saying ‘mareej ki aadhi beemari doctor dekh kar khatam ho jati hai’ which must have been heard by the many doctors who comment regularly on this blog. Was this because he got disciplined at the sight of these two great singers or that both of them added their own expertise or it was both reasons.
The songs I am going to post will also confirm this. Not only they are melodious, they also use the normal orchestra.
The first song is another one from Adhikar one of which was posted by DR Deshpande.
Rekha o rekha jabse tumhen dekha – Adhikar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnSRyB8NEmY
The next one is from Chandan Ka Palna. This song perhaps gave the idea to Mehmood for ‘ek chatur naar’.
Nir ta ta – Chandan Ka Palna – with Manna Dey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-89tuRr1mU
There is a qawwali.
Ek se phool gulistan mein khila karte hain – Sanjog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn5xWjRfksE
A comic song well presented.
Samjha main kismat khul gayi – Panch Dushman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2fjBkLLe7c
Here is a song with Panjabi words. There would be a lot of contribution of Rafi in that. There was another song with Panjabi words ‘tere athroo chun lavan main’ in Shehzaada released in the same year.
Zara ankhiyan la laiye zara khushiyan mana laiye – Parchhaiyan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VYcGfes9lI
Hans,
Thanks a lot for this beautiful bouquet of songs. Nir ta ta from Chandan Ka Palna is pick of the lot. I am impressed both by Dhoomal and Mehmood. Dhoomal had been used mostly in very trite comic roles, but his dance shows he was talented. Rekha o rekha jabse tumhein dekha was heard regularly on the radio. A nice song.
AK,
This song was written by Bindadeen Maharaj and dance was composed and directed by Gopi Krishan. So the talent of Dhoomal was in good hands.
Hans,
Yes. But he must have some natural talent.
Sivanandam Ji #16 / AK ji #19
I agree with you that Kishore’s voice somehow did not sound jaded even though he too began around the same time. Rafi however in many a song of the 70s does not sound very youthful. I guess many of the golden era playback singers continued to sing even though they were past their prime and their voices did not actually go with the young actors. Voluntarily taking a bow at the right time is desirable.
Anita
I made an honest attempt to come back to this forum after once deciding not to do so. I still feel this is an excellent treasure for old songs lovers. The intense research and passion that goes into the blogs are truly commendable.
But unfortunately I am a misfit here as there is lot of bias towards certain artists. Personally I like to focus more about the good things, like the intricate compositions , orchestration , lyrical beauty and how the singer rendered a song. However many-a-times , here it is more about comparing X vs Y ….which in my humble opinion is an endless debate. I will be a passive reader!
Wishing all the very best to AK ji and all the SOYers.
Sivanandam ji,
I am happy that you have decided to stay on. I would request you to not to keep your lips sealed. Within the bounds of decorum, we should allow writers to express their views.
Anita @35,
That was the baisc point many of us were making, but some readers took umbrage that saying this itself shows a bias or it shows a comparison that X is better than Y,
No ..AK ji. You didn’t read my comments properly.
I am not going to comment anything here. For me it is futile to say anything in a forum that ridicules Rafi. Thanks.
AK,
Now I take forward the point raised by Sivanandam. He gave some stats and it appears he does not have much of knowledge of stats and perhaps he has got the stats from AI. He said Rafi sang 1400 songs in the last 10 years. You said the ratio of Rafi-KK songs was 20-80 post 1970, which would mean KK sang 5600 songs post 1970. Is that possible.
I give here stats of Rafi and KK from 1970-1980, the eleven years since Aradhana. Rafi had 125 songs in 1970, 883 songs in 1971-80 and 127 songs from 1981-85 which he sang by July 1980 itself. KK had 48 songs in 1970 and 1148 songs from 1971-80. Rafi total comes to 1135 and KK total is 1196. Someone may argue that like Rafi, KK may also have some spill-over of songs sung in 1980 to the following years. I would say Rafi died in July and KK had still 5 more months to sing and he was also the natural fall back after Rafi’s death. So he must have got more songs and they should balance out any spill-overs. So taking these figures is justified.
Now we see KK sang 1196 songs while Rafi had 1135 and the difference comes to just 61 songs. Would it be a sufficient difference to declare KK better than Rafi. Do you agree that Asha was no. 1 over Lata because she sang more songs in 1951-60 and also 1961-1970. How Naushad continued as no 1 till 1957 despite having much less numbers than about a dozen quality composers from 1951-1957.
I would further segregate the numbers to make some things clear. In 1970 and 1971, Rafi had 125 and 123 songs making a total of 248 songs. KK had 48 and 98 in these two years making a total of 146. We see that KK is far behind Rafi for these two years. So why it is being said that he was surpassed by KK from 1970 after Aradhana. From 1977-80 Rafi sang 377 and adding 127 of post 1980 the total comes to 504. KK sang 446 songs during this period. Who has more numbers. Now remains the period between 1972 to 76, in which Rafi sang 383 as against 604 by KK. I have bifurcated these figures to show both sides and also so that someone may not come and say KK had far more songs from 1972-76.
It is well known that Rafi went to Hajj and stopped singing for a while till he was persuaded to sing by some friends including Naushad so as to silence the critics who were propagating the theory that he has quit singing for fear of KK. I would not forward excuses for these low numbers on this reason alone, but give some other solid facts.
After the above discussion between you and Sivanandum I collected some details of KK – though I had his numbers year-wise from 1971-80 already. The results were surprising. Of the 1148 songs of KK in the decade 721 were given to him by LP, KA, RDB and SDB who were all part of the cartel. This comes to 63 percent of his total songs of this period. These four composers gave music in 436 out of 1243 films of the decade which comes to about 35 percent of films. In the remaining 65 percent films KK got just about 37 percent of his songs and only 40 other composers used his services. The total of composers who used KK during 1971-80 for their songs is 44.
And what are Rafi figures. These 4 composers gave Rafi just 381 songs out of 1010 which comes to about 37.7 percent. Rafi was given about 62.3 percent songs by 86 other composers, bringing the total of composers who used Rafi to 90. So which of the singer had the universal acceptance among composers. Also it is clear from these figures that composers of the cartel had some mandate to use KK more than Rafi.
All the facts are there to see and everyone has the right to interpret them as they wish. So far as the Aradhana angle is concerned I would write separately.
No, KK’s own ratio of songs post-Aradhana was 80% of his total songs. No one meant KK:Rafi ratio.
Respected Shri Hans
Do you write a blog? Would love to read it.
Ak,
I am joining Sivanandam and Hans in expressing my displeasure to your tribute to Rafi.
Starting with
“Kishore Kumar was the new Rafi”
No Kishore was not the new Rafi, as a playback singer he was not capable to be Rafi.
Next
“Considering that Kishore Kumar in his entire career sang only 55% of the songs sung by Rafi, this is even more skewed.
But can numbers tell the real story? Not in music surely. RD Burman’s number of songs for Rafi outnumbers that by SD Burman, Husnlal-Bhagatram and Roshan, but there is no doubt the latter three are counted among the best composers of Rafi songs.”
Data always tells the story, only if that is not skewed
SDB HB and Roshan all three together did not give music in as many movies as RDB did in his career.
Why did you not start with their first association Chhote Nawab. It had some excellent songs. Their first qawwali too. The female singer with whom he hardly worked later Shamshad Begum
Koi Aane Ko Hai Dil · Mohd Rafi · Shamshad Begum · Chorus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGaQGhgQo-8
For Qawwali he never trusted Kishore. I am glad Dr. Deshpande and Hans mentioned his Qawwalis.
Song # 4 from Abhilasha is a repeat use, plus the same twin theory, Rafi had an excellent duet with Manna Dey. in fact one of RDB’s best male duet.
Ek Janib Sham – E – Mehfil : Abhilasha 1966 : Mohd. Rafi – Manna Dey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTvCIyQwt8k&list=RDMTvCIyQwt8k&start_radio=1
Now song # 5 that do you not miss an opportunity to use.
“RD Burman must have had a wicked sense of humour to create this twin song – one in the voice of Rafi and the other in the voice of Kishore Kumar, to set Rafi and Kishore Kumar fans at each other’s throat. Gun will not settle which version is better”
It was not his wicked sense, it could have been his sixth sense because Pyar ka Mausam was released before Aradhana, and the “phenomenon” had not happened.
Now coming to Yaadon ki baaraat. You have written.
“In this climax song RD Burman gives primacy to Kishore Kumar but Rafi gets the same airtime.”
There seems to be reason why he gave primary to Kishore.
He wanted a throw in the beginning. Kishore is known for that.
Then later Rafi joins full of emotions.
Lets talk abou Chura liya now
“ Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko, which is dominated by Asha Bhosle and Rafi joins in quite late.”
Singing 30 secs more is not dominating, you need to listen to this song. After prelude Asha sings her mukhda (twice,) interlude then she starts antara + mukhda at a stretch.
Rafi picks soon after, with antara + mukhda+ mukha and beyond all at a stretch and takes the song to another level.
Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko – Yaadon Ki Baaraat | Zeenat Aman, Vijay Arora
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seFeZOgyFsc&list=RDseFeZOgyFsc&start_radio=1
Mumbaikar8,
That is a big charge-sheet. I tried to explain myself to Sivanadam ji, on the blog as well as private mail to him. I don’t think I was able to convince him.
For whatever it is worth, let me say that no offence or disparagement is intended. Please grant that a lot of things are a simple matter of idiomatic usage or personal opinion. For example if I say Kishore Kumar was the new Rafi, or Laxmikant-Pyarelal were the new Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi or SJ are put on a higher pedestal to whom the new artists are compared with. It is an honour for Kishore Kumar or LP to be compared with the icons.
AK, @ 44
You wrote
“That is a big charge-sheet. I tried to explain myself to Sivanadam ji, on the blog as well as private mail to him. I don’t think I was able to convince him.”
I will not deny that the charge sheet is big, but then you should think over that.
You can not convince me either, idiomatic usage is one thing but bias in personal opinion is another.
Just delete the title of this blog and ask for a title.
Do you think any of Rafi admirer would title it as a tribute to Rafi
It is more of a tribute to Kishore.
You wrote
“For example if I say Kishore Kumar was the new Rafi, or Laxmikant-Pyarelal were the new Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi or SJ are put on a higher pedestal to whom the new artists are compared with. It is an honour for Kishore Kumar or LP to be compared with the icons.”
LP were very vocal that SJ were their ideal, that be like SJ was their goal. For then it was a dream come true.
How can that be true to Rafi Kishore.
Rafi created stars. Kishore gained popularity by singing for the stars or rising star do not forget Rajesh had four releases in 1969, Aradhan and Do Raaste were top grosser and the other two Ittefaq and Doli were hits too. Surprisingly all four released around last quarter of the year.
Not only heroes, even MDs who could not afford Rafi wanted him to sing for them to get popular and he readily obliged. There are couple of stories floating.
Kishore’s career graph was very different too. For Rafi from 1946 to1954 his graph would rise few points and drop few points, after O P Nayyar’s entry in 1954, the drop stopped, tthen1957 onwards he was cruising. until 1969. There is no new Rafi.
Mumbaikar8,
Thanks a lot for your comments again. I follow you perfectly.
Hi, AK. Your list of songs is quite impressive. I would argue that “Tumne Mujhe Dekha” is the only solo composed by R.D. Burman that merits a place in the top 100 Rafi solos. As for duets, “O Haseena Zulfonwali” and “Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar Tera” are definitely making the cut for the top 100 Rafi duets. I can’t think of any other track, solo or duet, from this combo that’s got the chops to make it into a definitive list of Rafi’s top 100 songs. It’s obvious that “Teesri Manzil” is the ultimate classic they ever dropped together.
“Chura Liya Hai Tumne” is a remarkable emulation of Borojua’s “If It’s Tuesday” and totally backs up that famous quote: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” But on the flip side, R.D. Burman was also behind some bad ones, like “Mehbooba O Mehbooba”— a weak knockoff of Demis Roussos’ “Say You Love Me.” When you listen closely, you’ll notice that Demis Roussos is just gliding through the notes, making it sound easy, while R.D. Burman’s version is pretty much him just shouting his way through the vocals.
Rafi’s unparalleled artistry is on full display in “Koi Aur Duniya Mein Tumsa Haseen Hai.” The tune itself is pretty ordinary and the orchestration is super basic—like R.D. Burman just gave it to his B-team to get it done. But then Rafi steps up and makes it a classic just with his voice.
“Yaadon Ki Baraat” is a memorable duet that showcases the unique strengths of both Kishore and Rafi. Kishore sets the tone with a powerful opening, delivering his lines with a distinct boldness. Rafi then follows, his great expressive voice providing a smooth and melodious contrast. The result is a dynamic collaboration where Kishore’s energy and Rafi’s melody create a truly captivating song.
Regarding “Tum Bin Jaoon Kahan,” there is a lesser-known, yet equally poignant, version of the song performed by Rafi. His rendition begins with a different opening where he comes in with a remarkable vocal range, hitting those high notes with such raw emotion. Here is the song:
-Meri Nazar Mein To Sirf Tum Ho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYAQKA4tajQ
“Kya Hua Tera Vaada” is an excellent piece that, when appreciated within the context of the late 1970s’ musical landscape, stands as a strong example of Rafi’s work. To be clear, I am specifically referencing his songs from that period, not the early part of the decade. I would argue that it is not inferior to any other powerful Rafi song from that period. In my view, the only song that surpasses its quality is Khayyam’s “Kahin Ek Masoom Nazuk Si Ladki.”
Upon concluding, I’ll reference another outstanding R.D. Burman-Rafi collaboration that would certainly earn a place in my top 100 Rafi solos list, were it not for the brilliance of “Tumne Mujhe Dekha.” I chose the latter for its intangible ‘x-factor’—a quality that elevates it just beyond this other track, which is, by all other measures, a truly great song:
-Tumhe Dekha Hai Maine Gulsita Mein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0IQMQdryPM
My bad on the typo. The artist who sang “If it’s Tuesday” is Bojoura.
Sivanandam, @ 36
You wrote
“I made an honest attempt to come back to this forum after once deciding not to do so. I still feel this is an excellent treasure for old songs lovers. The intense research and passion that goes into the blogs are truly commendable.”
You like this blog, you have are a contributor to blog, you have the same passion for old songs then why do you want to quit?
You don’t agree with few things, it is ok, we are argumentative Indians and live in democracy, be bold rebellious and fight it out. We are not arguing to win we doing it prove our point, we may wrong at times but so what it is better to try then give up then without fighting.
I am an old rebel of this group and let me assure you, no matter how many yellow cards you get, you will never be shown a Red card, I am telling you from experience. Hans will vouch for that. So be thick skinned and come back for good.
We are a family, and you don’t quit in a family.
Sivanandam, @ 19
You wrote,
“There was marked deterioration in KK 2.0 in late 70s that happened with almost all singers. To be fair , Rafi in Dard-E-Dil dard-e-jigar sounded not his best ( it is a different matter that this song is popular with the public! One more example where popular perception always seem to be different..am I the abberation now??!!)”
I do not agree with your comment for the song Dard e Jigar.
If you know Rafi, whenever he sang all the songs for the hero of a movie he would sing in the same way, (for the lack of a better word)
In Karz he sang only this song for the hero Rishi Kapoor, all other songs had Kishore.
{Here I will borrow a sentence from Kapil’s comment #47} He writes,
“Kishore sets the tone with a powerful opening, delivering his lines with a distinct boldness”
Rafi in Dard e Jigar has sung with that distinct boldness for Rishi Kapoor.
Will wait for you response to my disagreement.
OK; Here I go!
At the outset: my dilemma is whether to stay away from controversies like my farishta Rafi did or go all out and convey whatever I want to say. Heart goes out sincerely for the first option but brain says -otherwise how can many myths be contested!
Thanks to AK Ji and Mumbaikar ( sorry I do not know your name!) , I am trying to clarify few points.
First, Hans Ji mentioned about my statistics source-it was from the Excel file shared by AK ji and prepared by one Mr Muveen. It has totally 5378 songs with 572 out of them without any year mentioned. If I eliminate that 572, then out of the balance 4806 songs, 1359 are supposed to have been sung by Rafi between 1970 till 1980. So that gave me the 28% figure. I just approximated it to 1400 songs and 28%. My basic submission was if we divide Rafi’s career between 1944 to 1969 ( 25 years) and 1970-1980 ( 11 years) it is 69% to 31% ratio and number of song wise it is 72% to 28% and so not skewed at all.
I personally do not attach much significance to statistics when it comes to music-Sajjad Hussain with just 17 films scored songs that are equal , if not even more brilliant than some who might have scored for hundreds of films! I stay corrected if any of these figures were wrongly interpreted by me ( Hans Ji statistics works out to 1135 and I know he is a powerhouse of data) . And I never go for AI /ChatGPT when it comes to golden era songs.
As far as my comments on Dard-E-Dil Dard-E-Jigar song, Mumbaikar Ji it was just in comparison to his other songs where he sounds more melodious, say , Main Poocha Chand Se or even some he sang for the same Rishi Kapoor in Laila Majnu. You are right that he might have moulded his voice to a bolder version. One interesting trivia- in college days I had few friends who were die-hard Kishore fans and they would appreciate this one song of Rafi-viz. Dard-E-Dil -maybe it sounded more Kishore-ish to them. On the flip side I always like Kishore’s Chookar Mere Man Ko from Yaarana as it sounds more Rafi-ish for me!!
Anyhow my initial remark started off with one simple observation by me in this thread that said about Rafi– “He was just finding his form again after a very bad patch professionally” –my submission was in 1980 he was definitely not finding his form again and in fact was already in form after a brief hiatus post Aradhana. I went on to say this was more of a myth created . The statistics prove this point . In any other forum I would have not minded, but I always consider SOY as people with more knowledge and sensitivity to all artists and that is why I contested this view.
I also firmly refute comments in #35 that “ I guess many of the golden era playback singers continued to sing even though they were past their prime and their voices did not actually go with the young actors. Voluntarily taking a bow at the right time is desirable” . This was unpalatable as Rafi was still at his peak when the Almighty thought it would be better if he sings in the heaven. Maybe this would have applied to the sisters who refused to acknowledge the fact that their voice had lost the charm in their later years. If someone says I still prefer the deep voice of Kishore in late 1970’s & 80’s instead of Rafi’s voice that is perfectly understood. I am not disputing anyone’s personal favourites. In fact, I have few friends who had asked me to switch off a very beautiful Rafi song when they travelled in car with me and would rather enjoy Pyaar tumhe is mod pe le aaaya from Satte Pe Satte. They are still good friends!
If Rafi was alive , knowing his nature , he would have taken a bow the moment he realised he is not the same Rafi.
Kapil @47.
I would also put Deewana mujhsa nahin is ambar ke neeche in the top 100 list. If you see in perspective it is about 2% of Rafi’s total songs. That is an honour. If the great composers of the Golden Era get relatively many more, RD Burman was never among the top composers of Rafi songs, and secondly, the two distinct eras also witnessed different styles of music making. Golden Era was called as such not for nothing.
On Tum bin jaaun kahan, a very knowledgable anlaysis of its four versions are given below. The man obviously knows his music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y410U92w8_0
Thanks a lot for your comments on other songs. My favourite from the other songs is Koi aur duniya mein tumsa nahin hai.
If it’s Tuesday is in very slow tempo. Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko on the other hand is a very lively composition. Mehbooba mehbooba is a closer copy of Say you love me. I am not sure whether that makes Mehbooba mehbooba a bad song. In the context of the film I would say it was a nice song. After all, all music is based in the same seven notes (and five microtones). A great composer is one whose inspiration sounds a new song.
Sivanandam ji,
Thanks a lot for your coming back wit detailed comments.
In continuation of my comment @40, I now proceed to give some facts on the Aradhana or Rajesh Khanna story. I had long back given some facts but now I will provide full details to bust this Aradhana black swan theory.
Last year a person I follow on twitter said that when KK was asked to sing for Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana first he refused and then on persuasion said he would test RK and called him to his house who came trembling and somehow convinced KK to sing for him. There is no end to the idiocies of KK fans. I knew KK had sung for RK in Khamoshi. So I looked for dates and found that Khamoshi was censored and released before Aradhana.
In the process I saw some startling facts. Rajesh Khanna was given film after film by big producers/directors. I think they were all working in unison. After utter failure of his first 4 films in 66-67 he was instead of being discarded given more and more films. Five films Aradhana, Doli, Ittefaq, Bandhan and Do Raaste were cleared by Censor within 53 days from 27.9.69 to 18.11.69 and were released one after the other for a cascading effect. I think this was done intentionally to flood the cinema scene with his films and it worked too. Khamoshi has been released earlier in the year. At least two films of 1970 The Train and Sachcha Jhutha were cleared by censor in April 1970. So it appears that they were on the floor before the films mentioned above were released. Why was a flop hero being given so many films and by so many big guns.
Now a look at the music of these films. Ittefaq was a no song crime thriller. Bandhan had the popular ‘bina badra ke bijuriya kaise chamke’ by Mukesh and ‘jaana hai to jao manayenge nahin’ by Asha and Mahendra Kapoor. Doli had Asha-Rafi ‘sajna sath nibhana’, ‘doli chadh ke dulhan sasural chali’ by MK which were highly popular. It also had ‘aaj main dekhun jidhar jidhar’ by Asha and ‘danton tale daba kar honth’ by Rafi, which were also quite popular. Do Raaste had a whole score which was much more popular than all these including Aradhana. It had ‘ye reshmi zulfen'(Rafi), ‘bindiya chamkegi'(Lata), ‘chhup gaye sare nazare'(Lata-Rafi), ‘khijan ke phool pe'(Kishore), ‘apni apni biwi pe'(Usha) and ‘do rang duniya ke'(Mukesh). All of these songs were highly popular. And still Aradhana is a black swan event because the Burmans and their fans chose to declare it and continuously propagate the idea.
It is said KK made the career of RK, which is also not true. Look at the music in 1969 and 70 the two formative years for him. RK had 11 films in those two years in which 36 songs were filmed on him. KK had 17 songs and others had 19 songs including 11 by Rafi, 4 by Mukesh, one by Manna Dey and 3 by MK. The songs of others were and are by far more popular than those by KK. Even in numbers they are more than KK. Then why is KK given the sole credit of making the career of RK. Even in 1971 and 72 others continued to sing for RK. It was when RK playback became the sole property of KK from 1973 that his career plummeted. In an interview RK was asked about KK’s voice being a perfect fit for him. He replied people feel that way but I needed Rafi Sahab’s voice. He was right because his main acting plank was based on romance, unlike Amitabh’s ‘dhishum dhishum’ for which any voice even Shabbir Kumar will do.
In view of the above facts and also the other facts I gave earlier, I reject the theory that Aradhana established Rajesh Khanna and also that it revived KK’s career. KK, after becoming a spent force on the acting front was on serious look out for a singing career. Talat and Hemant were out of the singing scene. Burmans were ready to stake their career for him. KA were always for variety and LP were not so fixated on only old singers and as Lata proteges were ready to use KK under her persuasion. It is to their credit that they still kept using RAfi in a big way – as also other singers – remembering his contributions to their career. The most important for KK was the formation of the cartel in which our ‘other singer’s career disrupter supreme’ was the principal catalyst.
mumbaikar8, Sivanandam ji,
I am entering your conversation to confirm mumbaikar8 is known on this forum by this name only. I know the person’s real name because I am the blog master and I happen to know for many other reasons. But I would maintain the person’s privacy.
Let me also clarify once for all, what to talk of red cards, I am not in the business of issuing even yellow cards. So all friends remain here.
AK, @ 41
Sorry, I interpreted it another way. Kishore Kumar had about 2650 songs and upto 1969 he had about 350 songs, which is about 13 percent. But his pre-69 songs may appear more because there were more worth remembering songs in that period proportionately to the total songs.
Roma ji, @ 42
Thanks for the nice words, which are so encouraging. I have no separate blog. I have written some articles and regularly here at SOY.
Hi, Hans. I don’t think that Twitter guy is at fault. He probably got his theory from an interview where Rajesh Khanna explains how he had to go to Kishore’s house just to get him to agree to sing. Here is the clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHZtUyi6Meg
Could it be that this meeting between Kishore Kumar and Rajesh Khanna occurred much earlier, perhaps even before the songs for Khamoshi were recorded?
You might also recall that Binu Nair of the Rafi Foundation once mentioned that Shakti Samanta told him in person that Kishore was hesitant to sing for Rajesh Khanna and that it took a lot of convincing from both him and SD Burman to get him to do playback for Rajesh Khanna.
One might surmise that Kishore was hesitant to do playback for Rajesh Khanna because the latter’s first four movies totally bombed. Like you said, Kishore was on the serious look out for a singing career, so he was probably weighing the risk of falling off the map if he associated with a flop actor. What do you think?
Sivanandam @ 50
Welcome. Thanks for responding to my comment.
Hans@ 53,
Amazing data. About RK’s movies on the floor.
RK had so many in the pipe line because, he was the winner of All India Talent Contest, organised by United Producers and Filmfare.
All the bigwigs like BR Chopra, Bimal Roy, GP Sippy, HS Rawail, Nasir Husain, J.Om Prakash, Mohan Saigal, Shakti Samanta and Subodh Mukherjiand were the judges. That bagged him roles with so many big gun.s Chetan Anand’s Aakhri khat was his debut movie , it bombed at the box office, we all know who sang the sensuous debut song by Khayyam, “aur kuchh der thaher aur khuch der na ja” for him.
Next was G. P. Sippy’s Raaz, this movie was a flop too but the song “Akele hai chale aao kahan ho” was a big hit. Third movie was Baharon ke Sapne that was flop but he still had so many big banners to go, it was a matter of time he would click. Other finalists, I remember were Shatrughan Sinhaand Anil Dhawan.
AK, @ 54
Thanks for clarification of my name.
It is your responsibility to maintain the decorum of your site, and we are here to keep a check on you.
You exercise your right; we will exercise our dissent and still remain friends.
Sivanandam, @ 50
Nice that you chose to stay. You must remember I also changed my mind due to Mumbaikar8, Venkataramanji and Dr Shetty. You see she is a big motivator. We should defend those who need to be defended. You saw I defended the 4 golden era composers in the RDB article by Dr Deshpande.
About stats, my guess about AI was based on the big number which was not possible to be found anywhere else. It is good you also do not believe in AI like me. I also have Muveen’s list with me and he has done a commendable job and I have also amended my figures on the basis of his list after corroborating them on youtube etc. But, there is a problem with his list. There is duplication in the list. Some of the songs which start with a couplet followed by mukhda are shown as two songs. Some Panjabi or other regional songs are included in the yearwise list of Hindi songs and also in regional list. Similarly, some songs from the unreleased films find a mention in the main list as well as the end list where the year is not given. My stats are based on HFGK and additions I make after due verification. I do not include songs which are in the appendix of HFGK. My number of 1135 is upto 1985 and for that period Muveen’s list has 1266. I think there may be about a dozen songs which I may have missed but the remaining number is duplication. By relying on Muveen numbers we would have more of Rafi numbers, but that would not be justifiable.
Numbers are never important for music, but they are very important for such arguments as you must have seen all these recent articles in which I presented my arguments with numbers. Without numbers my arguments would have meant nothing but now they are not being answered. Sajjad Hussain is a hyped personality. He has been so hyped deliberately because he was the person who could hurl abuses on Naushad who stood with Rafi like a rock. In my opinion he was the first composer who tried to kill melody, although he has many great songs.
About ‘darde dil’ I would post a clip of Subhash Ghai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Qfvyw_akI
To me this is a great song and perhaps LP specially composed it to silence the rants of KK supporters in claiming his superiority in singing songs for stage singers particularly in Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin and Yadon Ki Baraat. Though Rafi had squarely beaten KK in HKKN and his ‘chura liya’ was the most popular of YKB. To me there is no Kishore-ish in ‘darde dil’ as KK can never sing this song like Rafi and also none of the songs of Kishore can be Rafi-ish.
Mumbaikar8, @ 59
What you have said is on Wikipedia. I do not rely on such info from this website which is best for factual info about sports etc. I dont think Bimal Roy was ever part of United Producers. His last Hindi feature film was Bandini and he died in January 1966. I think HS Rawail and Mohan Saigal were also not part of this. So far as I know the United Producers banner was created to compete with distributors, but it soon fell out due to mutual differences, but some of them continued to use the logo for some time.
Rajesh Khanna was neither the first nor the last to win an all India contest, but no other actor got the same support either prior to that or after that. In fact he had no looks, no acting talent, not a good masculine body and no impressive dialogue delivery. He never improved till the end of his career. Waheeda Rehman once said in an interview that ‘Rajesh Khanna ankhen matkane ko hi acting samajhta hai’. I think these producers promoted him because many leading actors of those times were not ready to work with them for pittance of remuneration they offered. They invested a lot in him declaring him the first Super Star which word had never occurred to the greatest of stars till that time. They also circulated false stories about the girls doing this or that for him. But RK soon duped them when he started asking for huge signing amounts.
Hans ji
It is difficult to convey certain things in the Internet medium. When I meant Kishore- ish I implied Rafi’ s voice was a bit heavier than his usual silky tone and vice versa for KK , in Chookar mere manko he sounded a bit softer than his usual .
Like many ardent Rafi fans , I consider ,selfishly, there cannot be a better diehard Rafi fan than me and so I hope you understand I didn’t mean both can sing like the other!!!
I always like to listen to all singers, music directors, lyricists and as far as possible appreciate the good things in them, leaving aside the negatives…this i follow in my friendships and relationships also. Life appears less stressful that way. Only when there is overhype I try to place my views.
@ 57
Hi Kapil,
The clip you posted certainly absolves the twitter guy, but it does not show Rajesh Khanna in good colours.
In the clip he clearly mentions at the start of Aradhana, so it was not at all a case of any prior meeting. He pretty well knew the Khamoshi thing and also knew that he is acting in multiple films. So why he singled out Aradhana. The filmwallahs can do anything for a few bucks including appearing and doing thumkas at weddings. If so many films are being on show certainly there would be a combined impact which was meant also by these producers. Do Raaste was certainly a bigger hit than Aradhana and came within two months when Aradhana was running and also other films named were running too. About Shakti Samanta saying to Binu Nair, SS is also a filmwallah and would do anything to grab lone credit of making a star out of RK and also KK.
If KK was serious about singing career his whole focus will be on singing every song he got. He came back to SDB in 1965 with Guide and Teen Deviyan. Would he have the guts to refuse SDB. For a time it was circulated that Rafi was singing for RK in Aradhana and RDB brought in KK when SDB fell ill. There was also a story that he did not want to sing for RK because he said he will give playback only for Dev Anand. There is no end to these stories. Question is did KK use the same yardstick he used for Aradhana for other songs too. If we have a look at 1969 songs, he sang for Deb Mukherjee in Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool. He sang for an unknown stage dancer in Bhai Behan which was cleared by censor in March 1969, well before even Khamoshi. He gave playback for Ajit in a triad in Nanha Farishta, He gave playback for Jagdeep in film Jyoti composed by SDB which was cleared in June 1969. In the previous year 1968 too he sang for others in Abhilasha, Farishta, Padosan and Teen Bahuraniyan.
Dear Hans,
What you post is the most realistic, yet no one will pay attention because everyone is blinded by the PR of a powerful group: Lata, Kishore Kumar, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Asha, Rajesh Khanna, and Shakti Samanta.
Kapil seems to be a bit gullible for falling for that Rajesh Khanna clip. It’s the perfect example of a paid PR job, where RK is gassing up Kishore Kumar like he’s some kind of god who wouldn’t sing unless the actor, music director, and the big boss themselves showed up to kiss his feet. What a load of BS! Would he have thrown such tantrums when he was on the verge of obscurity? This was clearly a paid PR effort for Kishore Kumar, with Rajesh Khanna acting as his most dedicated PR guy, for a big paycheck of course.
Keep up your great work on and continue to expose the snakes of the HFM industry!
Hi Khan. I always take anything a Bollywood celeb says with a grain of salt, so I’m not about to get played by their interviews. I just wanted to hear Hans’ take on it, as you may have observed, his investigative writing style is utterly absorbing—like a classic Hollywood “whodunit” flick that has you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing until the very end. And I think he totally came through this time, spilling a lot of tea on that whole Aradhana drama.
Hans @62,
I know what I have said is from Wikipedia, because I got the names from there.
I could not recall the names of the producer, directors which were the Judges in that contest. But I do recall the contest because it was done by Filmfare.
In those days all Filmfare events in Bombay were hyped.
Like Filmfare Award, they were shown in Film division’s Documentaries, which were shown before movies.
I remember hula bula that went around when Rajesh Khanna won the contest, that he belonged to an affluent family helped in hyping it even further.
I personally did not like both Aradhana and Do Raaste, both were very melodramatic for me.
Aradhana was Sharmila’s movie and did not like her at all then.
But I liked him lot in Ittefaq, Khamoshi. And The Train for its tempo.
He had a charm of his own. It seems he was a spoiled brat.
Hans @64
You wrote
“If we have a look at 1969 songs, he sang for Deb Mukherjee in Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool. He sang for an unknown stage dancer in Bhai Behan which was cleared by censor in March 1969, well before even Khamoshi. He gave playback for Ajit in a triad in Nanha Farishta, He gave playback for Jagdeep in film Jyoti composed by SDB which was cleared in June 1969. In the previous year 1968 too he sang for others in Abhilasha, Farishta, Padosan and Teen Bahuraniyan.”
Exactly, Kishore’s and his friends’ तिकड़मबाज़ी, started 1968 onwards. Until 1968 at an average as an actor he was doing five films per year and then next five years he did not do five films. He knew that acting assignments were dwindling,
In 1968 he sang for Rajendranath in Teen Bahuraniyan for KA. RDB gave him a duet in Abhilasha, Asha san a duet him in Farishta with Dattaram Wadkar.
In 1969 he sang for in Mahal for KA for Dev Anand, and in Nanha Farishta for Ajit. Pyar ka Mausam for Bharat Bhoosan, for Rajesh Khanna Aradhana and LP’s Do Raaste.
Perhaps taking advantage of Rajesh Khanna’s fame, he started projecting himself as Heroes voice.
Rafi fans seem to be driven by jealousy. They’ll go to great lengths to insult Kishore Kumar, but remember that when you spit at the sky, it falls back on your own face. Most Kishore fans don’t insult Rafi; in fact, they often praise him, the actors he worked with, or the music directors associated with him, like Naushad or Dilip Kumar.
The truth is, a majority of Rafi fans constantly insult Kishore Kumar out of sheer jealousy because Kishore dethroned Rafi in the 70s, and they can’t accept it. One person above even went as far as to say that Rajesh Khanna had no looks, no acting talent, and nothing else of value—simply because Khanna was so crucial to Kishore’s success. Who in their right mind would say that about Rajesh Khanna? He worked with legendary directors like Shakti Samanta, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, and Basu Chatterjee. To call him talentless is a sign of intellectual bankruptcy. Get past your jealousy and grow up. I hope the moderator remains impartial and keeps my comments.
Sivanandam, @ 63
I understand you perfectly and I just gave my view on ‘darde dil’. Rafi used his voice in so many colours. He could sing the softest to hardest with ease and that is why he was Rafi. He could do anything any MD wanted.
So far as Kishore Kumar is concerned he has sung ‘chhoo kar mere man ko’ very nicely. But he had a problem like RDB that he could not concentrate much for a long period due to lack of patience. If he concentrated on the mukhda it was sure he would falter in the antara. Listen to the antara of this song carefully and you will have new revelations.
I was in college from 1970-74 and got the job late in 1977. I was also a cricketer and toured for matches. I had many opportunities to watch films which is a craze in those years of life. I have listened a lot of KK, RDB songs and have watched most of Rajesh Khanna films of that era in cinema halls. I also watched a lot of 60s films on rerun and also from 50s if they were available. So I got a good opportunity to compare live in films as well as on radio.
Lkashman,
Welcome to Songs Of Yore. Your comments also cast aspersions on the readers who are fans of Rafi. That is crossing the line. Please bear in mind that while discussing music or artists we try to avoid casting aspersions on people with whom we do not agree. That is the basic requirement of decorum, how to disagree without being disagreeable.
Dear Khan Yunis,
Thanks for the most encouraging and nice words of appreciation. My endeavour has been to produce facts to the best of my ability and knowledge in support of my arguments. I know there are silent admirers, but whenever some one appreciates it feels good.
Kapil has answered your point and I feel he is correct because he is a deep thinker and cannot be influenced by such false stories. In fact, I believe the persons whom you think believe in them also know that these stories cannot be relied upon, but they have no other option because their false narrative can be built only by believing.
In fact, the netas and abhinetas has two things in common they are actors as well as falsehood promoters. Dev Anand – who is such a respectable actor and my favourite – said on the Simi Grewal show that Kishore Kumar was his voice and when she asked to remember a song he paused for a while and mentioned ‘abhi na jao chhod kar’. Besides that – in that interview – whenever he mentioned some song he always referred to some Rafi song. Everyone knows most of his famous films had Rafi or Hemant Kumar songs and KK was witness to his last period in which most of the films were either flop or super flop. He was most critical of his brothers who contributed a lot to his Navketan Films.
Mumbaikar8, @ 67,68
Thanks for your response. Though you are writing after a long time but your memory is very sharp, as you have remembered correctly the actors for whom KK sang in 1968 and 69. About Aradhana and Do Raaste I was referring to the music and their success. I think you like suspense thrillers more than social melodramas. So far as charm is concerned, one can find that anywhere as you must have heard ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’.
Dear Hans,
You’re absolutely right! It seems both Dev Anand and Kishore Kumar often struggled with giving proper credit. When you look at who truly pushed Kishore Kumar, was it SDB? No. Khemchand Prakash? No. The person who had the biggest hand in his success was his own elder brother, Ashok Kumar. It was Ashok who tirelessly pushed him, and when singing wasn’t working out he even got him into acting just to keep his career afloat.
It’s a shame that Kishore Kumar never properly credited him. In fact in an interview with Lata, he even said, “हमारे बड़े भाई ने हमें discourage किया” and then mocked his singing style as well. What an ungrateful chap! His intention was to make the gullible public believe that his elder brother played no part in his success and was, in fact, suppressing him. However, he fought back relentlessly and became a star on his own. So he basically insulted the person who did everything for him. Ashok Kumar single-handedly launched many careers, and as an actor, he was bigger than many of the other stars. But like Rafi, he never ran any PR and was too humble to ever brag about his achievements.
I feel RDB and Rafi did not have many great songs. Out of 125, maybe 5-6 are very good (mostly from Teesri Manzil). Remaining are decent to good
I truly think RDB was a great musician but he gave very mediocre songs to Rafi overall. Maybe it was due to the pressure from Producers/Directors who loved Rafi, and knew that Rafi was never finished.
Also I am pretty certain that the Mangeshkar sisters would have made sure that Rafi was not singing with all new age directors (RDB, KA, LP, RR etc) so that they could do better than Kishore Da
The Good thing is that Kishore da and Rafi saab had great camradarie and KK always admired Rafi and knew that Rafi was superlative
But the rest of Bengali lobby – Anil Biswas, Salil, Hemant, RDB along with Dev Anand, Lata, Asha were quite obviously the detractors.
Pushpendra Kumar,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comments. I had not heard Asha Bhosle was also anti-Rafi, until recently when social media was full of some objectionable remarks by her and Shahid Rafi immediately retaliating. Lata Mangeshkar, when alive, also made some petty remarks, and I took note of it soon after.