Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice; his songs varied from fast peppy numbers to patriotic

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

s, sad numbers to highly romantic songs,

qawwali Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...

s to

ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

and

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

to classical songs. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona and style of the actor lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie. He received six

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

and one

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

. In 1967, he was honored with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

award by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. In 2001, Rafi was honoured with the "Best Singer of the Millennium" title by

Hero Honda Hero MotoCorp Limited (formerly Hero Honda) is an Indian multinational motorcycle and scooter manufacturer headquartered in New Delhi. The company is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world, as well as in India, where it has ...

and Stardust magazine. In 2013, Rafi was voted for the Greatest Voice in Hindi Cinema in the CNN-IBN's poll. He recorded songs for over a thousand

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

films and in many Indian languages as well as some foreign languages, though primarily in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi, over which he had a strong command. He recorded as many as 7,000 songs throughout his career, spanning several languages and dialects such as Konkani, Assamese,

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, Sindhi,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Magahi The Magahi language (), also known as Magadhi (), is a language spoken in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal states of eastern India, and in the Terai of Nepal. Magadhi Prakrit was the ancestor of Magahi, from which the latter's name derives. ...

, Maithili, etc. Apart from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n languages, he also sang in some foreign languages, including

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Farsi Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken an ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, Sinhala,

Mauritian Creole Mauritian Creole or Morisien (formerly Morisyen) ( mfe, kreol morisien, links=no ) is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and in ...

, and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Early life

Mohammed Rafi was the second eldest of six brothers born to Allah Rakhi and Haji Ali Mohammad in a Punjabi

Jat Muslim Jat Muslim or Musalman Jat also spelled Jutt ( ur, ) (also spelled Jatt or Jutt; ) are a sub-group of the Jat people, who are followers of Islam and are primarily native to the Punjab region, Gujarat Region or Northern regions of the Indian S ...

family. The family originally belonged to

Kotla Sultan Singh Kotla Sultan Singh is a village near Amritsar city in the Amritsar district of Punjab, India. It is the birthplace of playback singer Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and music ...

, a village near present-day

Majitha Majitha is a town and a municipal council in Amritsar district in the Indian state of Punjab. The 2011 Census of India recorded 14,503 people resident in the town. The renowned Majithia family of ''Sardars'' of the Sher-Gill Jat clan trace th ...

Amritsar district Amritsar district is one of the twenty three districts that make up the Indian state of Punjab. Located in the Majha region of Punjab, the city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district. As of 2011, it is the second most populous distr ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

. Rafi, whose nickname was ''Pheeko'', began singing by imitating the chants of a

fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...

who roamed the streets of his native village Kotla Sultan Singh. Rafi's father moved to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in 1935, where he ran a men's barbershop in Noor Mohalla in

Bhati Gate Bhati Gate ( ur, , ''Bhati Darwaza'') is one of the historic thirteen gates of the Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Bhati Gate also serves as a union council located in the Ravi Zone. The gate is located near Data Darbar a ...

. Rafi learnt

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

from

Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan (1871–1949) was an Indian subcontinental singer from the Kirana gharana. He died in 1949 in Saharanpur, India.

, Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo and Firoze Nizami. His first public performance came at the age of 13, when he sang in Lahore featuring

K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

. In 1941, Rafi made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye Nee, Heeriye Nee" with Zeenat Begum in the

Punjabi film Punjabi cinema, sometimes metonymously referred to as Pollywood or Punjwood is the Punjabi-language film industry centered around the Indian state of Punjab, and based in Amritsar and Mohali. The cinema of Punjab has its beginnings with the ...

''Gul Baloch'' (released in 1944) under music director Shyam Sunder. In that same year, Rafi was invited by

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

station to sing for them. He made his

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

debut in '' Gaon Ki Gori'' in 1945.

Early career in Mumbai (then Bombay)

Rafi moved to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

(now Mumbai),

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

in 1944. He and Hameed Sahab rented a ten-by-ten-feet room in the crowded downtown Bhendi Bazar area. Poet Tanvir Naqvi introduced him to film producers including

Abdur Rashid Kardar Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan).Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

and actor-director Nazeer. Shyam Sunder was in Bombay and provided the opportunity to Rafi to sing a duet with

G. M. Durrani Ghulam Mustafa Durrani (1919 – 8 September 1988; sometimes known as G. M. Durrani) was an Indian radio drama artist, playback singer, actor and music director. He was a radio drama artist and full-time singer of Lahore station, Delhi statio ...

, "Aji dil ho kaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi...," for ''Gaon Ki Gori'', which became Rafi's first recorded song in a Hindi film. Other songs followed. Rafi's first song with

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

was "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain" with Shyam Kumar, Alauddin and others, from A. R. Kardar's ''Pehle Aap'' (1944). Around the same time, Rafi recorded another song for the 1945 film ''Gaon Ki Gori'', "Aji Dil Ho Kaaboo Mein". He considered this song to be his first Hindi language song. Rafi appeared in two movies. He appeared on the screen for the songs "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in film ''Laila Majnu''(1945) and "Woh Apni Yaad Dilane Ko" in the Film ''Jugnu'' (1947). He sang a number of songs for Naushad as part of the chorus, including "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Roohi Roohi" with

, from the film ''Shahjahan'' (1946). Rafi sang "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" from Mehboob Khan's ''Anmol Ghadi'' (1946) and a duet with

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

in the 1947 film ''Jugnu'', "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka". After partition, Rafi decided to stay back in India and had the rest of his family flown to

. Noor Jehan migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and made a pair with playback singer

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place =Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = , ...

. In 1949, Rafi was given solo songs by music directors such as Naushad (''Chandni Raat'', ''Dillagi'' and ''Dulari''), Shyam Sunder (''

Bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

'') and Husnalal Bhagatram (''Meena Bazaar''). Besides K. L. Saigal, whom he considered his favorite, Rafi was also influenced by G. M. Durrani. In the early phase of his career, he often followed Durrani's style of singing, but later evolved his own, unique style. He sang with Durrani in some of the songs such as "Humko Hanste Dekh Zamana Jalta Hai" and "Khabar Kisi Ko Nahiin, Woh Kidhar Dekhte" (''Beqasoor'', 1950). In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishan-Rafi had overnight created the song "Suno Suno Ae Duniyawalon, Bapuji Ki Amar Kahani". He was invited by the Indian Prime Minister,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, to sing at his house. In 1948, Rafi received a silver medal from Jawaharlal Nehru on Indian Independence Day.

Recording career in the 1950s and 1960s

In his early career, Rafi associated with many contemporary music directors, most notably

Naushad Ali Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

. In the late 1950s and 1960s, he worked with other composers of the era such as

O. P. Nayyar Omkar Prasad Nayyar (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industr ...

Shankar Jaikishan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer *L. Shankar, Indian violinist *S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sankar ...

S.D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

and Roshan.

Work with Naushad

As per Naushad, Rafi came to him with a letter of recommendation from Naushad's father. Rafi's first song for Naushad Ali was "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain" ("We belong to Hindustan") for the film ''Pehle Aap'' in 1944. The first song for the duo was the soundtrack of the movie ''Anmol Ghadi'' (1946). Rafi's association with Naushad helped the former establish himself as one of the most prominent playback singers in Hindi cinema. Songs from ''

Baiju Bawra Baiju Bawra (Lit. "Baiju the Insane", born as Baijnath Mishra) was a dhrupad musician from medieval India. Nearly all the information on Baiju Bawra comes from legends, and lacks historical authenticity. According to the most popular legends, he ...

'' (1952) like "O duniya ke rakhwale" and "Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj" furthered Rafi's credentials. Rafi ended up singing a total of 149 songs (81 of them solo) for Naushad. Before Rafi, Naushad's favorite singer was

Talat Mahmood Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the popular male Indian film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in actin ...

. Once Naushad found Talat smoking during a recording. He was annoyed and hired Rafi to sing all the songs of the movie ''Baiju Bawra''.

Work with S. D. Burman

S. D. Burman used Rafi as a singing voice of

Dev Anand Dharamdev Pishorimal Anand (26 September 1923 – 3 December 2011), better known as Dev Anand, was an Indian actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in Hindi cinema, through a career that spanned over six decades. He was ...

and

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...

. Rafi worked with Burman in 37 films, including ''

Pyaasa ''Pyaasa'' (; ) is a 1957 Indian Hindi drama film directed and produced by Guru Dutt, who stars alongside Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker. Set in Calcutta, it focuses on the disillusioned Urdu poet Vijay (Dutt), whose ...

'' (1957), ''

Kaagaz Ke Phool ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film off ...

'' (1959), ''

Kala Bazar ''Kala Bazar'' () is a 1960 Hindi crime film produced by Dev Anand for Navketan Films. Written and directed by Dev's younger brother Vijay Anand (Hindi film maker), Vijay Anand, the film starred Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Vijay Anand, Chetan A ...

'' (1960), ''

Nau Do Gyarah ''Nau Do Gyarah'' (; the Hindi idiom means "to run away") is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language comedy thriller film produced by Dev Anand. It also classifies as a road movie. This was his brother, Vijay Anand's directorial debut. The film stars Dev A ...

'' (1957), '' Kala Pani'' (1958), ''

Tere Ghar Ke Saamne ''Tere Ghar Ke Samne'' (English: ''In Front of Your House'') is a 1963 Hindi film. Released on 1 January 1963, it was a major hit in India, taking the sixth spot in highest grossing films of the year. The film, produced by Dev Anand and written ...

'' (1963), ''

Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Expl ...

'' (1965), '' Aradhana'' (1969),

Ishq Par Zor Nahin Ishq Par Zor Nahin is a 1970 Hindi romantic movie (based on love triangle story) produced by Suresh Saigal and directed by Ramesh Saigal. The film stars Dharmendra, Sadhana, Biswajeet, Kamini Kaushal, Leela Mishra, Abhi Bhattacharya, Jagdeep, N ...

(1970) and '' Abhimaan'' (1973).

Work with Shankar–Jaikishan

Rafi's partnership with

Shankar–Jaikishan Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...

was among the most famous and successful in the Hindi film industry. He worked with them from their first film, '' Barsaat'' (1949). Under Shankar–Jaikishan, Rafi produced some of his songs for actors like

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor f ...

and

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar Tuli (20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999) was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was popularly known as the 'Jubil ...

. Out of six Filmfare awards, Rafi won three for S-J songs – "Teri Pyaari Pyaari Surat Ko", "Bahaaron Phool Barsaao" and "Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein." The song "Yahoo! Chaahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" was sung by Rafi, matched by a fast-paced orchestra and composition by Shankar Jaikishan. S-J had Rafi give playback for Kishore Kumar in the film ''Sharaarat'' ("Ajab Hai Daastaan Teri Ye Zindagi"). Rafi sang a total of 341 numbers—216 solo—for Shankar–Jaikishan. Among the films of this combination are: ''

Awaara ''Awaara'', also written ''Awāra'', ur, , Āvārā, group=n, name=HindiUrdu and known overseas as ''The Vagabond'', is a 1951 Indian Hindi crime drama film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj ...

'', ''Boot Polish'', '' Basant Bahar'', ''

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

'', ''

Junglee Junglee may refer to: * ''Junglee'' (1961 film), an Indian film * ''Junglee'' (2009 film), a Kannada-language Indian film * ''Junglee'' (2019 film), a Hindi-language Indian film * Junglee.com, a defunct e-commerce website by Amazon.com *Junglee, a ...

'', ''

Asli-Naqli ''Asli-Naqli'' () is a 1962 Hindi film produced by L.B Lachman and L.B Thakur. The film is directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and stars Dev Anand, Sadhana, Leela Chitnis, Anwar Hussain, Sandhya Roy and Keshto Mukherjee. The film's music is by ...

'', '' Rajkumar'', '' Suraj'', '' Sangam'', '' Brahmachari'', Arzoo, ''

An Evening in Paris ''An Evening In Paris'' (Hindi: ''Paris Ki Ek Shaam'') is a 1967 Indian romantic thriller film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, with story by Sachin Bhowmick. It revolves in the French capital city of Paris. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Sha ...

'', '' Dil Tera Deewana'', '' Yakeen'', ''

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

'', ''

Love in Tokyo ''Love In Tokyo'' is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed and produced by Pramod Chakravorty. The film was a hit at the box office. Plot A young man Ashok's (Joy Mukherjee) mother makes him go to Tokyo, Japan in search of h ...

'', ''Beti Bete'', ''

Dil Ek Mandir ''Dil Ek Mandir'' () is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by C. V. Sridhar and written by Raj Baldev Raj. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar and Mehmood. The film's music is by Shankar Jaikishan. ...

'', ''

Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, produced by S. A. Bagar. It was written and directed by Kishore Sahu. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Meena Kumari and Nadira (actress), Nadira as leads. The film te ...

'', '' Gaban'' and ''

Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai ''Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai '' () is a 1961 Hindi-language musical comedy film that became a box office hit. It was written, produced, and directed by Nasir Hussain. The first film Hussain ever produced, it featured Dev Anand and Hussain fixt ...

''.

Work with Ravi

Rafi got his first

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

for the title song of ''

Chaudhvin Ka Chand ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language Muslim social film directed by Mohammed Sadiq. This film was a super-hit at box-office, and became one of the top-grossing films of 1960. A production of Guru Dutt, the film centers on a ...

'' (1960), composed by

Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...

. He received the

National Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

for the song "Baabul Ki Duaen Leti Jaa" from the film '' Neel Kamal'' (1968), also composed by Ravi. Rafi wept during the recording of this song, which he admitted in a 1977 interview with the BBC. Ravi and Rafi produced several other songs in the films ''

China Town A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

'' (1962), ''

Kaajal ''Kaajal'' () is a 1965 Bollywood film produced by Pannalal Maheshwari and directed by Ram Maheshwari. The film stars Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Dharmendra, Padmini, Mumtaz, Mehmood, Durga Khote, Helen. The film's music is by Ravi. The film is a ...

'' (1965), ''

Do Badan Do Badan (English: Two Bodies) is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla, and starring Manoj Kumar, Asha Parekh, Simi Garewal and Pran (actor), Pran. The music is by Ravi (music director), Ravi. The film became a big hit at the box office. Th ...

'' (1966) and

Ek Phool Do Maali ''Ek Phool Do Mali'' is a 1969 Indian Hindi film directed by Devendra Goel. The film is based on the book ''Do Kadam Aage'' by Sampat Lal Purohit. The film was a Blockbuster and second highest grossing movie of 1969 along with '' Aradhana'' & ' ...

(1969)

Work with Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

was another composer whose favorite singer was Rafi. Rafi's first solo with Madan Mohan in ''Aankhen'' (1950) was "Hum Ishk Mein Burbaad Hein Burbaad Ruhenge". They teamed up to produce many songs including "Teree Aankhon Ke Sivaa", "Yeh Duniyaa Yeh Mehfil", "Tum Jo Mil Guye Ho", " Kur Chale Hum Fida", "Meree Aawaaz Suno" and "Aap Ke Pehlu Mein Aakur".

Work with O. P. Nayyar

Rafi and

(OP) created music in the 1950s and 1960s. O. P. Nayyar was once quoted as saying "If there had been no Mohammed Rafi, there would have been no O. P. Nayyar". He and Rafi created many songs together including "Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan". He got Rafi to sing for singer-actor

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

– "Man Mora Baawara" for the movie ''Raagini''. Later, Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in movies such as ''Baaghi'', ''Shehzaada'' and ''Shararat''. O. P. Nayyar used Rafi and Asha Bhosle for most of his songs. The team created many songs in the early 1950s and 1960s for movies such as ''

Naya Daur ''Naya Daur'' may refer to: * ''Naya Daur'' (1957 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (1978 film) * ''Naya Daur'' (magazine), a literary magazine published by Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Prade ...

'' (1957), '' Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957),

Ek Musafir Ek Hasina ''Ek Musafir Ek Hasina'' ''(English: A Traveller and A Beauty)'' is a 1962 Bollywood film directed by Raj Khosla and starring Joy Mukherjee, Sadhana in lead roles. The film was produced by Sashadhar Mukherjee. The film's music is by O. P. Nayya ...

(1962) and ''

Kashmir Ki Kali ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' () is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her Hindi movie debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain and Anoop Kumar. The music was composed b ...

'' (1964). Rafi sang a total of 197 numbers (56 solo) for Nayyar. The songs "Jawaaniyan yeh mast mast" and the title song "Yun to humne lakh hansee dekhe hain, tumsa nahin dekha" of the film ''Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' were hits. They were followed by songs like "Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehera" from ''Kashmir ki Kali''. Rafi and OP had a falling-out during the recording for movie "Sawan ki Ghata". As disclosed by OP during one of his interviews; Rafi reported late to the recording stating that he was stuck in

's recording. OP then stated that from now on he too did not have the time for Rafi and cancelled the recording. They did not work together for the next 3 years.

Work with Laxmikant-Pyarelal

The composer duo

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

(L-P) patronized Rafi as one of their singers, right from their very first song by him from the film ''

Parasmani ''Parasmani'' ("Philosopher's stone" that converts iron into gold) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language film. The film is a musical fantasy drama shot partly in Black and White and partly in colour. It was directed by Babubhai Mistri, who is known a ...

'' (1963). Rafi and L-P won the

for the song "Chaahoonga Mein Tujhe Saanjh Suvere" from ''

Dosti Dosti may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Dosti'' (1964 film), an Indian black-and-white Hindi film. * ''Dosti'' (1971 film), a Pakistani Urdu film * '' Dosti: Friends Forever'', a 2005 Indian Hindi romantic-drama buddy film * ''Dosti'' ...

'' (1964). Rafi rendered the highest number of songs for this music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, as compared to all the music directors: 388. Once, when composer

Nisar Bazmi Nisar Bazmi (1 December 1924 – 22 March 2007) was a composer and music director of Indian and Pakistan film industry.

, who once worked with Laxmikant-Pyarelal before he had migrated to

, didn't have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one

rupee Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

and sang for him. He also helped producers financially. As Laxmikant once observed – "He always gave without thinking of the returns".

Work with Kalyanji Anandji

Kalyanji Anandji composed around 170 songs in the voice of Rafi. Kalyanji's relationship with Rafi started with the 1958 film, ''Samrat Chandragupta'', his debut film as a solo composer. Kalyani-Anandji and Rafi went on to work together for the music of the

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

-starrer ''Haseena Maan Jayegi'' (1968), which featured songs like "Bekhudi Mein Sanam" and "Chale The Saath Milke".

Work with contemporary singers

Rafi associated with several of his contemporaries, singing duets with them and sometimes for them (as in case of Kishore Kumar who was also an actor). Rafi sang the highest number of duets with

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

(female),

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...

(male) and

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

(female). In the song "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar" (''

Amar Akbar Anthony ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed and produced by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan. The film stars an ensemble cast of Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Parveen Babi, ...

''), Rafi sang one song with Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and Mukesh, the most legendary singers in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. This was probably the only time that all of them rendered their voices for one song.Mohammed Rafi: The soulful voice lives on!
Zee News. 31 July 2008.

Work with other music directors

Rafi sang frequently for all music directors during his lifetime, including

C. Ramchandra Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.Usha Khanna Usha Khanna (born 7 October 1941) is an Indian music director in Hindi cinema. She is the third female music director to enter the Hindi film industry, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi and is one of the most commercially successful music di ...

, Sonik Omi,

Chitragupta Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings and punishing or rewarding them according to their ...

, S.N. Tripathi,

N. Datta Datta Naik (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987), also credited as N. Datta, was an Indian film music director in Hindi films. Born in the then Portuguese colony of Goa, Naik, started his career as an assistant to the legendary music di ...

and

R.D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work ...

. He also sang for many small time and lesser-known music directors. Many for whom he sang for free while making their compositions immortal; he selflessly believed in financially assisting producers and helping small-time projects who could not afford much. Many in the industry received regular financial help from Rafi.

Private albums

Rafi sang several songs in Chris Perry's Konkani album Golden Hits with

Lorna Cordeiro Lorna Cordeiro, (born 9 August 1944) also known as Lorna, is a Konkani singer from the coastal state of Goa, India, and is popularly known as the "Nightingale of Goa". Early and personal life Lorna was born in Bombay on 9 August 1944 to Cec ...

. He recorded many private albums in various genres and languages. Rafi recorded Hindi songs in English on 7" release in 1968. He also sang 2 songs in

while on his visit to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

in the late 1960s.

Royalty issue

In 1962–1963, the popular female playback singer

raised the issue of playback singers' share in the

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

. Recognizing Rafi's position as the leading male playback singer, she wanted him to back her in demanding a half-share from the 5% song royalty that the film's producer conceded to select composers. Rafi refused to side with her, stating that his claim on the film producer's money ended with his being paid his agreed fee for the song. Rafi argued that the producer takes financial risk and the composer creates the song, so the singer does not have any claim over the royalty money. Lata viewed his stand as a stumbling block on the royalty issue and stated that it is because of the singer's name also that the records get sold. This difference of opinion subsequently led to differences between the two. During the recording of "Tasveer Teri Dil Mein" (''Maya'', 1961), Lata argued with Rafi over a certain passage of the song. Rafi felt belittled, as music director

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This incl ...

sided with Lata. The situation worsened when Lata declared that she would no longer sing with Rafi. Rafi stated that he was only so keen to sing with Lata as she was with him. The music director Jaikishan later negotiated a reconciliation between the two. In an interview given to

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

on 25 September 2012, Lata claimed to have received a written apology from Rafi. However, Shahid Rafi, Mohammad Rafi's son, rebuffs the claim, calling it an act to dishonour his father's reputation.

Early 1970s

In the 1970s, Rafi suffered from a throat infection for an extended period of time. During a brief period then, he recorded relatively fewer songs. Although his musical output was relatively low during this period, he did sing some of his best numbers then. In the early '70s, Rafi suffered a major setback, when

emerged as the main Bollywood playback singer, with '' Aradhana''. He could recover some of the lost ground in 1977, but the main songs of the period were by

. Some of Rafi's hit songs of the early 1970s were with music directors:

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

and

S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

. These include "Tum Mujhe Yun Bhula Naa Paoge" (a signature song of 1971), from ''

Pagla Kahin Ka ''Pagla Kahin Ka'' (''Such a Fool'') is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra, all of whom had earlier starred in the huge hit Teesri Manzil (1966). The f ...

''; "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" from ''

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

'' (1970); "Kaan Mein Jhumka" from ''

Sawan Bhadon ''Sawan Bhadon'' is a 1970 Bollywood film produced and directed by Mohan Segal. The film was the debut film for its lead pair Navin Nischol and Rekha. The other cast of note in the film are Jayshree T., Iftekhar and Ranjeet. The music is by Son ...

''; "Jhilmil Sitaron Ka" from ''

Jeevan Mrityu ''Jeevan Mrityu'' () is a 1970 Hindi-language crime thriller film produced by Tarachand Barjatya for Rajshri Productions. The film starred Dharmendra, Raakhee, Ajit, Rajindernath and Leela Chitnis. The film was a remake of a 1967 Bengali film ' ...

'' (1970); "Gulabi Aankhen" from '' The Train'' (1970); "Yun Hi Tum Mujhse Baat" from ''

Sachaa Jhutha ''Sachaa Jhutha'' (English: "Honest and Liar") is a 1970 Indian Hindi action comedy film directed by Manmohan Desai and produced by Vinod Doshi. The film written by Desai's wife Jeevanprabha, was edited by Kamlakar Kamkhanis. The film starring ...

''; "Yeh Jo Chilmun Hei" and "Itna To Yaad Hei Mujhe" from ''

Mehboob Ki Mehndi ''Mehboob Ki Mehndi'' is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film produced and directed by H. S. Rawail. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Leena Chandavarkar. The music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. It was bas ...

'' (1971); "Mera Man Tera Pyaasa" '' from ''

Gambler Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three eleme ...

''; "Chadhti Jawani" and "Kitna Pyara Vada" from ''

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

'' (1971); "Chalo Dildaar Chalo" from ''

Pakeezah ''Pakeezah'' (; ) is a 1972 Indian Hindustani-language musical romantic drama film that was written, directed, and produced by Kamal Amrohi. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, and Raaj Kumar. It tells the story of Sahibjaan, a Lucknow ...

'' (1972); "Chura Liya Hai Tumne" from ''

Yaadon Ki Baaraat ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' () is a 1973 Indian Hindi-language masala film, directed by Nasir Hussain and written by Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It featured an ensemble cast, starring Dharmendra, Vijay Arora, Tariq, Zeenat Aman, Nee ...

'' (1973); "Na Tu Zumeen Ke Liye" from

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

's movie '' Dastaan'' (1972); "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho" from ''

Hanste Zakhm ''Hanste Zakhm'' ( Laughing Wounds) is a 1973 Indian Hindi film produced and directed by Chetan Anand (director), Chetan Anand. The film stars Navin Nischol, Priya Rajvansh, Balraj Sahni, Jeevan (actor), Jeevan in pivotal roles. The film has musi ...

'' (1973); "Tere Bindiya Re", from '' Abhimaan'' (1973) and "Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai" from ''

Loafer Slip-ons are typically low, lace-less shoes. The style which is most commonly seen, known as a loafer or slippers in American culture, has a moccasin construction. One of the first designs was introduced in London by Wildsmith Shoes, called the W ...

'' (1973).

Later years

Rafi made a comeback as a leading singer in mid 1970s. In 1974 he won the Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teri Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Kadam Aaj Ke Baad" ( Hawas, 1974) composed by

Usha Khanna Usha Khanna (born 7 October 1941) is an Indian music director in Hindi cinema. She is the third female music director to enter the Hindi film industry, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi and is one of the most commercially successful music di ...

. In 1976, Rafi sang all the songs for

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry base ...

in the hit film ''

Laila Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla ...

''. Rafi went on to sing many more songs for Rishi Kapoor in the subsequent hit films, including ''

Hum Kisise Kum Naheen ''Hum Kisise Kum Naheen'' () is a 1977 Indian musical drama film produced and directed by Nasir Hussain. It took the third top spot at the box office in 1977. The film stars Rishi Kapoor, Tariq Khan, Kaajal Kiran, Amjad Khan and Zeenat Aman ...

'' (1977) and ''

'' (1977). In 1977, he won both Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song "Kya Hua Tera Wada" from the movie ''

'', composed by

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

. He was nominated as the best singer at the Filmfare Awards for the

" Parda Hai Parda" from ''

'' (1977). Rafi sang for many successful films in the late 1970s and the early 1980s many of whose hit songs were dominating the charts in the late 70s on radio programs such as ''Vividh Bharati, Binaca Geetmala and Radio Ceylon.'' Some of these include '' Pratiggya'' (1975), ''

Bairaag ''Bairaag'' () is a 1976 Hindi-language film. Produced by the duo Mushir-Riaz, it is directed by Asit Sen. The film stars Dilip Kumar, who received a Filmfare nomination for Best Actor for playing a triple role. ''Bairaag'' also stars Saira Ba ...

'' (1976), ''

Amaanat ''Amaanat'' is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Shatrujiit Paul. It stars Manoj Kumar, Sadhana, Balraj Sahni, Mehmood, Rehman, Shashikala, Aruna Irani in pivotal roles. The film took 8 years in making. Story Suresh is a painte ...

'' (1977), '' Dharam Veer'' (1977), ''

Apnapan ''Apnapan'' ( ''Kinship'') is a 1977 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced and directed by J. Om Prakash under the FILMYUG Pvt. Ltd. banner. It stars Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, Reena Roy and Sulakshana Pandit, and has music composed by Laxm ...

'' (1977), ''

Ganga Ki Saugand Ganga Ki Saugandh is a 1978 Hindi-language action drama film produced and directed by Sultan Ahmed. It was released on February 10, 1978. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Amjad Khan, Pran, I. S. Johar, Bindu, and Anju Mahendru. The ti ...

'' (1978), '' Suhaag'' (1979), '' Sargam'' (1979), '' Qurbani'' (1980), '' Dostana'' (1980), '' Karz'' (1980), ''

The Burning Train ''The Burning Train'' is a 1980 Indian action thriller disaster film, produced by B. R. Chopra under the B. R. Films banner and directed by Ravi Chopra. The film featured a huge all-star cast, featuring Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna, Pa ...

'' (1980), ''

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

'' (1980), '' Shaan'' (1980), '' Aasha'' (1980), ''

Aap To Aise Na The ''Aap To Aise Na The'' (meaning-you were not like this) is a 1980 Hindi movie directed by Ambrish Sangal, starring Raj Babbar, Deepak Parashar, Ranjeeta Kaur, Madan Puri and Om Shivpuri. The movie is still remembered for its song "Tu Is Tarah S ...

'' (1980), '' Naseeb'' (1981) and ''

Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai ''Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai'' (translation: ''Show The World'') is a 1981 Cinema of India, Indian Bollywood, Hindi romantic film, romantic thriller film produced and directed by Nasir Hussain. It stars Rishi Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure, Yogeeta Bali ...

'' (1981). In 1978, Rafi gave a performance at the Royal Albert Hall and in 1980 he performed at the Wembley conference centre. From 1970 until his death he toured around the world extensively giving concert performances to packed halls. In December 1979, Rafi recorded six songs for the Hindi remake of Dilip Sen's Bengali superhit ''Sorry Madam''; the film was never completed due to a personal tragedy in Dilip Sen's life. These songs, written by Kafeel Aazar and composed by Chitragupta, were released digitally in December 2009 by the label Silk Road under the title "The Last Songs". The physical album was released only in India by Universal.

Guinness World Records controversy

During his last years, Rafi was involved in a controversy over Lata Mangeshkar's entry in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. In a letter dated 11 June 1977 to the Guinness Book of World Records, Rafi had challenged the claim that Lata Mangeshkar has recorded the highest number of songs ("not less than 25,000" according to Guinness). Rafi, according to his fans, would have sung more songs than Lata – he being the senior of the two. They estimated the number of songs sung by Rafi to be anything from 25,000 to 26,000. This prompted Rafi to write a letter, in protest, to Guinness. After receiving a reply from Guinness, in a letter dated 20 November 1979, he wrote, "I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment vis-a-vis Ms Mangeshkar's reported world record has gone unheeded." In an interview to BBC recorded in November 1977, Rafi claimed to have sung 25,000 to 26,000 songs till then. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records gave Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings" and stated, "Mohammad Rafi (d 1 August 1980) claimed to have recorded 28,000 songs in 11 Indian languages between 1944 and April 1980." The Guinness Book entries for both Rafi and Lata were eventually deleted in 1991. In 2011, Lata's sister

was given the title. ''Mohammed Rafi – Golden Voice of the Silver Screen'', a 2015 book by Shahid Rafi and Sujata Dev, states that according to "industry sources", Rafi sang 4,425 Hindi film songs, 310 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 non-film songs between 1945 and 1980. A 2015 ''

Manorama Online ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...

'' article states that "researchers" have found 7,405 songs sung by Rafi. Among the prominent leading actors of his time, Rafi sung 190 songs for

, 155 for Johnny Walker, 129 for

, 100 for

and 77 for

Death

Mohammed Rafi died at 10:25 pm on July 31, 1980, following a massive heart attack, aged 55. The last song sung by Rafi was for the movie ''Aas Paas'', with music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. One source says it was "Shaam Phir Kyun Udaas Hai Dost/Tu Kahin Aas Paas Hai Dost", recorded just hours before his death. Another source says that it was "Shehar mein charcha hai" from the same film. Rafi was buried at the

Juhu Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...

Muslim cemetery and his burial was one of the largest funeral processions in India as over 10,000 people attended his burial. The government of India announced a two-day public mourning in his honour. In 2010, Rafi's tomb along with many film industry artists such as

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

, was demolished to make space for new burials. Fans of Mohammed Rafi, who visit his tomb twice a year to mark his birth and death anniversaries, use the coconut tree that is nearest his grave as a marker.

Legacy

Rafi's style of singing influenced singers like

Mahendra Kapoor Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as ''Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono'' ( Gumrah) and ''Neele Gaga ...

Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz (born as Sayeed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna (Name Given By Legendary Music Composer Akshaya Mohanty, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood ...

Shabbir Kumar Shabbir Kumar (born 26 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer, notable for his work in Hindi cinema. Known for his sweet, resonating vocal texture,Shabbir Kumar is an ardent fan of Mhd Rafi .He had Sung for Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun Cha ...

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: *Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 1984 ...

, and

Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Govern ...

. Anwar also imitated Rafi's voice. On September 22, 2007, a shrine to Rafi designed by artist Tasawar Bashir was unveiled on Fazeley Street,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, UK. Bashir is hoping that Rafi will attain sainthood as a result. The Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk in the

Bandra Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...

suburbs of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and Pune (extending MG Road) is named after Rafi. In the summer of 2008, the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

released a double CD titled ''Rafi Resurrected,'' comprising 16 songs by Rafi. Bollywood playback singer

provided the vocals for this project and toured with the CBSO in July 2008 at venues including the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

in London, Manchester's

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

, and Symphony Hall, Birmingham. There have been appeals to the

to honour the singer, posthumously, with the

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...

(India's Highest Civilian Award). In June 2010, Rafi, along with Mangeshkar, was voted the most popular playback singer in the poll, conducted by ''

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

'' magazine. The same poll voted "Man re, tu kahe na dheer dhare" (''Chitralekha'', 1964), sung by Rafi, as the No. 1 song. Three songs were tied for the No. 2 spot; two were sung by Rafi. The songs were "Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain" (''Guide'', 1965) and "Din dhal jaye, hai raat na jaye" (''Guide'', 1965). The jury included people in the Indian music industry. In 2015, the UK-based newspaper ''

Eastern Eye The ''Eastern Eye'' is a British weekly newspaper. It was created in 1989 and was first published by ''The Guardian'', before becoming a standalone newspaper. History Sarwar Ahmed Sarwar Ahmed ( bn, সরয়ার আহমেদ; bor ...

'' placed Rafi third in their "Greatest 20 Bollywood Playback Singers" list. An official biography was written on Rafi's life by Sujata Dev titled ''Mohammed Rafi – Golden Voice of the Silver Screen'' launched on his 91st birthday. As well as an award winning documentary titled ''Dastaan-E-Rafi'' directed by Rajni Acharya and Vinay Patel (which took 5 years to make) was released to commemorate his 92nd birthday which was later released on DVD. It featured over 60 interviews of various Bollywood personas and closely recalled his story through his songs and the personal recounts. Many biographies and documentaries continue to be written and made on him.

, his contemporary, has said that "Rafi bhaiya was not only India's greatest playback singer but also a wonderful person" and that "he was one singer whose vocal range could outclass any other singer, whether it was me, Asha, Mannada or Kishore bhaiya". When producer-director Manmohan Desai (who was a big fan of Rafi) and used him in numerous hit films, was asked to describe the voice of Rafi he remarked that "If anyone has the voice of god, it is Mohammed Rafi". Annually his birth and death anniversaries inspire several thousand musical tributes on stage, radio and television. Rafi's popularity today spans across the Indian sub-continent, having a reach to Indian communities in Singapore and Malaysia. Today, Rafi's popular songs continue to be remixed or recreated. Rafi's ''Baharon Phool Barsao'' was voted the most popular Hindi song in a BBC Asia Network poll commemorating 100 years of Hindi Cinema. In a CNN-IBN survey in 2013, he was voted the greatest voice of Hindi Cinema. In 2001, Rafi was named as the "best singer of the millennium" by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine.

In popular culture

Mohammed Rafi Academy Mohammed Rafi Academy is a music school in Mumbai for Indian classical music, Indian classical and contemporary music. It was launched by Shahid Rafi on 31 July 2010, the 30th death anniversary of his father and the legendary Hindi film singer, ...

was launched in Mumbai on 31 July 2010 on the 30th anniversary of the singer's death, started by his son Shahid Rafi to impart training in Indian classical and contemporary music. * After his death, numerous Hindi movies were dedicated to Rafi, including: ''Allah Rakha'', ''Mard'', ''Coolie'', ''Desh-Premee'', ''Naseeb'', ''Aas-Paas'' and ''Heeralal-Pannalal''. * A song in the 1990 Hindi film ''Kroadh'' "''Na Fankar Tujhsa"'' picturised on actor Amitabh Bachchan and sung by singer Mohammed Aziz was also dedicated to the memory of Rafi. * Rafi is one of the recording artists mentioned in the 1997 hit British

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

song "

Brimful of Asha "Brimful of Asha" is a song by British alternative rock band Cornershop (band), Cornershop from their third album, ''When I Was Born for the 7th Time'' (1997). The recording originally reached number 60 on the UK Singles Chart in 1997. After a re ...

" by

Cornershop Cornershop are a British indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singe ...

. * Rafi's song from the film ''

Gumnaam ''Gumnaam'' (translation: ''Unknown'' or ''Anonymous'') is a 1965 Indian Bollywood thriller film directed by Raja Nawathe, starring Manoj Kumar, Nanda, Pran, Helen and Mehmood. The film is a loosely-inspired adaptation of the 1939 mystery nov ...

'' (1965), "

Jaan Pehechan Ho "Jaan Pehechan Ho" ("Let's Know Each Other") is an Indian rock, Indian rock & roll Music of Bollywood, Bollywood song, sung by Mohammed Rafi, composed by duo Shankar Jaikishan, and with Hindi-Urdu lyrics by Shailendra (lyricist), Shailendra. It ...

", was used on the soundtrack of '' Ghost World'' (2001). The film opens with the lead character dancing around in her bedroom to a video of ''Gumnaam''. The song has also been used for

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 Febr ...

's 2011 "The Date" commercial. * Rafi was commemorated on his 93rd birth anniversary by Search Engine Google which showed a special doodle on its Indian home page for him on 24 December 2017. * His "Aaj Mausam Bada Beiman Hai" is featured in the 2001 film ''

Monsoon Wedding ''Monsoon Wedding'' is a 2001 Indian comedy-drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Sabrina Dhawan. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah and Vasundhara Das. The story depicts romantic entanglements during a tradi ...

''. His "Kya Mil Gaya" ('' Sasural'', 1961) has been used in '' The Guru'' (2002), where Ramu and Sharonna sing a version of the song. His song "Mera Man Tera Pyasa" (''

'', 1970) has been used as one of the soundtracks in the Jim Carrey-Kate Winslet starrer ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. P ...

'' (2004). This song is played in the background in Kate Winslet's character's home while the lead pair are having a drink (at approximately 00.11.14 runtime).

Personal life

Rafi married twice; his first marriage was to his cousin, Bashira Bibi, which took place in his ancestral village. The marriage ended when his first wife refused to live in

following the killing of her parents during the riots of the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

and moved to

. His second marriage was to Bilquis Bano. Rafi had four sons and three daughters; his first son, Saeed, was from his first marriage. Rafi's hobbies included playing

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

carrom Carrom is a tabletop game of Indian origin in which players flick discs, attempting to knock them to the corners of the board. The game is very popular in the Indian subcontinent, and is known by various names in different languages. In Sou ...

, and flying

kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

. He was a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

and abstained from smoking and he stayed away from parties in the industry. According to ''Mohammed Rafi Voice of a Nation'', a book authorised by Rafi's son Shahid, described him as "a gentle, calm and demeanour persona who remained humble, selfless, ego-less, devoted, God-fearing, and family-loving gentleman in his life." Rafi was noted for not sending anyone he met back empty-handed. He contributed to the society by helping people through his charity and notable deeds.

Awards and recognition

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rafi, Mohammed 1924 births 1980 deaths Bollywood playback singers Indian Sunni Muslims People from Amritsar district Indian male playback singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Punjabi people Singers from Mumbai Konkani-language singers Marathi-language singers 20th-century Indian singers Indian performers of Islamic music Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners Filmfare Awards winners 20th-century Indian male singers