Feb 22, 2002 06:08 PM
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(Updated Feb 22, 2002 08:38 PM)
This versatile singer popularly known as Rafi Saab still lives in the hearts of his fans even after 2 decades of his death .His versatile voice continues to haunt us even today. After all, he's left behind a rich legacy -- of songs sung by him over 40 years. Rafi's voice, ranging from the melancholic to the boisterous, was such that it suited every mood and every occasion in films.
Winner of Padmashri, National Rajat Kamal award,many Filmafare awards and host of other awards, his songs still haunt us. His unmatched melodious voice stirred many souls throughout this world.
The only singer in Bollywood who has been imitated the most is Rafisaab. But his talent and melody was such that none of his so called clones could match up to him and recreate the magic.
During his singing career, Rafi Saab sang a wide variety of songs and versatility has been his forte. He could sing for any mood and for any actor with great ease. His songs ranged from classical numbers(Madhuban mein Radhika nache re) to songs that followed no rules of music(Uffu Khuda Unko hampe pyar aaya), from sad lamentations(Na kissi ke ankh ka noor hu) to highly romantic numbers(Aapke Haseen Rukh pe aaj naya noor hai), from qawallis(Hum Kissise Kum Nahin) to ghazals(Teri ankhon ke siva duniya mein rakha kya hai) and bhajans(Duniya na bhaye mohe ab to bulale), from slow melancholic tunes(Hum Bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye) to fast masti-bhare geet(April Fool banaya). Rafi Sahab's patriotic songs like 'Watan pe jo Fida hoga', 'Kar chale hum fida' 'Jahan dal dal par' and 'Apni Azadi ko hum' are truly soul-stirring. RafiSaab could very beautifully express the hero's love for his 'mehbooba' and the same voice could also curse the 'bewafa lover'. The golden voice of the tragedy heroes, Dilip Kumar and Bharat Bhushan was also the voice of comedian Johny Walker in songs like 'Sar jo tera chakraye' and 'Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan'. Rafi's voice personified the rebellious image of ''Yahoo star'', Shammi Kapoor and also gave expression to smaller and younger heroes like Biswajit and Joy Mukherjee. It was Rafi Sahab's voice that made Rajendra Kumar a 'Jubilee Star' and Jeetendra a 'Jumping Jack'. The kids still love the songs like '' Chakke pe Chakka, from Brahmachari, ''Happy Birthday to You'' from Ek phool do maali, sung for them even today.All those actors he sang for felt a sense of possessiveness for him and acknowledged his contribution to their popularity.
One interesting fact is that Rafi Sahab has also sung for singer-actor Kishore Kumar in a few movies like 'Raagini', 'Baaghi Shehzaada', and 'Shararat'.
Another interesting fact is his song ''Jaan Pehechan Ho'', a song from thriller movie Gumnaam has been included in the recently released hollywood movie ''Ghost World''.
He sang in many different languages like Telugu, Kannada, Bhojpuri,Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi and many more.He also sang in foreign languages like English,Dutch, Surinam, Persian etc all of which proved super hits, which shows what a versatile singer he was.
A very simple person inspite of being the most famous singers of his time, Rafi saab was very kind and generous, never refusing to sing for newcomers or new music directors. He is still loved by the whole film industry.
I can go on and on .. but words are just not enough to write about this great person with a divine voice... a legend of legends. You have to hear his songs to believe me.Trust me you wont find a better singer :)
