Continuing Rafi’s centenary celebrations, guest article by Sivanandam Palamadai on his songs picturised on not-so-famous actors
(Songs Of Yore has been celebrating Rafi’s centenary year 2024 with a series of articles, some by guest authors. Sivanandam Palamdai, who is one of Rafi’s prominent fans in blogosphere, now writes on his songs for not-so-famous actors. We selected this topic after some mutual back and forth discussion which he describes in some detail in the beginning of his article. But he has modestly not mentioned one development which as the host I must, that shows his utmost dedication and sincerity. After we had settled on this topic, he suffered some serious medical condition requiring hospitalisation. I had no inkling of this until I pinged him after a couple of months how he was doing. Despite my requesting him to forget the article and concentrate on his health, he came up with this brilliant piece as soon as his physical condition permitted.
Mr Palamdai has been a marketing professional, now based out of Pune for about 28 years in semi-retirement by choice. I convey my thanks to him on behalf of all the readers for the painstaking efforts he has taken to write this excellent article. – AK)
Almost two years back, I had written my first blog for SOY on the theme of Rafi’s songs for unrecognised composers. In this birth centenary year of the legend Mohammad Rafi, AK Ji and myself were discussing on something similar and it was AK Ji who came out with the brilliant idea of focusing on his songs for those actors who were not the top heroes. Writing for SOY is always a privilege and I thank AK Ji for providing me an opportunity to continue my blogs here.
The initial idea was to select one song for all the top heroes, but we felt that would be a huge list and selecting one song would be a difficult task. Hence we decided to rather focus on those actors who were not among the top heroes. I had initially titled this article as Rafi’s songs for lesser-known and obscure actors, but that may lead to some debate as some of the actors cannot be categorized as lesser-known. You will understand once you got through the article. That is the reason I changed this to “Not the top heroes”! The language may appear not so elegant but would describe the category perfectly.
It is well known that Rafi had literally shaped the career of many of the top heroes’ careers by his superb singing, emoting the songs so well that the actors themselves had to put in lesser effort on screen. However, in addition to that he had made many songs immortal by singing for the other category of actors, with some of them even more popular than what he sang for the established heroes. For Rafi the banner, actor, music composer, remuneration etc. never mattered. He just sang and gave his best always!
Just to exactly describe the category of actors chosen for this article, if I had titled this as “lesser-known and obscure” one may object to inclusion of Premnath, Ajit, David, Balraj Sahni, Parikshit Sahni or Jagdeep etc. They are well-known but would not be among the “top heroes”. Hope I have tried to make this point clear. I have, of course, excluded actors like Johnny Walker, Mehmood for whom he had sung quite a good number of popular songs.
As I had already contributed two blogs for SOY (one I mentioned above, and the other one was few months back that had 35 songs for the 35 years of his career), I have taken care not to repeat any of the songs covered earlier. With that caveat and also the usual one that it is impossible to cover all his best songs in a single blog, I am making a humble attempt to list out just 25 songs. These songs will provide a glimpse of how even for a relatively lesser known or obscure actor, Rafi always sang with equal passion and sincerity that he did for the top heroes. I am sure the connoisseurs of SOY will add many songs that I might have left out, in their comments. Since the aim is to showcase the actors also on whom the song was picturised I had to sacrifice good audio quality clips for the ones that had the visuals. Also, I had to intentionally skip some songs as I could not get them in the video format from You Tube. (Though the author has tried to avoid duplication with his earlier articles, in over 14 years of its existence, this blog has several articles on Rafi and his songs also figure in many other combinations. Therefore, avoiding absolute duplication is not feasible, nor is it prudent to be obsessed with this aim. – AK)
I am listing the 25 songs in chronological order of the year in which the film was made and giving the song title, (in case of duets, co-singer’s name), film, year, music composer, lyricist, and the actor on whom picturised.
1. Ye zindgi ke mele – Mela – 1948 – Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni – Rafeeque Arabi
A classic example of how Rafi could elevate a song to immortality. The film Mela had some excellent songs by Mukesh and Shamshad Begum and this was the only one Rafi had among some 10 or 11 songs. I am not very sure about the actor on whom this was picturized and I am going by the Excel file that AK ji had kindly shared with me – seems Rafeeque Arabi was one among Naushad’s musicians as per some comment in YouTube link that I have provided. Note those parts where Rafi does those subtle alaaps and also at the age of 24 what a maturity in his singing!
The song must have featured at different situations in the film and hence I have provided the links to both the parts.
Part 1
Part 2
2. Tasveer banata hun teri khoon-e-jigar se – Deewana – 1952 – Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni – Suresh (Naseem Ahmed)
One more gem from the great team of Rafi-Naushad-Shakeel, picturised on Suresh (Naseem Ahmed) who had acted mostly in 40’s & 50’s.
3. Hum laaye hain toofan se kashti nikaal ke – Jagriti – 1954 – Hemant Kumar – Kavi Pradeep – Abhi Bhattacharya
Abhi Bhattacharya was a prolific actor in Bengali films and in some Hindi films. Also, it is quite rare to hear Rafi in Hemant da’s music. Among the numerous patriotic songs that Rafi had sung, this one is a hidden gem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMAkXuPjcbk
4. Nanhe munhe bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai – duet with Asha Bhosle – Boot Polish – 1954 – Shankar-Jaikishan – Shailendra – David
One of the most talented character actors of Hindi films, David had a superb “Lapak jhapak” by Manna da in Boot Polish. When it comes to songs for children, Rafi almost becomes child-like and this is a quite popular song in that category.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ixbYGtuM4
5. Bhula nahin dena ji bhula nahin dena – with Lata Mangeshkar – Baradari -1955 – Nashaad – Khumar Barabanqvi – Ajit
In many places and even sometimes in good old Vividh Bharati, Nashaad (Shaukat Ali Hashmi) is confused with his more famous peer Naushad. Baradari was one of his most famous musical scores and this one picturised on Ajit is a nice, lilting duet. Before he became famous with dialogues like “Mona Darling”, “Ise liquid oxygen mein daal do” etc, Ajit had acted as hero in many films.
6. Parwardigaar-e-Alam tera hi hai sahara – Hatim Tai – 1956 – S N Tripathi – Akhtar Romani – Jairaj
Only while writing this blog, I realised Paidi Jairaj was even honoured with a Dadasaheb Phalke award! Even then many would not be aware of him and hence I have included him in this category. One of Rafi’s popular devotional songs, composed by SN Tripathi who had mastered this genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rad2gbRFY8w
7. Chali chali re patang meri chali re – duet with Lata Mangeshkar – Bhabhi – 1957 – Chitragupta – Rajendra Krishna – Jagdeep
I had mentioned in some earlier posts of SOY as to how I am more of an “audio” guy than a “visual” guy. For many years I had enjoyed listening to this great Chitragupta’s tune sung excellently well by Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar without knowing that it was picturised on Jagdeep! While writing this, I realise AK Ji has chosen a wrong person to write on this theme!
8. Chhun chhun karti aayi chidiya – Ab Dilli Door Nahin – 1957 – Dattaram – Hasrat Jaipuri – Yaqub
Similar to the song from Boot Polish, this is one more Rafi’s evergreen song for children. He becomes a child while singing this – just note those voice modulations at “Bandar bhi aaya”, “Teri dulhaniya laaunga” and the overall tone of the song which he renders in a relatively flat manner as required for the situation. Yaqub Khan acted in comic and negative roles and had acted in around 100 films.
9. Mohabbat zinda rahti hai – Changez Khan – 1957 – Hansraj Behl – Qamar Jalalabadi – Premnath
I have not seen this film and so I did not know on which character this romantic song was picturised. Obviously it could not have been the ruthless Mongol king Genghis Khan! Forget all that history and just get immersed in the intense singing of the master …he just makes such difficult songs so easy by his superb rendition. One of Hansraj Behl’s best compositions, picturised on Premnath, who was more known for his negative and character roles.
10. Raat bhar ka hai mehmaan andhera – duet with Asha Bhosle – Sone Ki Chidiya – 1958 – O P Nayyar – Sahir Ludhianvi – Balraj Sahni
The film Sone Ki Chidiya was the last film for Talat Mehmood as an actor. O P Nayyar had composed some sober tunes in contrast to his typical foot-tapping Punjabi beats. Pyar par bas to nahin hai is a superb melody. But this intense Rafi-Sahir-OPN combination, with terrific acting by Nutan really stirs your soul. Sahir’s lines are as always oozing with poetry. Picturised on Balraj Sahni who plays a poet’s role in the film.
11. Tu Hindu banega na musalman banega – Dhool Ka Phool – 1959 – N Dutta – Sahir Ludhianvi – Manmohan Krishna
The team of N Dutta and Sahir gave some of the best songs of Hindi film music. This one, an epitome of tolerance and communal harmony is a true masterpiece and each and every word of Sahir is brought to life by Rafi. Manmohan Krishna was mostly relegated to playing the role of father of lead actors and had few opportunities to have songs picturised on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGrXizYFEjI
12. Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hun – Lal Quila – 1960 – S N Tripathi – Bahadur Shah Zafar (?) – M Kumar
There was some controversy as to who actually wrote this song; I will not go into that. For me it remains one of the best songs that does not have any orchestration – only the voice of Rafi all along. I could not find any detail about the actor on whom this was picturized – it is credited to one M Kumar.
(1. The controversy about the authorship of this ghazal is quite well-known in Urdu literary circles. There is now a strong view among some scholars that the actual writer of this ghazal was Muztar Khairabadi, who was the father of Jan Nisar Akhtar and the grandfather of Javed Akhtar. The serious research and debate started when Javed Akhtar claimed that he discovered this ghazal while browsing old papers of his grandfather in a trunk at his ancestral home. 2. Actor M Kumar had a memorable role in Mughal-e-Azam as the statue maker. Cinemazzi.com has substantial material on his personal life and professional career. – AK)
13. Lagi mast nazar ki kataar – Sehra – 1963 – Ramlal – Hasrat Jaipuri – Prashant
Sehra was one of Ramlal’s best musical scores, there may be questions as to why I chose this rarely heard song as compared to Taqdeer ka fasana or Tum to pyar ho sajini. I like the sheer energy of this song – what an effortless singing by Rafi and some brilliant acrobatics on the camel. An unconventional song I can say! Also, this could be one rare V Shantaram film that had Rafi singing. It is said the music director Ramlal played a great role in bringing Rafi to sing for this film and the gentle soul that Rafi was, he had taken a fraction of his usual fees on the request of Ramlal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNU7sWzD1Xs
14. Parbaton ke pedon par – duet with Suman Kalyanpur – Shagun – 1964 – Khaiyyam – Sahir Ludhianvi – Kamaljeet
Kamaljeet had acted in very few films and he is known more as Waheeda Rehman’s husband. Khaiyyam’s subtle melody, Sahir’s exquisite poetry and Rafi-Suman’s soft rendition make this an immortal song.
15. Tu shokh kali main mast pawan – solo/duet with Asha Bhosle – Main Suhagan Hoon – 1964 – Lachhi Ram – Kaifi Azmi – Kewal Kumar (solo version); Ajit (duet version)
I was surprised to note that this song has two versions – a solo and a duet with Asha Bhosle. Composed by Lacchiram Tomar, this is one of the most famous songs of this relatively unknown music director. The solo version is picturised on Kewal Kumar, who I understand had also produced a few films and directed them. The duet version is picturised on Ajit and so this song is a rarest of the rare – the song is quite famous, at least among the connoisseurs, but the actors are relatively lesser-known.
Solo version
Duet version
16. Janewalo zara mud ke dekho mujhe – Dosti – 1964 – Laxmikant-Pyarelal – Majrooh Sultanpuri – Sudhir Kumar
All the songs from Dosti are simply out of the world, with Rafi giving one of his best ever performances for the newcomers Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The film had lesser-known Sudhir Kumar and Sushil Kumar as the main lead actors and went on to fetch many Filmfare awards, including for music. Rafi had five excellent solos that are popular to this day.
17. Main ye soch kar uske dar se utha tha – Haqeeqat – 1964 – Madan Mohan – Kaifi Azmi – Sudhir
Except for the name Sudhir, I could not get any details about the actor on whom this great song was picturised. Composed by Madan Mohan, ably supported by the soulful strains of Pyarelal’s violin, this is a song that is very close to my heart. What a restrained singing by Rafi at the beginning and then slowly raising the voice and pitch from the lines “Magar usne roka na usne manaya” and then at the end that intoxicating “Juda ho gaya mein” repeated three times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L11wd9zVEU
18. Wo hum na the wo tum na the – Cha Cha Cha – 1964 – Iqbal Qureshi – Neeraj – Chandrashekhar
Chandrasekhar Vaidya was a film producer and actor and had played lead roles in several films. However, he later on moved to playing supporting roles in many films. The film Cha Cha Cha was also directed by him and was one of the very few films that had Helen in a lead role. Iqbal Qureshi’s music was highlight of this movie, with Rafi having many hit solos and the immortal duet Ek chameli ke mandve tale with Asha Bhosle. The song I had listed here has all those typical Rafi’s trademark touches.
19. Aaj ki raat badi shokh badi natkhat hai – Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal – 1965 – Roshan – Neeraj – Rajeev
The film was known for bringing to limelight the great poet Gopaldas Neeraj, with his poem that he had already written, Swapn jhare phool Se ….Caravan guzar gaya gubaar dekhte rahe. I have chosen a lesser-known song since I felt Carvan guzar gaya is a masterpiece and I may not be able to do justice to that in a short blog. I could not get much information about the actor Rajeev who had acted in this movie. With almost bare minimum orchestration, Roshan comes out with a superb melody that Rafi in his own style makes it immortal. Just listen to the last line “Aisi rangeen, ho… aisi rangeen ghazal raat na phir gayegi“ that is literally soaked in honey.
20. Jidhar bhi main dekhun – Tu Hai Meri Zindagi – 1965 – Runo Dev Mukherjee – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan – Dev Mukherjee
One can question me how I included this song as it has around 80% Asha Bhosle and only 20% Rafi! But that is the charm of Rafi! He makes a grand entry with that Maria…Maria…Mariiiiiiyaaaa and that one line is enough to qualify this song! The person who has uploaded the You Tube clip must be a crazy Rafi fan like me. Right at that moment when Rafi makes his entry, there is a caption that says “voice from heaven”. Dev Mukherjee, son of the famous producer Sashadhar Mukherjee of Filmalaya Studios and also the brother of Joy Mukherjee had a brief career as an actor. A great tune composed by a lesser-known Rono Mukherjee, who incidentally is the other sibling of Dev and Joy.
21. Haseen wadiyon fizaaon se kah do – Lal Bangla – 1966 – Usha Khanna – Gulshan Bawra – Sujit Kumar
Sujit Kumar was known for his supporting roles in Hindi films and in lead roles in many Bhojpuri films. One of his most famous screen appearances was with Rajesh Khanna in the song Mere sapnon ki rani kab ayegi tu from Aradhana, playing the harmonica. Usha Khanna, the lone female crusader in the later years of Golden era, composed some excellent songs and Rafi had sung many of them.
22. Ek tera sath humko do jahan se pyara hai – Wapas – 1969 – Laxmikant-Pyarelal – Majrooh Sultanpuri – Ajay
To be honest, till the time I started working on this blog, I used to think this famous song was picturised on some top hero like Dharmendra. I have never been much of a movie watcher and have very limited knowledge on the actors. It really came as a surprise to know this was for an obscure actor called Ajay!
23. Donon ne kiya tha pyar magar – Mahua – 1969 – Sonik Omi – Qamar Jalalabadi – Shiv Kumar
There are many such so-called B or C grade movies that were forgotten easily but some of the songs became evergreen. Known as Sonik-Omi’s best ever song, the actors, picturisation does not matter at all. It is just Rafi all the way to carry through the emotions through his passionate singing.
24. Jab bhi ye dil udaas hota hai – duet with Sharda – Seema – 1971 – Shankar-Jaikishan – Gulzar – Kabir Bedi
I had to check twice if I got the actor correct – a beardless Kabir Bedi in his early days! The song is one of my personal favourites and may not be liked by many due to the co-singer being Sharda. But note how Shankar had used her vocals in a very subdued manner with gradual ‘promotion’, from just humming at the end of first antara to just one line in the second and the full mukhda towards the end. The tune is mesmerising. I know many music critics dismiss Shankar’s individual tunes but I have found many such hidden gems even in his latter days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18dpAV2m2is
25. Deewane hain deewanon ko na ghar chahiye – duet with Lata Mangeshkar – Zanjeer – 1973 – Kalyanji-Anandji – Gulshan Bawra – Gulshan Bawra
There is an interesting story about this song , narrated by the lyricist Gulshan Bawra himself, which I heard many decades ago in Vividh Bharati. The song was recorded during Ramzan month and Rafi was observing Roza. He was not well. There were already two or three takes and the composers were asking for a final take. He was reluctant due to his fatigue and wanted to postpone but when Gulshan Bawara mentioned to Rafi that the song was to be picturised on him, the great man said, “Oh why did you not tell this before” and completed the final take. Can anyone believe, after listening to this song that he was not well! What a passionate singing.
Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
1. My sincere thanks to AK Ji for providing the Excel file that contains Rafi’s songs with details of on whom it was picturised apart from the basic data that enabled me to narrow down on the songs. (The said Excel file has been prepared by one Muveen and is in circulation for quite some time. The thanks are due to him. – AK)
2. The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
So well compiled. It is a fact that wheather Rafi sahab has rendered his voice to well known popular heroes or to not much famous actors his voice quality is unmatched like a diamond shining always. Many songs which I listened years ago has been made possible to enjoy them again.
Thank you so much for the tireless effort shiva.
Please keep this effort going so that Rafi fans like me have more opportunity to listen and adore his voice/ song always
A refreshing post indeed which was being missed till now.
If the singer is Rafi, the song has to be a top one whether it is meant for top heroes or meant not for so famous top heroes.
There are countless of such Rafi songs lip synced by not so top heroes.
Immediately, I am tempted to point out a Rafi-Suman Kalyanpur duet filmed on Sudesh & Ameeta from Pyar Ki Dastaan(1961) by the pen of Sarvar and music by Nashad.
Duet is :
“Tera Muskrana Bana Ik Fasana, Mohabbat Ka Dushman Hai Sara Zamana”
https://youtu.be/J8GyUhALKak?si=qiVUVzdWq2aTjm0g
Sivanandam ji
Just like selecting one Rafi song for top heroes is a huge task, selecting 25 unfamiliar heroes for 25 Rafi songs is also a demanding job. Nonetheless, you have come up with a great collection.
I add the following to your list
Tujhe kya sunau ye dilruba- Aakhri Daav filmed on Shekhar
https://youtu.be/nc8wYuZyMdU?si=tW6d46tA1CtLcXpn
Phir wo bhulisi yaad payee hai- Begana – filmed on Shailesh Kumar
https://youtu.be/TG5nfiiJGfc?si=KKYsy5-PTAIE8U4m
Mujhe tumse mohobat hai- Bachpan and it is filmed on none other than Bhaijaan’s father
https://youtu.be/o-98GoJevQQ?si=32mgik23qDR8bLLH
And
Jaata hu main mujhe -Dadi Maa- Kashinath Ghanekar
https://youtu.be/4er7zbsKHVM?si=K3EblTP2p-UgfGYX
At the outset , my sincere thanks to AK Ji for providing me an opportunity to talk about the legend Rafi in his blog. Thanks to Rakesh ji & Rahul ji for the kind words and also adding more songs. One can go on adding many such gems that Rafi has rendered for even the most obscure actor / music directors.
I also take this opportunity to thank my elder sister Hemalatha ji . Right from my childhood , she introduced me to Hindi film music and most importantly to Rafi. My passion towards Hindi film music is all inspired by observing her listening to those golden melodies.
Shivanandan ji has done great efforts to bring back memories of old Rafi saheb songs. I am his fan and was addicted to sing his songs in school and college days. The range of his songs are unparalleled. When one hears any song it resonated the mood and its intensity.
Video link of the song referred above:
https://youtu.be/HuZO3abjFoQ?si=gCo_G84YdAxrZRxe
Sanjiva ji, thanks for your kind words. True-Rafi’s songs have an eternity as most them were sung by him with so much passion and intensity.
Rakesh ji-thanks for posting the Nashad composed Tera Muskurana Bana Ik Fasana-incidentally today, 11th July is his 101st birth anniversary!!
Sivanandam,
First of all, wish you good health. Your dedication with such ill health would inspire me to fulfil my commitment too in this Rafi centenary year. Your article is just superb. A common film music fan would think the number of 25 as very high, but Rafi fans know that his background songs combined with lesser known actors could easily cross 1500 songs. So the trick lies in selection about which you have done with great efficiency. Yakub, Kewal Kumar and Ajay are master-strokes.
I am giving here a few songs picturised on heroes of late 40s and early 50s who later came to be known for negative roles in one or more films in later years.
First one is Rehman in Badi Behan with ‘muhabbat ke dhoke mein’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbMxxHz-bDA
Next is Amar, who sang his own songs under Naushad, in Parda with ‘ik dil ne kaha’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE9PdDTUafc
Next is Wasti in Balam with ‘tum humen bhool gaye’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5PEch2YeFk
Next is Kishor Sahu in Kali Ghata with ‘kali ghata ghir aayi re’. This is a sweet Rafi-Lata duet from early SJ films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVt8bAxGbGM
And the last one is Sajjan in Saiyyan with ‘us paar is deewar ke jo rehte hain’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3RzTNt5QrY
Some more vintage era songs of the category under discussion.
Prem Adeeb – film Actress – ae dil meri aahon mein itna to asar aaye – MD Shyam Sunder – lyrics Naqshab Jarchavi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O68dK6g0c4
Shyam – film Dillagi – is duniya mein ae dil walo dil ka lagana khel nahin – MD Naushad – lyrics Shakeel Badayuni
Moti Lal – film Ek Thi Ladki – ab hale dil ya hale jigar kuchh na poochhiye – MD Vinod – lyrics Azeez Kashmiri. This is a duet with Lata. This film also had a song ‘lambi joru badi musibat’ in which Rafi gave playback for a female acting male part in a drama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWd891HifAk
Karan Dewan – film Chhoti Bhabhi – lut gaye lut gaye lut gaye ho pyar mein tere lut gaye ho – MD Husnlal Bhagatram – lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWKlSb2uIF8
Mumtaz Ali – film Nirala – kehne wale sach keh gaye hain husn bhara hai gaon mein – MD C Ramchandra – lyrics PL Santoshi. This is duet with Chitalkar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn7Z_YBS5ws
Hans Ji
Thank you so much for your appreciation and also adding so many songs. I have heard only very few of them. Will watch / hear them.
Jeevan, known for negative roles got a famous song ‘chaupati pe kal jo tujhse ankh matakka ho gaya’ in film Afsana, which was a Rafi-Shamshad duet composed by Husnlal Bhagatram and written by Chander Oberoi. This film also had a Rafi solo ‘duniya ek kahani re bhaiyya’ filmed on an unknown actor. A solo ‘yun chaal chalo na matwali’ was also picturised on Jeevan in film Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya. Links of both songs are given.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqyymkZT9O0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uesJs6sjLT8
In film Jauhari-1951 there was song with two versions on two friends Amarnath and Sunder. In the first Amarnath lip syncs and the second is lip synced by Sunder. MD was Harbans Lal and lyricist was Tejnath Jar. Here are both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TzcDS0sAOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAl9bEJFy3k
In film Alibaba and 40 Thieves – 1954, SN Tripathi and Chitragupta jointly gave music. There was a solo ‘siye siye ja’ in that on an unknown actor. Another comic Rafi-Shamshad duet ‘chalo chalo chalen hum babool ke tale’ was filmed on actor Maruti. The link is here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY02XKRI4lk
Sivanandam ji,
What a beautiful post! Thank for Sir. Hopefully your health is back to normal. The songs are excellent and your write-ups for the songs are splendid.
Song numbers 19 to 23, in particular, remind me of lengthy periods of time I spent listening to Radio instead of concentrating on doing homework in my secondary school days.
Regards.
Shahu Modak was a hero who once sang his own songs, but later Rafi took over playback singing for him and these songs became a thing for eternal remembrance for him. I am giving here one such song from film Shivbhakta, in which had 5 hit songs on Modak and one on an unknown actor. The song is titled ‘humko to tera naam lene se vasta’ written by GS Nepali and composed by Chitragupta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU_kSMfF8u4
Another hero of those times was Mahipal who had many songs by Rafi. I give here one trom Tulsidas titled ‘hey mahadev meri laaj rahe’ constructed by the same combo as the above song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR0-thW4oM8
Now three actors from South, who had limited number of songs but they were all memorable. First is filmed on Ranjan who was hero in Sindbad the Sailor which was the first film which brought the limelight on Chitragupta. The song ‘ada se jhoomte hue’ is a Rafi-Shamshad duet filmed on Ranjan and Naseem. There were 4 songs filmed on Ranjan in this film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UvaS6XEmaU
Gemini Ganeshan had 3 songs by Rafi, filmed on him with one solo and two duets. Another solo was filmed on Om Prakash. I give here the solo ‘ye mard bade dilsard’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTdRkNzhuM0
AVM Rajan had two Rafi songs in the 1964 film Main Bhi Ladki Hoon which had Dharmendra as hero. Only one duet was filmed on Dharmendra which was playbacked by South singer PB Srinivas with Lata. I give here the solo ‘aaye the huzoor bade tan ke’ written by Rajinder Krishan and composed by Chitragupta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGTUFWJoJrE
Here is a bunch of songs which were rare occurrence in the career of the persons on whom they were filmed. Some of them were famous and some not famous though important in the film world.
Chetan Anand is famous but for other reasons. He acted in a few films and got even fewer songs. Here is a famous song ‘teri tasveer bhi tujh jaisi haseen hai lekin’ from film Kinare Kinare, created by the combo of Jaidev and Nyay Sharma.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ocljJ1YDg
GM Durrani was a famous vintage era singer. He got an eternal Rafi song ‘unke khayal aaye to aate chale gaye’ from film Lal Patthar, written by Hasrat Jaipuri and composed by SJ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94WFmu0-Mkc
Anwar Husain brother of Nargis acted in a number of films as character actor and had very few songs filmed on him. Here is a song ‘gareebon ka jeena bhi hai koi jeena’ from Nai Roshni, a Ravi/Rajinder Krishan creation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jyTIqNdDxA
This actor named Baalam was a small time actor, but had the honour of lip syncing a great qawwali ‘mere dilbar mujhpar khafa na ho’ written by Sahir and composed by N Datta for the film Dharmaputra.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6NpdklkTts
Another qawwali ‘aaj kyun humse parda hai’ written by Sahir was composed by N Datta as a Rafi-Balbir duet in the film Sadhana. A small time comedian with a weird name Munshi Munaqqa lip synced the Rafi part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-snzU1kvTo
Thank you Sivanandam Palamadaiji for capturing one more view of many possible views of Mohammad Rafi’s songs.
One such view is that of Rafi’s Street Songs. This one can turn out to be an interesting compilation, For example:
Jane Kahan Gayi – Dil Apaa Aur Preet Parayi (1960) – Hasrat Jaipuri – Shankar Jaikishan
The song is filmed on Raj Kishore.
https://youtu.be/qIKATPQo6ds?si=Z-FN5wiUZdD5bCHQ
Hansji,
Thanks to you too for enriching the subject with so profusely,
I would like to add one song to this beautifully compiled list, from the movie Shankar Hussain (1977)- Kahin ek masoom nazuk si ladki, filmed on Kanwaljeet. This song’s writer is Khayyam, and composer is Kamaal Amrohi
Ashok Kumar Tyagi ji,
Thanks a lot for your comments.Right from childhood I had the habit of studying in the background of some good old Hindi or Tamil film music.
Ashok Vaishnav ji , thanks a lot for your appreciation. The immense variety in Rafi ‘ s singing is a goldmine for bloggers to discover innovative themes. For eg he has sung many songs that has a city name prominent or for many professions like tel malish, rickshawallar, tangewala etc…
Pushpendu Mathurji…thanks for your comments. Yes the song from Shankar Hussain is a superb composition by Khayyam and written by Kamal Amrohi.
It is a well conceived idea to bring out the songs by Rafi on non actors but the same have become popular for the sheer music quality as well as his rendering. Apart from this he has also rendered quite a few back ground songs which were not lip synchronized. In this context song on lyricist Gulshan Bawra in Zanjeer and Post Box 999, duet in Kinare kinare on unknown actors and the song Raste mein tere kab se khade from Opera House and the song Jane kahan gayee from Dil apna preet parai and so on goes the list !
Rafiji sang with devotion to satisfy his MD. Not the actor. Top actors when they started their acting career they were not top actors. Just new comers among many actors including top ones of that time. Rafiji sang his songs primarily for his own satisfaction. He was a Karmayogi as per Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta.
Want to add one brilliant song to the list which surprisingly overlooked by everyone
Apni Aankhon Mein Basakar from the movie Thokar (1974) picturized on Baldev Khosla
Manoj ji , Naghma Ji…thanks for your comments.
There are many incidents which show Rafi’s magnanimity in accepting nil or very low remuneration for singing, even at the peak of his career. True Karmayogi.
Naghma Ji-Apni aankhon mein basakar is a superb song composed by Shyamji Ghanshyamji-the reason I had not included in this blog was that it was already covered by me in my earlier blog on “Rafi’s songs with some unrecognised composers”.
Sivanandam ji,
This is a lovely post which only further highlights the greatness of Rafi. For Rafi, it was the song that was important rather than the person who would sing it on screen. That explains why he has such good songs for some of the lesser known actors. Here is my personal favourite from Adventures of Robinhood and Bandits (1965) where he sings for Prashant (the hero of Sehra) – Maana Mere Haseen Sanam
https://youtu.be/-MGTaiQMCgo
Vaishnavji,
Thanks for the kind words. Rafi songs on lesser actors is my favourite subject. When Sivanandam and AK did their nice job it was our duty to enhance the subject.
‘Jane kahan gayi’ is my favourite. This song evidences Rafi’s grand ability to convey different emotions in the same flow. Raj Kishore is singing sad lines but he and his party are dancing Rafi sings in gay mood, but as soon as camera moves on Raj Kumar, who is in pensive mood, Rafi shifts to a sad tinge. This quality of Rafi I have noticed in many songs, but this song is the best evidence due to its perfect picturisation.
Very interesting and enjoyable post Sivanandamji.
Rafi’s songs whether lip synched by well known or lesser known actors, are always the best.
Thank you for this feast.
Anup
🙂
Some persons have thought Rafi magic was absent after rise of Kishore. Sivanandam had mentioned his song for Kabir Bedi. Pushpendra Mathur mentioned ‘kahin ek masoom nazuk si ladki’ and now Naghma mentions ‘apni ankhon mein basakar’. These are all on new heroes. I would here give a bunch of such songs in the early seventies. Besides them he was also singing for established stars.
While I agree with friends here that Rafi sang his best without caring for the actor, but there is enough evidence of him making extra effort for newcomers as well as transferring his knowledge gained from old stalwart composers to new composers to enhance their compositions.
Swaroop Dutt in Uphaar got the gem ‘main ik raaja hoon, tu ik raani hai’ one of the many Laxmi-Pyare/Anand Bakshi combo songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCMgoRPhUBk
‘Dil ka soona saaz tarana dhundhega’ is a song which has been mentioned so commonly and aptly in gatherings to remember Rafi. This song came in 1973, written by the old stalwart Asad Bhopali and composed by the new composer Ganesh. This was for Shatrughan Sinha in Ek Naari Do Roop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR2fhH6UBn4
In the same year 1973, Rafi elevated Kamal Rajasthani(composer), Mehboob Sarvar(lyricist) and actor Satish Arora to immortality with the gem of a song ‘kal meri tarah mujhko salaam aap karenge’ for the film Mere Gareeb Nawaz.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uak2eaDkYwQ
In the next year Rafi sang SD Burman composed ‘ae mere man main hoon magan’ for film Us Paar and ‘shokhiyan nazar mein hain mastiyan hain chaal mein’ in Vaada Tera Vaada for Vinod Mehra. I give here the second song from LP/AB combo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBRB0EFKCoM
In 1975, Satish Kaul got a famous song ‘jhuka jhuka ke nazar yun uthayi jaati hai’ for film Mere Sartaj. Composer was Ravi and Mehboob Sarvar the lyricist again. In the same year Rafi also sang the immortal ‘navkalpna navroop se rachna rachi jab naar ki’, the sole creation of Shambhu Sen who was lyricist also of the song. This song’s video is not available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gicKKw9B_IE
Anita Ji, Mehfil Mein Meri…
Thanks for your kind appreciation. Mana Mere Haseen Sanam is truly a gem lost in a C grade film. Composed by OPN’s long-time assistant G S Kohli.
Hans Ji-you echo my thoughts–it is more of a myth that was perhaps created by popular media ( even in those days..now we can’t even fathom what is happening in media and social media!!!) that Rafi’s career was finished post-Aradhana. I read somewhere that in 1980, the year he passed away , he was the busiest singer!!
Sixties was a busy period for Rafi. Old composers kept producing songs for him and some of those who were reluctant also started using him extensively seeing his immense value. Even at such a time he kept singing for new composers and new actors. I add here a few to the long list given in the main article by Sivanandam.
Sohan Kapila got an all time iconic song ‘tum ek baar muhabbat ka imtihan to lo’ in Babar with Roshan/Sahir team. Roshan took to Rafi in a big way from 1960.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSmeq0fqA50
Shama was one of the top films of Ghulam Mohammad, who got a gem for the fresh hero Vijay Dutt in ‘wo sadgi kahen ise’ written by Kaifi Azmi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k5BSSQXp7g
The Ravi/Shakeel gem ‘jara sun haseena-e-najneen mera dil tujhi pe nisar hai’ was composed for Vijay Kumar – brother of Johny Walker – for Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIXh9vxFQ-I
Subiraj got gems like ‘agar dil kisi se lagaya na hota’ and ‘ankhiyan sang ankhiyan lagi aaj’ in Bada Aadmi in !961. But here I give ‘tere pyar ne mujhe gam diya tere gam ki umra daraaj ho’ an Asad/LP creation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30ehsOIMSMg
A fresher Deepak Kumar got 3 Rafi solos in Aabroo-1968, as well as the Mukesh gem ‘jinhen hum bhoolna chahen’. The songs of this film were written by GL Rawal and composed by Sonik Omi. I give here ‘har chehra yahan chand to har jarra sitara’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLZm2TdXtpU
Sivanandamji,
A well-written excellent post on an interesting theme , adding to Rafi’s centenary celebrations. ( I realized that I have not yet commented on your earlier Rafi post, hope to do it soon).
Rafi not only helped in launching the careers of composers of both small and big films, he also provided wonderful memorable songs to top and not the top heroes, villains, comedians, character actors etc. Many obscure films and heroes have remained in our memory only due to Rafi songs.
There can be plenty of themes related to his songs – background songs, credits songs, songs on comedy artists, characters enacting different professions etc etc.
Posting with a song on Parikshit Sahani
Anokhi Raat – Roshan
Mile na phool to kaanton se dosti kar li
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xIfJdD4AIU
Posting some songs backwards, i.e. from the 80s…
Ram Sethi – Kaun kisi ko bandh saka
Kaalia 1981 RDB/Majrooh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1QdhXf_l0I
Raj Babbar – Mohabbat rang layegi janaab ahista
Poonam 1981 (with Chandrani Mukherji) Anu Malik/Hasrat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4uyL0WRSCo
Sudhir – Laagi lag jaye logon
Poonam 1981 Anu Malik – Anjaan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCBWsw6oU
Mahesh Kothare – Pal pal beet raha hai jeewan
Sant Gyaneshwar 1982 Shrikant Telang – Bharat Vyas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA4Jves0qt8
Rakesh Pandey – Phoolon jaise phoolon phalo tum mere ladlo
Sant Gyaneshwar 1982 Shrikant Telang – Bharat Vyas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V370R0ataVM
Deepak Parashar – Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein
Aap To Aise Na The 1980 Usha Khanna – Nida Fazli
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_hnvv0dnCQ
Mazhar Khan – Aate jaate huye main sab pe nazar rakhta
Shaan 1980 RDB/AB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuvCqryEeVg
RajKiran – Dekho dekho ye nazara dekho
Ladaaku 1981 Usha Khanna / Kulwant Jani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7rVWoBtI-Y
Johny Walker and Mehmood were exempted from this post because of their numerous songs. I covered a couple of them. Now I give here a bunch of songs picturised on comedians.
Om Prakash – Chhuri ban kanta ban o my son – Jaali Note – OPN – Raja Mehndi Ali Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAzDUJYrrxc
IS Johar – Sun sun mere bhai ye rupaiyya aana pai – Banarasi Thug – Iqbal Qureshi – Prem Dhawan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onvc1T6TtFg
Agha – Mooliram aur bhindimal ka nikal gaya hai deewala – Dulhan – Ravi – SH Bihari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJubqKAvTXk
OP Ralhan – Mere dil ke andar chalati hai khanjar – Phool Aur Patthar – Ravi – Shakeel Badayuni
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H42DCJx6BoY
Brahamchari – Rekha o rekha jab se tumhen dekha – Adhikar – RD Burman – Ramesh Pant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnSRyB8NEmY
Sivanandam Ji’s post is brilliantly supported by Hans Ji’s additions.
To his comedians list, I am adding Jagdeep.
Chali chali re patang meri chali re….
BHABHI.
Oh! I have just now realised the song is already there in the main list.
To cover up for the slip, I will give the complete information of Rafi _ Jagdeep association.
From AWAZ, 1956 ( a solo ) to BHEEGI PALKE, 1982 ( a duet with Asha Bhosle ) , Rafi sang 30 songs for Jagdeep.
Chali chali re patang…was the second one of these. After this iconic song, probably Paas baitho tabeeyat behel jaayegi…PUNARMILAN is the most well known.
It has been a long time, since I have contributed anything to SoY, my apologies to AK Ji for not being an active participant (silent been always).
This post of Sivanandam Ji is certainly something, which I don’t think I could miss.
Thanks a lot Sir for the great idea
Now coming to the songs, Rafi has always been a great favorite, rather the most favorite male singer of the golden era
Some of my favorite songs
Hai kali kali ke lab par
Film Lalarukh MD Khaiyyam Lyrics Kaifi Azmi and lip syncing Sadiq Ali, as per comment on YouTube
Hamein bhi de do Sahara
Film Seema MD Shankar Jaikishan Lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri and lip syncing by Mumtaz Ali, father of Mehmood and Minoo Mumtaz
Main to tere haseen khayalon me kho gaya
Film Sangram MD Lala Asad Sattar Lyrics Aish Kanwal and lip syncing by Randhawa, Dara Singh’s brother
Ye jhuki jhuki jhuki nigahen teri
Film Aao Pyar Karein MD Usha Khanna Lyrics Rajinder Krishna and lip syncing by Macmohan, the Sambha fame of Sholey
Ye to mumkin hi nahi hai ke bahak jaun main
Film Jai Jwala MD Kamalkant Lyrics Naqsh Lyalpuri and lip syncing by Sujit Kumar
Meri hasraton ki duniya
Film Gaal Gulabi Nain Sharabi MD Shyam Ji Ghanshyam Ji Lyrics Kulwant Jani lip syncing by Kiran Kumar
Lastly a duet by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur
Aapne huzoor mujhe from Fariyad, MD Snehal Bhatkar and Lyrics by Kidar Sharma, lip syncing by Ashok
My apologies for not posting the links of the songs
And I apologize, if I have mentioned any repeated songs
Rafi sang 3 songs for Asrani in 2 films.
SALAM MEMSAAB.
Na sharab se koi vaasta…
( With Bhupinder ).
HUM NAHIN SUDHRENGE.
1 Solo, 1 duet with Lata.
The last 2 lines of the iconic song
Jahan daal daal par sone ki…
SIKANDER E AZAM
are lip-synced by Premnath and Prem Chopra.
Rafi sang 4 songs for Jeevan in 4 films.
HAMARA SANSAR, 1945.
( With Zohra Bai Ambalewali n Shamshad Begum. )
AFSANA, 1951.
Chaupati pe kal jo tujhse aankh matakka ho gaya…
( With Shamshad Begum. )
KAILASPATI, 1962.
For his Narad avtaar.
DIL NE PHIR YAAD KIYA, 1966.
Rafi sang 4 songs for Ranjit in 4 films. The first one is a very special song. Rafi gives playback for 6 artistes in a single song here.
GADDAAR, 1973.
O tu Gaddaar sahi
O tu Makkaar sahi.
Pran, Ranjit, Ram Mohan, Man Mohan, Anwar Hussain and Iftikhar Hussain!!!!!!
Dada Kondke can not be called a minor or lesser actor. Only for the record I am mentioning him.
Rafi sang 2 songs ( both lively duets with Usha Mangeshkar ) for DK in the Gujarati movie
CHANDU JAMADAR, 1977.
Jai Raghu Nandan Jai Siya Ram….
GHARANA, 1961.
On Bipin Gupta.
Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai…
AMAR SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH, 1974.
Som Dutt.
Dr Deshpande & Dr Shetty
I am so thankful for your comments and also adding so many songs. And as ever Hans Ji , for so many songs added. Will have to listen to many of them as I think I might not have heard some os them. Isn’t it truly amazing that even for a crazy Rafi fan like me, there are still many songs to be explored and unheard of! His music was literally an ocean!!
Covering some more comedians..
Rafi sang many songs for Bhagwan Dada, posting one well-known song
Bhagwan – Tum arabon ka her pher karnewale ramji
Chori Chori 1956 (with Lata) SJ/Shailendra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GD8dKSW0Fg
Deven Verma – Husnwale husn Ka anjam dekhle
Qawwali Ki Raat 1964 (with Asha) Iqbal Qureshi/Shevan Rizvi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOLituSk9ec
Paintal – Man ka mauji hoon sanam
Gaal Gulabi Nain Sharabi 1974 (with Krishna Kalle) Shyamji Ghanshyamji / Kulwant Jani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRisAtsCr8Y
Junior Mehmood – Mohbooba mehbooba bana do mujhe dulha
Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong 1971 KA/Qamar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwKSZ1N4rTM
And villians…
Prem Chopra – Tum apni saheli ko itna bata do
Samaj Ko Badal Dalo 1970 (with Asha) Ravi /Sahir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3hXox8Dh74
Danny Denzongpa – Tu chali chali aa meri mehbooba
Kali Ghata 1980 (with Asha) LP/AB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew-26rqhN4A
Amjad Khan – Kamliwale ka roza nigahon mein hai
Deen Aur Imaan 1979 Shyamji GHanshyamji/Anjum Jaipuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztu47k–XQk
It will be surreal, unbelievable if I say Dr Rajesh Deshpande ‘s list, except Prem Chopra, ( plus one more artiste )was the next that I was going to post !!!
2 songs selected by me also are the same as selected by him!!!!!
The one not in Dr RD’s list is Raza Murad.
Aaj yaar ke nazare yaar Rab dekha..
( With Mahendra Kapoor, Savita Suman )
BADMASHON KA BADMASH.
Rafi sang 1 duet ( with Anuradha Paudwal…) in
MR NATWARLAL.
Qayamat hai, Qayamat hai…
1 background song in
KASAM BHAVANI KI
for Khader Khan.
Arvinder Sharmaji @33,
I think I have to welcome you once again to the SOY family. It has been so long that WordPress has kept your comment for approval. Once a most active member, I hope you would be the same active self in your second innings. I have to also thank Sivanandamji for drawing you from hibernation.
Hai kali kali ke lab par; Main to tere haseen khayalon mein kho gaya; Aapne huzoor mujhko have been my eternal favourites. Thanks for mentioning these songs and and the unknown actors who lip-synched these songs.
Vijay Arora.
Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko..
&
Yadon ki baraat…
YKB.
Anil Dhawan.
Teri galiyon mein na rakhenge kadam..
HAWAS.
Naveen Nishchal.
Tum jo mil gaye ho..
HANSTE ZAKHM.
Tariq.
Kya hua tera wada..
HKSKN.
Mahendra Sandhu.
Pyar ki rahon ka pyara safar..
( With Sulakshana Pandit )
HAWARI.
Arun Govil.
Nazare Gulabi, Gulabi nazare…
LAKHPATI.
Raj Kiran.
Dard e dil, Dard e jigar..
KARZ .
Thanks a lot dear AK Ji
Dr. Shetty,
Happy to align with you.
Continuing with villains…
Kiran Kumar – Meri hasraton ki duniya tu mile kahin jo
Gaal Gulabi Nain Sharabi 1974 (with Krishna Kalle) Shyamji Ghanshyamji / Kulwant Jani
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O2b1WXj-70
Roopesh Kumar – Main idhar jaooon ya udhar jaoon
Palki 1967 (with Asha, Manna) Naushad / Shakeel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys7DuVThytA
Dheeraj Kumar – Raaton ka raja hoon main
Raaton Ka Raja 1970 RDB/ Majrooh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXLP_GoZSmk
Madan Puri – Saibaba bolo
Shirdi ke Saibaba 1977 (with Anuradha, Anup Jalota, Jani babu) Pandurang Dikshit/Manoj Kumar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kyEkHF6v7E
Om Shivpuri – So ja baba mere so ja nanhe baba
Koshish 1972 MM/Gulzar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgBZKFqihdc
Sudhir Dalvi – Aadmi musafir hai aata hai jata hai (big hit of 1978)
Apnapan 1978 (with Lata) LP/AB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipePh7hAkYc
Sunder – Meri sunle din dayal kar de mujhko malamal
Thokar 1974 Shyamji Ghanshyamji / Sajan Dehlvi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DXkvt5Psfc
Rafisaab’s range and the ability to sing like the actor or the character is simply off the charts. No amount of praise is enough for his skills in this regard.
Your choice of songs here is top- notch too. So is your writing.
That being said, there are a few points that I would like to make.
M. Kumar (or simply Kumar) and P. Jairaj weren’t exactly lesser heroes. Indeed in the first decade of our Hindi cinema i.e. from the early 30s till the early-to-mid 40s, both of them were among the top nine heroes of that time- the other seven being KL Saigal, Ashok Kumar, Motilal, Chandramohan, Surendra, Pahadi Sanyal, Prithiviraj Kapoor in no particular order. PC Barua, Sohrab Modi and Master Vinayak were director- actors, who too were very popular. Yes, by the time, Rafi came around and became big, both M. Kumar and P. Jairaj were relegated to being character actors and heroes in lesser budgeted period dramas and fantasies, respectively. But during their heydays, they were famous and big.
Similarly, Yaqub, was a top character actor. Indeed from 1930s till his rather early death in mid 1950s, he was highly in demand artist among the film producers. In the 30s and 40s, he, alongwith Noor Mohammed Charlie, VH Desai, Gope, Nawab and KC Dey, were extremely popular as character (or comedians as was the case with Charlie & Desai) artists, whose fame was no less than that of the top stars of that period.
Abhi Bhattacharya is an interesting case of how a very talented actor didn’t quite got his due from the media. Contrary to what has been stated here, he was actually more prolific in Hindi cinema than Bengali. He acted as the lead in nearly 25 Hindi films and 15 Bangla films. As a character actor too, he acted in some 150 Hindi films and 15 or so Bengali films. His total repertoire of some 175 Hindi films to 30 Bengali films, is a clear indication that he was far more prolific in Hindi films than Bengali.
Media has never been quite profusive about this actor, inspite of him being among the rare actors who could legitimately boast of having good looks, tall height, strapping physique, impressive voice and genuine acting skills too. He might not have been a media favorite but the man’s work speaks for itself. He acted as a leading man in films by the likes of Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Ritwick Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Nitin Bose, Debaki Bose, S. Fatehlal (of Sant Tukaram fame), Sohrab Modi, Ramesh Saigal, Satyen Bose, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Hemen Gupta etc. Now this is like a list of almost who’s who of the Indian film industry, unless one’s idea of who’s who is strictly restricted to that of Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan, Chopra bros, Anand Bros, SS Vasan & Satyajit Ray. I do know people in real whose idea of who’s who is like that. But then that’s a flawed idea which doesn’t need any acceptance or recognition.
Anyways, point is, inspite of such stellar work, Abhi’s name has fallen through the cracks of time.
That today, people like Abhi, Jairaj, M. Kumar, Yakub etc., aren’t remembered as much as they should, is simply because our media (and thus by default most of our masses too) has decided to make the advent of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Madhubala, Nargis, SS Vasan etc., around the time period of post-1947 as the time when cinema really became “good” and “great”. The Hindi cinema of before 1947 and regional cinema of both Vintage and Golden Eras are completely neglected, even if a honest perusal of facts clearly show that a lot of better, original and “greater” pictures were made in these two neglected periods/industries than in the “famed” cinema of Dilip-Raj-Dev-Madhu-Meena-Nargis-Lata-Gemini-Prasad!!
Raunak Joy,
Your detailed comments always expand our horizon and makes us look at the larger span. But the Vintage Era greats are a matter of study and not personal knowledge, Sivanandamji has explained in detail his choice of the title and the actors who fit that description. You are right we are all limited by our perceptions. This being a blog about Songs Of Yore, I have generally put a barrier on 1970, and go back to the earliest era as far back as I can. Because of the explosion of many greats 50s onwards, it is natural the focus would be on that era. But thanks a lot for giving a nice perspective.
Sivanandamji
Your presentation of Rafi’s singing for “not top heroes” is top notch and par excellence. I was hesitant to raise a minor point in your presentation at the risk of being accused of nitpicking. RaunakJoy’s comments helped me to make up my mind. I am referring to Song No. 9 and 10. Including Premnath and Balraj Sahni is very strange considering their accomplishments.
Premnath had a long innings from 1948-1985 and had acted as hero in very many films. He was also in a TV Series called Maya. He was nominated four times for Filmfare award.
Balraj Sahni was a great character actor and some of his notable films are Dharti Ka Kaal 1946, Do Bhiga Zameen, Waqt, Seema and Kabuliwala. He cannot be relegated as not a top hero. I will add one more trivia. He was once jailed for demonstrating in public as part of Communist Party agitation. He was also picked up to act in the role of a Jailor in the film “Hulchul”. Jail authorities allowed him to leave the jail daily to participate in the film.
This is just my observation.
Sivanandamji,
Hope you have fully recovered and in best of health & spirits. A fortnight has passed since this post appeared in SoY. Though delayed, I am responding now. Wish I could be more regular.
Indeed a novel theme, a product of imaginative interaction between two fertile brains. AKji often comes out with such brilliant ideas, but doesn’t display any air about it. And you have done full justice to this interesting theme. Thanks to you and AKji as well.
True, Rafi always sang with equal passion for relatively lesser known actors. And this article has brought forth many of those songs, and the characters who would have remained obscure but for your efforts. It also arouses my curiosity to know a little more about them and their likes.
Out of the 25 songs presented by you, it appears that I have not heard two of them before. “Lagi mast nazar ki kataar” (#13) and “Haseen wadiyon fizaaon se kah do” (#21) Even if I had heard them, I do not remember them now. But that did not lessen my listening pleasure in any way. And I have not seen the visuals of few songs like “Jab bhi ye dil udaas hota hai ” (#24) and “Ek tera sath humko do jahan se pyara hai ” (#22) earlier.
I find a lot more songs posted in the comments section, Hansji taking a commanding lead. I will go through the comments and songs later. A few more from my side.
O More Balma Kaahe Mari Katar Haye Daiya, with Shamshad Begum, film Shair (1949), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Ghulam Mohammad
Badri Prasad – he was the dance director/ choreographer of this film and many more films. As was the practice, the dance directors used to double up as dancers too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2AgmNy5oEU
Presenting two songs from the 1950 film Beqasoor.
It seems the character for whom Rafi sang both the songs was Krishna Kumar, who was also a dancer and choreographer. Krishna Kumar with Harish was the dance director of this film.
Ankhiyan Gulabi Jaise Madh Ki Hai Pyaliyan, with Lata Mangeshkar, lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi or Ehsan Rizvi, music Anil Biswas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkHBoWEr1wI
Hanske Na Teer Chalana, with Lata Mangeshkar, lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi or Ehsan Rizvi, music Anil Biswas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6qKf4fzb98
One more song from this film Beqasoor(1950). This qawwali song is a triad. Mukesh sings for Ajit. Rafi and Durrani sings for actors whom I am yet to identify.
Khabar Kisi Ko Nahin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5md2QjdUSI0
So long!
Post # 52, 53 & 55-Raunak Joy , D P Rangan & Venkataraman Ji,
Thanks a lot for your remarks-I could see them only now and hence a delayed response.
As far as Raunak Joy & Rangan Ji’s comments on some actors being categorised as ” not top heroes” , I would like to clarify this blog was mainly about how Rafi, as a singer , delivered his best irrespective of who was the actor on whom the song was picturized. It was not as such about the actors or heroes. So when I included someone like Balraj Sahni ( I like his acting so much) , it is just with that idea that he was ” not considered ” by the masses as a top hero. If you notice, I had used the word heroes and not actors. So it is not with an intention to comment on someone’s acting ability.We may like it or not-and it is not at all my individual categorization–only few actors made it to the top as commercially successful heroes.
Personally I like Sanjeev Kumar among all yesteryear actors , but he never got the status and recognition as a top hero. There were many music directors who were so talented but could never make it to the top in terms of commercial success. To summarize, this blog was about Rafi’s songs for “others” as compared to those for Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Bharat Bhushan Rajendra Kumar , Shammi Kapoor , Dharmendra., Biswajit, Joy Muhkerjee etc ..
Purely on a lighter vein I could have titled it as Rafi songs for others except…………and list out some 10-12 names!!!-AK Ji would have straightaway rejected that title!!!
Venkataraman Ji-thanks for adding a few rare songs –
your appreciation meanss so much to me as I consider myself as an absolute novice and still to go through the vast ocean of golden era melodies.
अरविंदर शर्मा जी,
मेले में बिछड़े भाई को फिर से पा जाने पर जो ख़ुशी मिलती होगी, वैसी ही ख़ुशी आपको इस पटल पर देख कर हो रही है(आँधी के डायलॉग की तर्ज़ पर इस बार अमावस लम्बी हो गयी)
हमेशा की तरह इस बार भी अपने ख़ज़ाने के नायाब नगीनों से हमारा परिचय कराया है.
जय ज्वाला का गीत और संगीतकार कमलाकांत,दोनों ही मेरे लिये नये थे.
…………………………..इस पटल पर आपको जल्दी-जल्दी देखने की हसरत है.
स्नेह सहित
Sir,
Your post on Rafi’s songs for “not the top heroes” is an excellent coverage of many rare gems. It showcases the versatility of Rafi Saab in bringing life to characters beyond the leading stars. However, I would like to ask a question that is slightly different from the subject you have covered.
Mohammad Rafi is known to have lent his voice to many actors across generations, including members of the same family—siblings, father-son, uncle-nephew, and more. However, did Rafi sing playback for Prithviraj Kapoor in any Hindi film?
Gandhi Vadlapatla,
I remember one of Rafi’s best patriotic songs, Jahan daal daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera from Sikandar-e-Azam (1965). Though this was a background song, you see Prithviraj Kapoor in most of the frame.
PS,
There are some more background songs by Rafi with Prithviraj Kapoor. For example, in Awaara (1951) when Prithviraj Kapoor character throws out his wife Leela Chitnis on suspicion of her chastity, Rafi’s song Pativrata sitamaai ko plays out in the background with Prithviraj Kapoor is seen looking from the window in guilt.