A Letter to Raju Bharatan: On Rock ’n Roll
from P. Haldar
Mohd Rafi and Jaikishan
Mr. Bharatan,
I read your recent article “Pancham Revisited” in Hindustan Times (January 4, 2008). The article starts with the following statements about Pancham:
“He scored for 331 films in 32 years. How does his Kishore Kumar song-tally compare with Asha Bhosle’s? Where Kishore sang 558 songs for him (227 solo, 245 duets), Asha rendered 840 of his compositions (406 solo, 338 duets).”
Considering that Kishore and Asha sang hundreds of songs under Pancham’s baton and the fact that they were his favourite singers, I was expecting you to continue in that vein, probably offering insights into the qualitative differences between the two, and the chemistry that they shared with him. Unfortunately, however – but somewhat along expected lines – you bring in Rafi to the discussion, which was totally unnecessary. Reproduced below are some excerpts from your article:
"But I’d rehearsed Rafi so often for Dada that I could go along with him so far, no further. It was so tough to get Rafi to amend something you’d already taught him!
"Take my breakthrough Asha-Rafi Teesri Manzil duet – Aa jaa aa jaa.
“Rafi wasn’t able to grasp the nuances of Aa jaa aa jaa at all! How Rafi struggled as Asha so exemplarily stretched the crucial Aaha-ha aa jaa aaha-ha aa jaa notes. Give me Kishore any time – he would’ve latched on to it in a trice.
"Only I know how I got Rafi to do Tum ne mujhe dekhaa!
"With OP, remember, Rafi was on his home Punjabi ground. I don’t agree I was more patient with Kishore, not so patient with Rafi. No matter how patient I was with Rafi, he slipped into the same vocal error - time and again.”
Mr. Bharatan, why do you write such garbage? Do you have the interview on tape? If not, people might ignore what you write, thinking that you have become senile or hallucinatory. Or worse still, readers might think that you have problems telling the truth, that you adorn your articles with your jaundiced viewpoints to make a quick buck. Most Rafians actually feel that way, but what I was surprised to find is that several RDent fanatics feel the same way too.
Since you mentioned Pancham’s experiences with Rafi in Aa jaa aa jaa, let me state a few facts. I have heard Rafi sing this trendsetting duet live on stage several times. And every time he sang, he would leave us breathless. He could sing such songs in his sleep.
Mohd rafi with R. D. Burman and Asha Bhosle
After Rafi passed away, Amin Sayani had interviewed Pancham and several other composers. This is what I recall what Pancham had said. He had approached Rafi a little apprehensively for singing the Yamma yamma duet for Shaan along with him: “Rafi saab, aap hamare saath gaayenge?” Pancham was a little hesitant because he knew that Rafi would have to adapt to his scale, but Rafi immediately acquiesced. Pancham then went on to say something along the following lines: “Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle – har singer ka ek range hota hai – lekin Rafi saab ka range kamaal tha”. Do you notice any mark of disrespect towards the legendary singer? Yes, Kishore was his favourite singer, but Pancham still recorded over 100 songs with Rafi. If Rafi had not passed away prematurely, the chances are that the number would have crossed 200.
If you are suffering from senility, let me request you listen to Yamma yamma yamma. No, I am not talking about the yummy duet from Shaan, which Rafi delivered so well with Pancham. The song I am talking about is from the period when Shakti Samanta used to travel to several exotic destinations on the wings of Rafi’s voice, much before Dada blessed him with Safal hogi teri aradhana. This one happens to be set in Chinatown, with Asha on Helen and Rafi on Shammi. Listen to Shammi carefully, because you may not be able to recognise His Master’s Voice:
Yamma Yamma Yamma Tu Parwana Main Shamma
It is a well-known fact that Pancham shot into the big league on the back of Rafi’s vocals in Teesri Manzil, his prior exploits with Lata in different raags notwithstanding. Aa jaa aa jaa main hoon pyar tera was not set in any raag, though some may claim that it was composed in raag pancham. Tell me one thing, Mr. Bharatan: Which other male singer could have delivered this song so effectively, with such punch? This song belongs to the rock ’n roll genre, set on a fast pace. The only other male singer who could have done some justice to such songs was Pancham himself; that is what he did later in songs like Duniyan mein logon ko. And that is why when he had to share Yamma yamma with another male singer, he had to opt for Rafi.
What Asha has said in public – not that I fully trust her – about the Aa jaa aa jaa episode does not tally with what you have written. She said that Pancham was worried that she would not be able to match the “male singer” in the song. So she started practising the Aaha-ha aa jaa aaha-ha aa jaa notes in her car, much to the consternation of her chauffeur who thought that she was having some major physical problems!
Rock ’n roll did not start in India with Teesri Manzil. The year Pancham ghost composed Sar jo tera chakraye for Pyaasa, Dada’s other assistant N. Dutta composed Lal lal gaal jaan pe hai lagu for Rafi, one of the pioneering rock ’n roll numbers from Mr. X. And listen to Rafi’s Jaan pehchaan ho from Gumnaam, a Shankar-Jaikishan composition which was recently featured in the American film Ghost World:
Jaan Pehechan Ho
Incidentally, Gumnaam was released a year before Teesri Manzil. See how Western audiences – who know much more about rock ’n roll than you and your fellow scribes put together – love this song. See how Rafi can enthrall people so far from his Punjabi home ground. That was Rafi doing an Elvis. Do you want to see Rafi doing a Beatles? Here is Dekho ab to kisko nahin hai khabar from Janwar, which was also released a year before Teesri Manzil:
Dekho Ab To Kisko
Don’t you think Rafi’s voice rocks in this song? If Pancham had to work so hard to make Rafi amend what he had been taught – by Pancham of all people – I wonder how Shankar and Jaikishan must have felt making Rafi unlearn what he had been taught by the likes of Naushad, Roshan and Madan Mohan! All those compositions in Malkhaus, Piloo, Kafi, Yaman Kalyan, Kalavati and Darbari Kanada where Rafi must have had “slipped into the same vocal error time and again”! The truth is that composers like Shankar-Jaikishan, O. P. Nayyar, Ravi, N. Dutta and Usha Khanna had been using Rafi for rock ’n roll numbers since the 50s and no singer understood the medium better than the King himself; here are some of his songs in black & white:
Dil Deke Dekho
Baar Baar Dekho
O Meri Baby Doll
Jai took note of chhote nawab’s Aa jaa aa jaa and O haseena zulfowali impact on the masses. And the following year, he responded brilliantly with Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche, where Rafi makes Shammi rock:
Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche
Don’t you just love the orchestration? By the way, that was Manohari Singh on the sax.
You mentioned Tum ne mujhe dekha in your article, too. In another article, I’ll showcase Jai’s response to this beautiful number (hint: it’s in shivranjani, but on a faster tempo.) Till then, enjoy another rock and roll number, this time on a Bengali star:
Chhoti Si Mulaqaat Pyaar Ban Gayi
Yours truly,
P. Haldar,
a diehard Rafian.
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Dear Haldar,
A very good article to put Mr.Bharatan in his place. I really wonder what his agenda is.Dont forget that when Pancham got his break,the film was Chote Nawab,a Mehmood production.Pancham did such a good job in this film to earn instant recognition of the likes of Nasir Hussan,the maker of Teesri Manzil.Incidently,who sang the songs in Chote Nawab? Rafisaab of course and there were some excellent rock n roll numbers in this film too.
ARSHAD HUSSAIN
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
dear haldarji,
a great post indeed. further to all the songs you have mentioned, i would like to add ‘main hun mr. jhony” from the film mai-baap (md - o. p. nayyar). i cannot classify whether its rock n roll, an elvis or bittles but i enjoy it to listen again and again. another three fast numbers i always love to listen are “tum ko ham se pyar aaya’ from the film ‘jab jabj phool khile’, “gore hathon par na zulam karo” from ‘pyaar kiye jaa’ and “Ayayaya suku suku” from ‘Junglee’. I wonder who else except Rafisaab could sing such songs with full justification as he did to all of them.
regards
ashok parekh
January 22nd, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Dear Mr. Haldar, congrates! This is one of the best article I have come across.
It is a slap on Raju Bharatan’s ugly face. His brain has been washed out. If I ever happen to meet this chap in person then…! Very very nice examples of the songs mentioned in the article. All solid proofs. Rafi Saheb is superb in the field of singers, no one is even close to the legend. Long live Rafi Saheb.
melodiousrafi@yahoo.com
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:02 am
P Haldar you are the man! I LOVE the choice for the photo - so funny! The Rafi-Jaikishan combination is the best of the best!
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 am
what a good lesson to Mr Bharatan from Mr Haldar that true that mohd rafi saab use to sing “Aajaa aa jaa”live every show in uk
if Bharatan listen to mohd rafis every song he him self will come to know what rafi saab was.
January 23rd, 2008 at 6:32 am
Excellent response P. Haldar, very well written, this should shut up Raju Bharatan, who doesn’t know what he is talking about.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 am
Mr. Bharatan, Why are you against an Angel like Rafi, who has admirers all over the World. Unnecessarily, you are trying to find fault with Rafiji’s singing, whose talent the whole World, especially the great Music Directors have recognised. You are trying to defame a dead man (Rafi) in the words of another dead man (RDB). Only Asha can come forward and expose you. Do you really think any other Singer could have done justice to the two songs in Teesri Manzil - Aaja Aaja and Tumne Muzhe. Come on RB, there are people like me who admire you for your knowledge of Music and Cricket and enjoy reading your articles. But if you continue such trash just to add sensationalism to your articles, you will lose whatever reputation you have earned.
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:41 am
iam posting video of junglee song ayya ayya sukoo shammida is speaking about rafisaab in this video please watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzV6JstUxMY
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am
raju bharatan is a “liar” who is after the “circulation” of his
name and that of the newspaper he writes for…. just like our
raakhi saawant of the celluloid world.
to make amends he has now come out with an article saying
rafi and lata are the greatest singers of the land….
i am sure that asha bhonsle will now “boycott” him.
any way he has retired long back and has made more enemies
than friends in his colourful career.
he can now write a book on “how to make ‘enemies’ and ‘alienate’
friends and he will do a better job herein….
binu nair……
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Haldar Saab,
What a slap on the face to that incoherent, out-of-senses, biased, corrupt, mentally disabled and old-enough-to-gracefully-retire ’senior journalist’ called Raju Bharatan!
A few praises that he received in olden days, when he used to talk some sense, have gone to his ugly head!
I do not know which photo KF found funny, but I do indeed find that photo featuring RDB extremely funny! Look at RDB’s face in that photo! Doesn’t it look like the face of a drunken, drugged, insane, unpredictable, inconsistent man who, if alive now, could suddenly proclaim that any upstart of today is better than both Rafi & Kishore!
Venkat
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
Dear Mr. Haldar,
1.-Thank you so much for a fantastic reply to Mr Raju Bhartan’s views.
2.-I congratulate you for putting the facts before Mr Bhartan as one can not really believe that, Rafi Sahab had a difficulty in singing a song like AAJA AAJA,,,from Teesri Manzil.
3.- In fact, it was because of RAFI SAHAB only that, the song had attained great heights.
Regards;
SHRIRANG NAWATHE
00968 92 89 90 89
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 am
dearest rafi lovers: please lose ur sleep over “this”.
a powerful lobby is at work to undermine rafi saab.. and i feel
raju bharatan is paid for this by the lobby. (some friends have
suggested this)
this person is used to his “free drinks” and eats at many composers
houses. this is on record and a fact.
now , is he getting “cash” too?.. it’s a real shame if this is true.
rafi saab’s works and his humane nature is “much bigger” than
the games of these “lobby-ists”.
rafi lovers : there is a choice. counter their nefarious games..
binu nair. the rafi foundation… mumbai..
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
good work mr halder. i must say i am impressed with your sound logic. to buttress what you said, i will recall one of the jaimala programme on vividh bharti decades back. they had got pancham as the guest that day. speaking about rafi, he made it clear that rafi was the one and only singer who could polish an uncut diamond (he meant a song) to make it dazzling. i can quote his words: “us waqt mai chandan ka palna compose kar raha tha. mai rafisaab ko (tumhe dekha hai maine gulsita mein) gaane ke liye bulaya. aur jab gaana record hokar suna to believe nahi kar sakta tha.” and the admiration and appreciation in his voice sounded very genuine. that song, according to me, remains one of the finest pancham composed for the great man. the kind of commitment band involvement rafi put into the song (like he always did) was out of this world. i do not have the tape of that programme, but for proof, it can be verified from the vividh bharti archives.
my request to you is to not to take mr bharatn seriously. he was once upon a time a diehard rafi fan. now age has caught up with him and he has become, as you say, senile and hallucinatory. besides, people like bharatan have to make their bread and butter by thriving on needless controversies.
in marathi there is a saying, which loosely translated means, “a cow does not die because of a crow’s curse.”
i suppose that makes it clear. in any case, no mortal on this earth has the power to erase rafisaab’s histrionics. people may come and go, but rafisaab will continue to shine and be irreplaceable from the sky, much like the legendary charachter of druva.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Dear Rafi fans,
Can somebody send the song Yamma Yamma Yamma Tu Parwana Main Shamma for me please? My emailadress is: ailahibaks@gmail.com
January 23rd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Mr. Haldar Sahab,
What a rejoinder? Simply stupendous. Every letter has come straight out your “Rafi Sahab filled admiration” heart. Thank you sir
Ref: Post 13
Mr. Raju Korti,
Thanks for being back in action!
Shirish Kulkarni
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Regarding Mr.Mr. Bharatan view on Tumne Mujhe dekha, lokk what todays generation music director Anu malik had to say about the song
“His range varied from the catchy “Aaja aaja, main hun pya tera” from “Teesri Manzil,” to the soulful thumri “Hame tumse pyar kitna, ye hum nahin jaante” by Parveen Sultana in “Kudrat.” The mischievous “Ek chaturnari, badi hoshiyar” from “Padosan” to the melodious “Tere bina zindagise koi, shikwa to nahin” from “Aandhi.”
“But my all-time favourite R.D. Burman song is ‘Tumne mujhe dekha, ho kar meherbaan’ from ‘Teesri Manzil’. I am romantically, musically and creatively attached to the tune even today. This is also my favourite Mohd. Rafi song.”
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Dear Haldar sir,
Very good reply to a rubbish article which has arisen out of sheer unacceptance to the fact that rafi saab is the best singer in hindi film industry.
Certain people cannot digest this and therefor write such garbage.
We should just shrugg it off as an immature writing of a person without any knowledge of music.
But at the same time very good reply
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
haldar sahab,,
gr8 response…
“eeth ka jawab patthar se diya”
i hope dis letter wud help to cure rb’s sickness………..
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 pm
HATS OFF.. HALDAR SIR, WONDERFUL PIECE. HOW CAN WE GET THIS ONE ACROSS TO RB?
January 24th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Bharatan must be musically deaf, dumb and blind to say something like this about Rafi sahab. Rafi sahab was a legend before he sang for Pancham Da. And Pancham Da and SD sahab had great respect for this great singer. Rafi sahab jaise singers sadyon mein paida hote hain !!!
January 24th, 2008 at 1:28 am
P Haldar sahab, you have written a wonderful article. Thank you so much for doing such a great job! The songs you provided are to die for.
January 24th, 2008 at 2:33 am
Raju Bharatan should appologise………
January 24th, 2008 at 7:38 am
raju bharatan ? who ? no point in talking about him as this will put him in all glee that his name appears more number of times that he had ever imagined. forget his writings and delete it as we would delete the trash emails that we all receive. mr haldar you have done a stupendous work by exposing these so-called ‘journalists’ who have lived all their lives by indulging only in sensationalising topics to gain the cheapest publicity. most of the indian media is prone to this malady and bharatan is only following the established principles of journalism in india. and he will succeed in his attemps if we waste our time on him. mr raju bharatan should begin his life all over again to first understand music and he is a novice in the great indian ocean of music. he must spend the rest of his life listening to th sweatness of indian film music of all legends and then also i doubt if he will learn the difference between the winners and ‘also rans’. asmurty2@rediffmail.com
January 24th, 2008 at 8:49 am
ref post 13:
mr. korti, in the same interview that I have mentioned in my article, pancham said something similar to what you’ve mentioned. I can’t remember whether he was referring to the chandan ka palna solo or the chhote nawab solo, but this is what he said after rehearsing the tune: “Rafi saab, yeh dhun to main ne nahin banayi”. Which shows how well rafi saab could interpret a tune and maximise its impact.
January 24th, 2008 at 9:08 am
i am meeting a lover of r.d.b and a chela {diehard) fan of
rafi saab and shankar-jaikishn. he is an authority on inidian
cinema and music…
i will check again and report the findings herein…
rafi saab ka jaadu centuries tak rahega ; par yeh raju b. ko
kaun yaad karega; he is losing his respect too now at this old age
and i suggest he take “sanyas” or retrire to the himalayas…..
binu nair…. the rafi foundation…
January 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am
yes. rafi sahib had a problem. and his problem was that if after teaching him a song , after a few rehearsal in full, and just before recording, or after a take, why does the music director want to change the tune ? does not the md know what he wants in the first place? or ,in the middle of a take, stop, and change the tune? that is what used to upset the great man! this was done most frequently by salil chowdhry, and occassionally by pancham da.
there is no doubt that pancham da was more comfortable with kishore da - after all, they had many things in common. but t he fact remains that whenever pancham da composed for rafi saab, it was wonderful melody, something which surpassed his work with kishore da.
look at ” caravan”,” mela” , his duet in an obscure rajesh khanna movie’ humshaka” a lata rafi sahib gem , kaahe ko bulaya mujhe baalma pyaar mein naam se, hum kisse se kam nahin, zamane ko duikhana hai,and that all time grat from baharon ke sapne- zamaane ne mare jawaan kaise kaise, etc.and of course, teesri manzil , chandan ka palna , abhilasha, pyar ka mausam.
after 1975, pancham da nearly fully reverted to rafi sahib too, like the rest of the industry.
pancham da may have used kishore da more, but his respect for rafi sahib was always there, no question of that.
naushad sahib was informed of this canard being spread by vested interests, and decided to record a song with rafi sahib. midway, he deliberately decided to change the tune.
he handled it more graciuosly, keeping in mind rafi sahibs stature and sensibilities, and took rafi sahib aside explained the thought process for the change, and rehearsed the song afreesh and rerecorded.
rafi sahib was very enthusiastic about this, and gave it his all.
that was the way to handle this samraat.
and what a song it was” NAAIYA MERI CHALTI JAAYE SAHARE TERE, CHALTI JAAYE FROM THE FILM MY FRIEND”.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Dear Haldar da,
u have warmed the cockles of the hearts of all Rafi saab lovers by giving a fitting reply to the sometimes behaving like mad maniac raju bharatan.
Raju bharatan himself has made several amends and the latest he is quoting that ‘ in my 60 years of musical esteem I rate lata n Rafi as the only 2 greatest playback performers in the bollywood.
Also whenever tribute is paid to salilda who is mukesh/talat/manna fan raju asks him about rafi saab. In the same vein anil da who is a talat fan the same raju asks him about rafi saab and the last is with RDB. Tmw he may ask bappi lahiri.
Why raju did not ask SJ,MM,OPN, about KK?.
So we are dealing with a mad maniac sometimes and we should strongly write to his employer HT with all might.
And last but not the least Raju claims that he is a big Rafi saab fan without realising the damage he is doing in the minds of rdb fanatics and gen next
January 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
With all due respect to Shri Raju Bharatan for his phenomenal knowledge and erudition, I think he has unnecessarily stirred up a hornet’s nest. Neither Rafi Sahab nor R. D. Burman is alive to confirm what Shri Bharatan has written. However, it is difficult, if not impossible, to believe that a singer who had mastered the intricacies of classical ragas would find it hard to grasp a tune as simple as “Aa aaja…”.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
dear mr. haldar,
its me again with the observation that if rd really thought that kishoreda was good in fast rock ‘n roll numbers,why did he take manna day to sing aao twist karen in bhoot bangla,another black n white mehmood production?.after all kishoreda was singing some songs already in this film and to the best of my knowledge,this was the first non devsaab film that kishoreda lent his singing voice for playback.
manna day did justice to this song.rafisaab could have sang this song too,but for reasons best known to rd,he opted instead to use manna day’s voice.the point to note is that he did not use kishoreda despite the fact that he was already being used as a playback singer in this film.do you agree?
ARSHAD HUSSAIN
January 24th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Rafi Saheb could sing any song with ease, if music directors change the tune or whatever in the middle, it was their problem , not Rafi Saheb’s.
January 25th, 2008 at 9:31 am
raju bharatan will think 200 times before writing ‘thrash’ on
rafi saab .
more, a lie repeated 100 times - will never become truth, raju bharatan
saab..
after you wrote a book on diva lata m. she boycotted u.
rafi saab now must be smiling away from the heavens - as usual -
at your “idiosyncracies” and “fictional” writings.
more, when rafi saab was alive, u used to be his greatest fan,
sneak in to his recordings and have great fun.
u have forgotten the salad days, raju b…. please come back to ur
senses and make amends…
binu nair….. the rafi foundation…
January 25th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
DEAR HALDAR BABU
AS USUAL , YOUR ARTICLE IS MARVELLOUS !
REGARDING R.D. BURMAN’S INTERVIEW, I HAVE ALSO HEARD IT -TWICE :
WHEN IT WAS FIRST RELAYED THROUGH VIVD BHARATI AND AGAIN THROUGH ONE OF FM BAND’S PROGRAMME - MOST PROBABLY UNDER THE TITLE OF ” SUNHERE PAL ” .
REGARDING ASHA BHONSLE’S INCIDENT WITH HER CHAUFFEUR-IT WAS RELAYED THROUGH ONE OF HER TV INTERVIEWS .
THANKS FOR MENTIONING THE ‘ CHINA TOWN ‘ SONG -AS SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR RAFI SAHAB’S RANGE OF SINGING .
HALDAR BABU ,I HAVE THOROUGHLY ENOYED READING YOUR ARTICLE !
THANKS ONCE AGAIN .
BEST REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
ref post 29:
arshad bhai, your points are valid; the same thoughts have crossed my mind before. But without any disrespect to Manna Dey, I think the “aao twist karen” song lacked punch. Even that sharabi song, “abhi to haath mein jaam”, doesn’t come naturally to him. The RD compositions that I really like are of the “aao kahan se ghanshyam” variety. It’s sad that RD resorted to Kishore for “mere naina sawan bhadon”; if he didn’t want Rafi, he should have opted for Manna.
The md who really used Manna Dey well was Shankar; he was absolutely brilliant. And then, of course, there were other md’s like roshan, sd, salil and mm who also did a very good job.
pancham was associated with rafi from a very young age, much earlier than any of his contemporaries. some of you may be surprised to know that he played the tabla in “hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye”. Why he totally forgot rafi in the 1971-76 period is anybody’s guess. I have commented on another forum that he may have done that to move away from his father’s shadow, to create his own image. Unfortunately, however, he became a captive of his own image, focusing more on rhythm and beats than on melody. I don’t know what the real numbers are, but in the 1977-80 period, he had started using Rafi in a big way, trying to recreate the “tumne mujhe dekha” and “ni sultana re” magic. And those two qawaalis in hkkn and bt would easily rank among the top five qawaalis of the 70s. I am quite sure that you would have witnessed a lot more rd-rafi songs in the 80s if rafi saab had not passed away.
Let me reiterate one thing here that, from whatever I’ve read, and despite the biases they may have had, all five of them — pancham, laxmikant, pyarelal, kalyanji and anandji — were genuinely nice people and good friends. The rivalry they had was professional, not personal.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
myk, would you happen to have the number of rafi songs for rd, broken down by year? A side-by-side comparison with kishore numbers would be helpful. I am interested in the period between 1966 and 1980.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Journalists always like to make a statement which can be controversial - they enjoy it, even if they are quoting/ misquoting / or quoting part of the statement someone - wittingly or unwittingly, just to genarate interest.
I am willing to believe that Rafi saheb may have taken time to adjust, or perhaps RDB wanted something changed just to assert authority to inflate his own ego. All MDs are within their rights to make a singer sing the way they think it right - however big/established the singer may be. But for this to rake so much of debate is unneccassary. In hundreds of movies that RDB gave music to, he must have dictated to so many other singers also, including his wife Asha and badi saali Lata ji - but there is very little mention of that.
For whatever reason, RDB is attributed to the phenomenal and unparralleled rise of Kishore da and shift of music trend in 70’s. Another factor that is missed is sudden burst of Indian youth in their teens or formative years in early seventies. I agree to it to some extent, but their were other factors also like rise of Rajesh Khanna, mass retirement of great MD’s. I as a common listner do not have as much knowledge of music as some others writing here, but personally prefer and consider the music of 60’s as the golden which incidently had a flash in the pan “Teesri Manzil” by RDB.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
raju bharatan nailed:
mr. desai a personal friend of jaikishan, a great rafi lover and a
r.d.burman friend has confirmed that “raju bharatan is faking as
r.d.b had the highest regard for rafi saab.
this is seconded by ahmed bhai - rafi saab friend.
more, raju bharatan was primarily a sports critic in times of india by profession and he is not a music expert.. ..
sports writing is less profitable and music writing is more exciting
so raju is only faking his knowledge about his knowledge on music.
most of what he writes is from girija bharatan, his wife who has
some basic knowledge of music….
he brought down the circulation of the illustrated weekly of india
and now it’s closed…
rafi lovers .. .. raju bharatan stands fully exposed… he should now
write on cricket or retire gracefully.
binu nair… mumbai…
January 26th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Ref Post 34:
P. Haldar, indeed I do, I will send you the stats offline
January 26th, 2008 at 10:30 am
ref to p ::33
haldar dada,,
i think aao twist kare was punch by manna da on critics face who used to say that he was uncomfortable wd western based songs,,
he is a only male singer from yesteryears who is somewhere close to rafi sahab,, how precisely he sung all d songs,, manna da ke suro ka teer ekdum nishaane pe jakar lagta tha…
only fields where he laged behind far from rafi sahab were
>expressions(not much far behind in dis dimension)
>range(miles behind)
>sweetness(miles behnd)
odrwise he was second to none… aao aao sawariya from padosan was just masterpiece rendition by mana da wd excellent expressions
rafi sahab once said that—”aap log mjhe sunte hain aur main sirf manna da ko”
great shankar also praised mannada a lot,, sj used rafi sahab only when they required sweetness & range(wd few exceptions)
there is another very underrated but great song by manna da in bhairvi from movie manzil(music by sachinda)–”hato kahe ko jhooti banawo batiyaan”…..
i think manna da was not comfartable in high notes,, as in song “ek jaanib shamme mehfil” he is stressing on high notes … however rafi sahab alwyas reached high notes wd so much ease & sweetness…
January 26th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
bharatan has been misfed or constipated in the middle while he was writting this articles or he might had gone through the last boundary of jeaulosy or he may have been thinking the magical ,uncomparable VOICE of rafi saheb and
wanted to compare with kishore da, but unfortunately he was not getting any thoughts from his mind and heart instead he got this filthy thoughts.
he just got this stupid idea of writting which doesnt sounds logic and more, likely sounds his mental sickness and childish nature . or may be reflects his total internal reflection of his jeaolosy against the legend of legend MOHAMMED RAFI SAHEB. or may be he cannot digest what rafi saheb had achived by the grace of amighty ALLAH in his life.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
ref post 36:
binuji, thanks for confirming.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
myk has shared with me the stats for rd-rafi songs. What is very interesting is that rafi saab sang 24 songs for films released in 1980 and later. More importantly, many of these are big-banner films (B. R. Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Nasir Hussain…). Contrast this with the numbers for 1976; he sang only one solo and only one duet for rd! I am sure you’ll get the picture.
January 26th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
further to post 36 :
I asked ahmed bhai “why r.d.b. was against rafi saab “? in calucut
recently.
the answer : No . r.d.b. was not against rafi saab. r.d. went to the
house of rafi saab and forced him to record a song with him.
please do not forget that rafi saab had taken a “sanyaas” from
recording for some time.
shakti samanta told us last week: since rafi went on a tour, he
asked s.d.b. to record songs in the voice of Kishore da…
the facts cannot be buried for a long time…
more, raju has no new stuffs. so,he is re-cycling many of his
old articles profitably for his bread and butter, nothing more
- nothing less
binu nair… the rafi foundation… mumbai.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:03 am
i had lots of respects for raju bharatan; but for now he is a
“pulp journalist” for me.
his negative side also has “come to the fore” and only he is
responsible for it.
binu nair……
January 30th, 2008 at 12:33 am
Raju has gone mad or he does not know what is music!
Raju… Think before you write! or you just can’t think.
January 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Post 26 : attn; Makkar saab:
there is one more incident of naushaad saab changing the tune
after the full recording got over.
naushaad saab calls the legend late in the night and says :
rafi saab : how was the recorded song?
rafi saab: it was great. it’s a great creation….
Naushaad saab: yes its great but whole night, i was thinking of this
line , which should be like this.
rafi saab : good idea… i will come over tomorrow morning to ur
house for the rehearsal.
rafi reaches naushad’s house. the composer is in his music room.
rafi sits outside on the sofa.. there is no sign of naushad coming out.
but rafi is patient. he does not get into naushad’s music room thinking
that he is in a composing mood and he ought not to be disturbed.
rafi sits for five hours… and when naushad emerges, he notices rafi
sitting there.
naushad asked rafi : why u did’nt come inside.., the legend said no :
i did’nt want to disturb u… l a t e r,
naushad came to know from his family that rafi waited for five hours
and asked that naushad saab should not be disturbed.
rafi is a simple man and one who criticise this legend is surely lying
or have vested interests.
raju b. are u listening…..
binu nair…
January 31st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
“jo insaan difficult se difficult songs gaaye hindi chitrapat mein,
us ke liye : aaja, aaja, mai hoon pyaar tera kya hai ? raju saab….
asha bhonsle is on record that she was nervous when she entered
the recording room when she heard and saw rafi saaab rehearsing
so well…..
why dont u re-check with asha ji …..; since r.d.b and rafi saab have
gone away to the next world.
aur,…………………
apna ilaaj karva lena…… yeh theek samay hai , is ke liye…
raju bhaiya…
binu nair….. mumbai.
binu nair….
January 31st, 2008 at 5:31 pm
rafisahab was a great singer and a humble person. in his lifetime he sang with all the music directors with old and new ones. But 2 music directors who made this mistake with rafisahab unnecessary was Salilda and OPNayyarji. i wished opnayyarji told some back ago before his death about rafisahab’s insult he made in the recording room. thanks opnayyarji you atleast told us but about salilda. “Toote huve kwabon ne” Madumati film, the song was sad and he sang so beautifully. but only salilda’s wish was he should have sang without a smile, small and minor thing. but i adore rafisahab the way he have taken this. marvellous and quiet humble person.
shashank_72@rediffmail.com
January 31st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Ref to Post 33.
Hello Haldar Ji,
Possibly we are forgeting one MD Ravi who has maintained a low profile always. Apart from Rafi he has also used Manna Dey equally. In fact I had read somewhere that he wanted to use Manna Dey for more number of songs, but most film makers insisted on Rafi Saab.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:36 am
Ravi was great but I don’t understant why people don’t speak abount his music,Ravi used MK in the place of Mohd rafi mostly but he is mohd Rafi fan,some said that Mohd rafi backed in 1976 with RD but in real it is not ,why we forgot Madan Mohan,LP with Mohd rafi before 1976!!!!!!!???
I don’t know abount music but what said abount mohd rafi who know abount music for who said that it was not easy to sing aaja, aaja that mean he is mad.
mohd Rafi voice like sun light and no light can be more power than sun light
February 1st, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Raju Bharatan is a disgrace. What is he trying to achieve by writing this rubbish.
Nasir Hussain has made it very clear how both he and Pancham were apprehensiive about Asha able to match Rafisaab in the song. Pancham was over the clouds when Rafisaab agreed to sing his songs in Teesri Manzil.
Raju Bharatan, you are nothing less than a coward, you have failed to answer any of my questions in the past and now you come up with this crock of bullshit.
Go and get yourself admitted in a mental asylum.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Raju from where have you got this pathetic story. Ashaji, Pancham da and Nazir Hussain have all given absolutely different version of this where Asha ji was the one they were not sure could be able to match with Rafi.
Rafi was not only the best singer ever but also a human being par excellence. Unknown journalists like you could make their bread and butter because Rafi was too kind and too accomodative.
Obviously you age has caught up with you and probably you are suffering from alzheimer or you have completly gone bonkers, or you are on drugs or alcohol or you are simply trying to get some cheap publicity.
Shame on you, you are a mighty disgrace.
February 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 am
comment by great Shankar ji of SJ duo about raju, “us gadhe ko to sab bhairabi sunai deta hai.”
cudnt suppress my smile, sorry raju
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:03 am
@ binu ji
“shakti samanta told us last week: since rafi went on a tour, he
asked s.d.b. to record songs in the voice of Kishore da…” yes, i always heard this story from my father who used to point out the greatness of Rafi sahab with this story. for the first time i m hearing it outside and i feel good.
this story has a great extent of truth in it.
regards
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 am
post 36 by our respected Binu bhai
Binu bhai, you should be a music critic and not addle brained rat bags like Raju.
your knowledge about Music is first rate.
Pancham used to love and respect Rafi, KK was his very close pal. They were buddies and Pancham wanted to help KK to resercut his singing career hich he did. Thats what friends are for.
Raju, if you have any shame then apologise and never ever write again. Just take a sanyas.
If you are looking for a career move then maybe you could start writing porn, that would not require much thinking and integrity any way.
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:51 am
WANT A LIVE VIDEO CONCERT OF MD RAFI AT ANY COST
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
The above writeup aptly reflects the great sense of OUTRAGE engulfing every
Rafi fan”s soul .
May Raju Bharathan*s sick mind cease to work lest his dirty hands write more
muck.
Aa a devout Rafi fan I am shattered.
Bapat from Bangalore
February 4th, 2008 at 9:07 am
ref 53: aseer - there is a contradiction. supposedly the aradhana solos in the voice of mohammed rafi exist. so if this is true, then you assertion is not. which reminds me, are you guys trying to pull people’s legs with the aradhana solos? if they truly exist - it wouldn’t take this long to get them. it takes 10 minutes to send a music file by secure email. it shouldn’t take this many weeks - there’s no reason for it. if that fan really has it - he’d send it by email. it is either one or the other. can anyone give a SOURCE for the quote by shakt samanta?
February 4th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Elephant’s walk is royal even when a dog barks. So is our Rafi sahab, let anybody write anything to their wills we know what he is and what his songs are (not were). He is God, He is a new relegion. He is our master. He therefore is Omnipresent. I will say, Lord Krishna sung Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in Rafi Sahab’s voice which made Arjuna understand the reality of life. Thats the guarentee I give to all Humans about my beloved Rafi Saab. Unfortunately, today he is not around us. What to do. Paapi Kali Kaala.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Post 57 : …………
well said KRISHNA ji……..
apt words.. for the dogs in various shapes and kinds who write
real bull shits about some of the legends of our land.
may i tell u a real life incident which i witnessed just outside the
mumbai (local) airport on nehru road vileparle…
a majestic horse was galloping away ” without the rider “…….. which
is the rarest sight in mumbai.
before we could notice , the dogs started barking…. and when we noticed
the horse was - galloping away in all its “glory”; in the busy streets of
vile parle at 8.15 p.m. evening peak time..
in real life…………….
the dogs will bark naturally but raju bharatan “barks” for his
greed only and to please his masters.
i suggest mr.zorawar or our delhi rafi foundation team bring this to the
notice of the management of hindustan times at the earliest on how
raju bharatan writes “nonsense” about legends who are no more to
answer his slanders as ………………..
this surely affects the credibility of the newspaper raju b. is writing for.
more, raju has made a fortune by telling lies and slandering legends
of the land in his whole career for his pay increases, free whiskey and
freebies of the times. this habit has not gone away yet from this
person and i have info that many composers have told him “get Out”
after a few round of his drinks.
as u said krishna jii…. dogs will bark and stop too, elephants will ride
majestically; but raju bharatan will bark non-stop….
we have to do “something” to tame this mad dog..
binu nair.. mumbai.
February 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Dear Mr.Binu Nair,
We should actually meet Asha Bhonsle once and collect some valuable info from her regarding our beloved Rafi saab. I am from Bangalore and do not know much about Mumbai. In fact I met Mr.Narayanan, Mr.Guru Murthy and also Mr.Ashok Dalmiya at OPN show in Bangalore and wish to take Rafi foundation forward. Bangalore is a place which is now maturing and shaping up. I had once read in the newspaper that Rafi Sahab wanted to build a hospital. Hope this dream comes true.
February 6th, 2008 at 3:35 am
This is not the first occasion when Raju Bharatan has done this. In the early 70’s ,when the Illustrated Weekly was the leading English Periodical, Bharatan wrote that Kishore Kumar was superior to Rafi sahab. Remember this was the period when Kishore was re-emerging. This comment led to a huge uproar resulting in angry responses from all quarters . The matter ended when Kishore Kumar wrote to the periodical mentioning that he considered Rafi sahab as his Guru.
The point is Bharatan is a known Rafi baiter. But my advise to my fellow Rafisahab’s fans is ignore Bharatan. He is not the authority on this subject. He was lucky as his father held a senior position in one of the leading news agencies. Bharatan got a break as a journalist easily due to this connection. He wrote on Cricket and Cinema besides creating crosswords. A jack of all trades , but master of only one( crosswords). He can be classified as a gossip columnist. In the same periodical during the same period , he had attempted to link the simple and straightforward gentleman , S.Venkataraghavan, the great Indian Off spinner romantically with Hema Malini. How silly , just because both of them are Tamil Iyengars.There was an uproar including a pained reaction from Venkat . If I an not mistaken ,the Editor published an apology …
So friends we know that we are dealing with a person craving for attention by making controversial statements. The best way to gve a befitting reply is - IGNORE HIMi
February 6th, 2008 at 7:55 am
post 60.. krishna..ji
not much use to meet this lady as she is leading a lobby which
says pancham is the “only” greatest and competent m.d. and
kk the best singer.. forget her.
please be in touch with narayan - one of the most lovable rafi fan
and person who is my college mate and friend of 35 years standing.
bangalore has a great group of rafi lovers and as per narayans
suggestion i would be sending a blueprint for a voice of rafi -
singing competition and music classes for singers and beginners.
we can do this with a good sponsor or in partnership with the
lions or the rotary clubs.
also, you can have two music shows on dec.24 and july 31 in
bangalore.
all the best for the interest…
binu nair. //////the rafi foundation///// mumbai……….
February 6th, 2008 at 8:10 am
post 61..
ganesh ji on the dot………
lets forget this bug called raju bharatan as he can ‘never’ take
a stand in his writings.
in his weekly column first he wrote “falsehood” about rafi saab and
in the next week column he wrote that Rafi and lata are the
country’s best singers………..
he thrives on controversy and profits from them.
i suggest he be given the editorship of the weekly hindustan
times magazine .
he will ’surely’ close shop of the hindustan times or bring down
its circulation just like the “illustrated weekly of india”.
binu nair…..the rafi foundation.. mumbai.. cell 9833 250 701
February 7th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Dear Ganeshji,
Refer Post 61. RB’s early seventy article was not in Illustrated Weekly but in Film Fare that KK is better than Rafi and he quoted MD Anil Biswas. The reaction to his article went on for about three to four months (i.e 6 to 8 issues of the Magazine) so much so that the Editor had to declare that further comments on the article will not be published. In fact, RB wrote another article after few years in the late seventies after Rafi had come back with a bang, almost apologising for his earlier article and appreciating Rafi and openly admitting that he was naive and immatured to write the earlier article. In fact, I have been searching for these two articles, if any one can mail to me, I will be greatful.
RB also listed out Rafis’ best for each MD in his later article as under (giving it from my memory):
“Kya Kya Se Kya Hogaya” (GUIDE) - SDB.
“Man Mora Bawra” (RAGINI) - OPN.
“Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki” (DULARI) - Naushad.
Whatever RB’s opinion about Rafi, it should be admitted that he is a good analyst of Cricket and Film Music and a Commentator, in fact one of the most read in the seventies. Let us not forget, he was also the main man behind the Film “Victory Story” about the India - England Cricket series of 1972, which India won 2-1. Of course, his weakness was sensationalising certain issues which might have happened or pronounced in a very casual way or out of context. Let us admit, all of us do or have done at some time or the other. But, if he has really played with the words of certain people, who are no more with us, that is really bad.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Refer to Comment # 58 above … Krishna ….. I pay obeisance to you and just listen to this Bhajan of God RAFI …. Raadhay … kahay neer bahaai …. You will simply break into tears !
I will always pray for you well - being Krishna !
February 17th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Hello,
During a random search on the web, I came across your response to Raju Bharatan’s atrocious article which depicts Mohammed Rafi in poor light. This is not the first time that Raju Bharatan has spread false rumours against great celebrities. All his articles seem nothing more than some verbiage with a twisted writing style and endless digressions. His articles are usually ill-researched and his contribution to film journalism is nothing more than gossip. Remember how he had spread erroneous information about the number of songs sung by our great singers in the early 70s. Contrast this with the authentic research conducted by the likes of Vishwas Nerurkar or Harminder Singh Hamraaz.
I fully support your response to Raju Bharatan and more people need to come out in the open against his articles and his penchant for creating unnecessary controveries out of non-issues. I agree with the sentiment of another poster (above) that Raju Bharatan should never write another article, for the benefit of humanity.
Thanks!
February 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Raju Bharathan is dishonest. Having said that, Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyar would have definitely sounded better in Kishore Kumar’s voice. The KK barritone would give this song the PUNCH that Rafi’s relatively softer voice did not provide in the song. The punch & barritone would give the songer greater tone & energy IMO. So why didn’t RDB use KK here? My guess is Nasir Hussain & Shammi Kapoor and the trends set by Rafi loyalists Shankar Jaikishan.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Raju Bharatan has created controversy on many occasions - often by putting words in other’s mouth. These are unfounded statements and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Personally I believe that both Pancham and Dada Burman had tremendous respect and appreciation for Rafi’s golden melodious voice. Rafi has indeed created milestones in Indian music that are not easy to attain….leave alone Raju Bharatan’s venumous sustained attacks, which can never tarnish the great image and the respect in our mid for the greatest and one-and-only singer of twentieth century Hindi music, Mohd Rafi.