Did R.D.Burman really preferred KK over Rafi?
This article is written by Mr.H.V.Guru Murthy.
A regular browser to web site mohdrafi.com, having gone through the letters of Rafi lovers would assume that R D Burman did not utilize Rafi properly, instead he preferred Kishore Kumar. Because of this reason, Rafi Fans are still upset with RDB even though he passed away a decade back.
Yes, it is true that RDB preferred KK over Rafi during early seventies. For that matter, which Music Director or Actor or Producer or Director will not have his preference. It was well known that Raj Kapoor always preferred Mukesh, Manoj Kumar preferred Mukesh or Mahendra Kapoor, B.R.Chopra films had Mahendra, MD Ravi also had plenty of songs with Mahendra so also O.P after he broke with Rafi. Similarly OP always had either Asha or Geetha Dutt and never Lata. Salil also used all other Singers. Director Subba Rao insisted on Mukesh for SAATHI even though the hero was Rajendra Kumar and MD Naushad, two Rafi Fans. Even Kalyanji Anandji had many films with Mahendra Kapoor, Mukesh and KK even though Rafi was instrumental in their raise through JAB JAB PHOOL KHILE, AAMNE SAAMNE, etc. LP, by all means Rafi Bhakts, used KK regularly in the early seventies even for Rafi heroes like Jeetendra, Dharmendra, etc. SJ also switched over to KK in movies like MAIN SUNDAR HOON, DIL DAULAT DUNIYA, KAL AAJ AUR KAL, etc. Of course, the music standard came down a notch or two in that period. But, well, it is their prerogative to have whomsoever they wanted though I am sure in heart of heart, why even openly, they would have admitted the superiority of Rafi over all other Singers. Similarly, RDB also used KK for almost all his movies in the early seventies as perhaps he had some special chemistry with him.
However, let us not forget that RDB used Rafi extensively during late sixties as his main playback singer right from the first movie. He gave hit music with Rafi in TEESRI MANZIL, NAQLI NAWAAB, CARAVAN, PYAAR KA MAUSAM, THE TRAIN, ABHILASHA, ADHIKAR, RATON KA RAAJA, etc. Later during late seventies he returned to Rafi and gave hits like SHAAN, HUM KISISE KUM NAHIN, ABDULLAH, ZAMANE KO DIKHANA HAI, etc. In between, he had Rafi in CHANDI SONA qawali with Mannadey (Ek Shok Hasina Se), YADON KI BAARAT (Title song and who can forget the duet with Asha Chura Liya Hai Tumne), DIL KA BAADSHAH (this Raj Kumar starrer had all songs by Rafi), THE GREAT GAMBLER (Raftasa Mera Naam), SHEHZADA (Solo Tere Attaroo and duet with Lata Kaahe Ko Bulaya), etc.
If a person cannot appreciate the greatness of Rafi, then it can be safely concluded that the person does not have a sense of music. Of course, RDB was a good MD though not a great MD like Naushad, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, SDB, etc. RD would have definitely known the great qualities of Rafi, the Singer. Just because he did not use Rafi extensively as one would expect, let us not degrade this MD who gave us some good songs in CHANDAN KA PALNA, PADOSAN, HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA, MERE JEEVAN SAATHI, AJNABEE, AMAR PREM, SANAM TERI KASAM, BHOOT BANGLA, BAHARON KE SAPNE (Rafi solo Zamane Ne Maare), PARICHAY, KINAARA, APNA DESH, ZAHREELA INSAAN, RAMPUR KA LAKSHAMAN (Pyaar Ka Samay with Lata, KK and Rafi), 1942 – A LOVE STORY, KATI PATANG to certain extent, etc. though he gave some very mediocre music in films like DEEWAR, SHOLAY, KITAAB, ZAKHMEE, RAFOO CHAKKAR, NAMKEEN, DHARAM KARAM and BIWI O BIWI (so un-RK film like), etc. so many forgettable movies as for as music was concerned.
The irony of RDB was either he gave good music or petered out to a very mediocre music in so many films. I read some where that Shashi Kapoor called RD as National Anthem Music Director. In those days, theatres used to play National Anthem at the end of the movie and the Hall doors used to be shut till the completion of the Anthem. As soon as the Anthem used to commence, our in-disciplined people used to rush to the Hall Door and wait for the door opening. Similarly, whenever RDB songs commenced in most of the movies, people used to rush to toilet.
Still, it is not fair that we use harsh and sometimes, un-parliamentary language against any body if they differ with our views. We cannot forget the contribution of all these MDs, Heroes, Singers, Directors, etc. in making the Indian Film Music so rich.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Mr XXX (Ref Post 321):
Lakhon Mein Ek is an alright album, compared to other RDB albums, its not really something memorable, “Chanda O Chanda” is probably the only song that lives on from that soundtrack.
Yes we can easily name more than 100 albums out of the 500 by LP. Saying LP only produced 100 odd quality albums in their whole career is like saying Nadeem Shravan have produced more quality than Shankar Jaikishan. LP didn’t manage to stay on top for that long if they only produced 100 odd quality albums. There are so many quality albums in LP’s whole career, as well as after 1973, that can match your list, I can’t list all of them so I will pick and choose (post 1973). This is just the tip of the iceberg:
Dost
Aasha
Prem Kahani
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan
Hum Paanch
Naach Uthe Sansar
Badalte Rishte
Dostana
Nagin
Naseeb
Kali Ghata
Sargam
Do Premee
Karz
Suhaag
Hero
Pyar Jhukta Nahin
Utsav
Sur Sangam
Satyam Shivam Sundaram
Harvinder is right, LP were always a step ahead of RDB, they manged to attract more big banners, they were ahead in the hit parade, and they were more commercially successful than him. Now do you attribute this to lack of quality ?. Post 1973 many banners could have dropped LP in a second and switched to the competition, but they didn’t, why, because LP stood for quality music. The best sellers of HMV, Polydor and other big music companies contain so many LP albums, from their whole career, so the notion that they only produced quality for ten years (1963-1973) is not true in my view.
Rafi saab kept every composer’s quality very high, as he was the greatest singer ever. These composers were all very talented, and they created amazing compositions, but with Rafi present, their amazing compositions became even more amazing with his golden voice and unmatched skills, range, and talent. Furthermore, it’s not only LP who suffered after Rafi passed away, RDB, RR, KA etc., along with the whole music industry all suffered as well. Everyone’s music in the 80’s (LP, RDB, KA etc.) generally was not of the same standard as their earlier work in previous years, with the exception of choice albums.
Everyone has their own views, and that’s great. Your views don’t have to change, nor do you have to be convinced of anything, this is just a great healthy debate. I feel though that if we continue, we’ll just be repeating ourselves, as we’ve already discussed this in detail before.
Cheers
January 18th, 2008 at 9:01 am
ref post 312:
shirish bhai, I’ve written the rebuttal and sent it to the administrator; it should be posted soon. I don’t think rafians should take this kind of garbage lightly. We should all try to expose raju b, who I’m beginning to believe is an inveterate liar. It’s going to be an all-out war. And we should all write to Hindustan Times to register our protest, probably threatening them with legal action if they don’t apologise. Enough is enough!
January 17th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
refer to p 320::
mr. p halder,,
obviously u r mentioning abt guide but i have mentioned abt sdb’s variety from 1950-1960,, sdb was only composer from 50s who never repeated himself,,,
his range was unbelievable in 50s,, from ye raat ye chandni(dis song shows gr8 orchastretion skills of sdb) to jaye to jaye kahan to jinhe naaz hai hind par to jivan k safar mein raahi to hum bekhudi mein to chalti ka naam gaadi to sujata to manzil to folk music of bombay ka baabu to hai apna dil to awaara to dekhi zamane ki yaari,,,
however sdb didnt gave dat much variety into 60s bcoz of obvious health reasons,, but he still managed to gave gems like
1.guide
2.meri surat teri aakhen(i rate dis album as best of sdb in 60s, rafi sahab ne jaan daal di naache mann mora magan mein)
3.baat ek raat ki
4.tere ghar ke saamne
5.jewel theif
6.araadhna
7.bandini
8.talaash
9.jyoti
10.teen deviyaan(juss listen to d rafiji’s kahin bekhayal,, rafi sahab ka jawab nahi)
and ya i think later u mentioned abt “tere ghar ke saamne”,, and that composition “tu kahan ye bata” sounds more like sdb’s own creation… but dada never consider dis album among his best(i dn know why?),, as when he cut d disc of 20 years wd navketan(in 1970),, he plucked for us d choicest flowers from d garden of navketan & no song from “tere ghar ke saamne” found d place on d disk….
January 17th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thanks XXX and your post 321. I do not have the exact numbers to support LP’s brilliance as far as melody is concerned, but there are a few notable omissions in your list e.g; Sajan (Resham ki dori), Raja aur Runk, Roti Kapda aur Makaan, Anita to name few. LP’s songs are so soothing to listen to. Amar Akbar Anthony, Chachbhatija, Dharamveer were their numbers in mid 70’s.
I have great respect for SDB and his quality music, but I also considered the overall impact of LP’s music. If RDB can be discussed so much than LP is ahead of RDB on most accounts, but not recognised half as much as RDB.
Percentage wise and impact wise OPNayyar saheb would give any MD run for their money, but I did not list him in my top five as he is beyond comparison. Almost all his songs send chill waves down listners spine.
I know mention of Ravi and Chitragupt may also not go well with many, but to me they are unsung heroes with very high quality and clean music. I accept that you have more knowledger of Music than me. Can you or Mr Haldar please comment on Ravi & Chitragupt music after listning to some of their songs and decide for yourself if we need to talk so much about RDB.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
refer to p 318::
mr.myk,,
lakho mein eik was again a nice album by rdb in 1971,, music of dis movie eaisly goes wd d story,, i think it was gr8 music,,,
and yes all three(rdb,ka,lp) conributed towards quality in 70s & 80s but i believe rdb contributed maximum…..although i respect ur immense knowledge abt hfm but i really not convinced wd ur views on lp,,,
as i said earlier we cant name more dan 100 evergreen albums among there 500+ albums,, ya commercially all 500 might b gr8 but im talking of quality..
i consider the 1963-73 period as a glorious 10 years of lp in terms of quality..
just check out these gr8 albums in dis period & im sure u will not get these type of gr8 o/p by lp in post 73 era…
1.parasmani(sixer in first ball by lp,,needless to say abt gr8ness of dis album)
>wo jab yaad aaye(i lv dis num,, )
>roshan tumhi se dunia
>hasta hua noorani
2.sati savitri
>jeevan dor tumhi sang
>tum gagan ke chanrma(nice song based on kalyan..)
3.sant gyaneshwar
>khabar mori na linhi re(my fav shivranjini based composition)
>jyot se jyot jagate
4.dosti(each & every song was gem)
>chahunga main tujhe
>raahi manva
>mera to jo b kadam
>jaanewale o zara..
5.shreeman funtoosh(gr8 album wd kk,, lp used kk wonderfully in dis album like burmans did)
>ye dard bhara afsana
>balma kitna naadan hai
>mera saavla salona mehboob
>wo jharoke se
6.sau saal baad
>abke baras ye bahar
>bhoola hua fasana
>kisiki nazar ne ishara kiya hai
>na jaiyo raadha chhedenge shyam
7.pyar kiye jaa
>din jawani ke chaar(nice num)
8.aaye din bahar ke(gr8 album having gr8 rafiji’s numbers)
>suno sajna
>mere dil se sitamgar tune
>phulo se mukhde wali
>mere dushman tu
9.aasra
>shokhiyaan nazar mein
>tum kon ho batao
>mere soone jivan ka aasra
10.taqdeer
>agar ho sake to mujhe bhool jana(nice rafiji number)
>aaiye bahar ko hum
11.pathhar ke sanam
>title song
>koi nahi hai(wat a gr8 rythm,, lp transformed simple keherva to extremely catchy rythm,, gr8 lata number)
12.mere humdan mere dost
13.milan
14.jine ki raah
15.aaya sawan jhoom ke(among my most fav)
16.do raaste
17.do bhai
18.khilona
19.satyakaam
20.aan milo sajna
21.aap aaye bahar aayi
22.daag
23.loafer
24.mehboob ki mehendi
and many odr gr8 albums can b added,, now tell me one lp’s post 73 album dat cud match d quality of above albums…
post 1973, lp’s level was maintained by gr8 rafi sahab till 1980 & than lp collapsed in terms of quality(except few albums),, dats wat i think,,, ya but they really gave some nice numbers in 80s too like tere mere beech mein(anodr nice composition in shivranjini),, but most of their output was mediocre
note– iam not imposing my views on anybody,, all my views are based on my personal understanding of music,, sry if sommeone hurts or differs….
January 17th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
ref post 319:
xxx, good post again, but you missed out the real one. The film had 3 rafi solos, 3 lata solos, 1 kishore-lata duet and 1 solo from the maestro himself. I’m sure you know which one I’m referring to. At various times, I have seen 5 of these solos being ranked as the greatest song ever! And the duet in pahadi still enthralls listeners. There is a ninth song, based on a Bengali folk tune, which has been reused by Boppi da — wonder when rb is going to interview him — with great success.
There is another film that you missed where, if witnesses are to be believed, pancham composed a rafi solo to go on dev looking for his lover. And, according to legend, a bee sting on the beach gave him the idea of “ooh ooh ooh ooh” for another song in the same film. The nightingale has sung this song in her shraddhanjali series. I haven’t heard it myself, but if you have, please let me know how it compares.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:23 am
refer to d post 317::
mr.harvinder,,
i also respect your views ……
but
rating lp over sdb!!!
dis is really harsh towards sdb’s divine music,, even sdb’s single song wd rafi sahab–”jinhe naaz hai hind par”,, is enuf to overshadow lp’s music….
in terms of versatality sj’s were numero uno …..but i think in 50s sdb was more prolific & melodious than sj…..
juss listen to sdb’s variety again…..(from 1950-60)
1.baazi
2.jaal
3.taxi ddriver
4.funtoosh
5.munimji
6.paying guest
7.kala paani
8.kala baazar
9.devdas
10.sujata
11.pyasa
12.kagaaz ke phool
13.manzil
14.solva saal
15.bombay ka baabu
16.nau do gyarah…
& many odrs….,,, music,orchestration,interludes of each of d above movies were totally differs frm each odr
do u really think dat lp ever gave dat much quality music during their 3 decades long career(wd 500+ movies)???
its really strange to rank lp over sdb……..
ya lets hope for d best dat rafi sahab will awarded wd bharat ratna,, he didnt got earlier simply bcoz his genious was beyond any awards….
January 17th, 2008 at 8:37 am
XXX (Ref Post 315):
Great write-up, keep on writing more such posts !.
Just wanted to add these other RDB albums in 1971:
Adhikar
Hulchul
Pyar Ki Kahani
Hungama
Lakhon Mein Ek
Out of the above five, none really stand out like his other albums in the same year. There are probably only a few songs from each of those films that are good. The best RDB albums in my view of 1971 (in no particular order) were Caravan, Amar Prem, HRHK and Mela.
Since we’ve already discussed RD, LP, KA etc. in the 70’s and 80’s, I don’t want to go into it again, but in my view all those three and others contributed greatly to the quality of the 70’s and 80’s, and not just RDB. Everyone has their own views, and that’s awesome.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:29 am
Thanks XXX and your posts 315 and 316.
I admire your reserch and respect you for that. I can not dispute the number of good songs RDB gave music to, but he can never be my favorite and will not figure in top five of any personality (Surprisngly, he does figure #5 in great OPNayyar saheb’s list) It could be because they were personal friends.
My ranking is
1) Shankar Jaikishan - No debate here
2) Madan Mohan - No compromise here
3) Naushad
4) Laxmikant Pyarelal - I know this will upset some
5) SD Burman, Ravi or Chitragupt (Listen to their melody)
I hope our Rafi Saheb gets BHARAT RATNA.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
refer to d post 314::
correction—”kk was far behind from rafi sahab”
January 16th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
refer p 299:
m.harvinder,,
i think ur comments on rdb are really unfair to hfm,, as whole hfm faternity consider him gr8 & i believe dat he was only versatile genious happened after shankar-jaikishan…..
lets take two decades 70s & 80s,, & for sure rdb’s music contributed maximum in terms of quality(in 70s & 80s)…….
consider the year 1971,, rdb’s output for this year was—
1.amar prem
>raina beeti jaye(among d finest compositions based on todi,, & asusually pancham played d rythm(3-taal dis time) unlike any odr md,, rythm of dis song is very catchy)
>bada natkhat hai re(very sweet composition)
odr numbers from dis album were also good
2.hare rama hare krishna
>dum maro dum(best hip hop ever composed by hfm)
>phulo ka taro ka(raksha bandhan anthom)
>kanchi re(andor nice composition)
>hare rama hare(asha & usha utthap number)
3.carvan
>piya tu ab to(best cabret ever composed)
>chadti jawani(nice duet)
>kitna pyara vaada
>goriya kahan tera desh re
4.paraya dhan
>aaj unse pehli
>dil haye mera dil
5.budhha mil gya
>raat kali(nice kk number)
>aayo kahan se ghanshyam
>jiya na laage mora
6.mela
>rut hai milan ki
>gori ke hath mein(juss check out rythm, rdb was undisputed king of rythms)
now can u name me any one composer who gave dat much variety of music wd quality remained intacted(in 70s),,,, i firmly believe dat rdb contributed maximum in terms of quality in 70s & 80s…
also we cant deny rdb’s contribution to early 80s.. from 80-83 rdb gave many quality albums,, even a single song humein tumse pyar(both male & female) speaks enuf abt his talent, but he rarely got d chance to compose these type of songs as he mostly got d movies demanding youthful music….
it was year 1984 where he gave 14 craps in a row & tahn most of big banners went to lp, bappi,rj… & post 1984 rdb did 90% crap movies so was d music..
but he still managed to gave gems like ijazat,jeeva,libas,sagar,1942a lv stry…. it was mediocre film making dat ruined rdb in 80s….
now concerning the era of 60s,, the 60s were ruled by d truly gr8 composers like naushad, sdb,mm,sj & roshan….. lp also did d gr8 job in 60s & gave us gems like wo jab yaad aaye, khabar mori na linhi re(top class composition)…
but rdb also did d fine job wd
1.teesri manzil(gr8 & revolutionary album wd lord of playback singing rafi sahab)
2.padosan(most comic album hfm has ever produced is also under rdb’s bag)
3.baharo ke sapne
4.chandan ka palna
5.pyar ka mausam
6.pati patni
7.abhilasha
8.chhote nawab
among d many gr8 composers i consider naushad ji as d best ,, as he always managed to gave quality albums even in his lean phase(by quality work or album i mean the album having the evergreen songs not bounded by particular era, as i dn know much abt commercial stats so by quality i dont mean commercial succes)
some of d naushad’s all time gr8 albums are
1.mela(1949)
>ye zindagi ke mele(gr8 rafi sahab number)
>rimjhim ke geet(nice rafiji-lataji duet)
>main bhawar too(nice mukesh shamshad duet)
>gaye je geet milan ke
>mera dil todne wale
2.andaaz
>jhoom jhoom ke naacho aaj
>koi mee dil mein
>uthaye ja unke sitam
>tu kahe agar(nice num by mukesh)
3.dillagi(rare treat for rafi sahab’s fans)
>tere kooche mein
>is dunia mein aey dil walo(both these rafiji’s numbs wre gr8)
4.dulari
>suhani raat dhal chuki(pathbreaking song into hfm)
>takdeer jaga k aaye(lata)
>aakhon mein aaja
>raat rangili mast nazare(nice rafiji-lataji duet)
5.baabul
>milte hi aakhen dil hua diwana(nice duet)
>dunia badal gayi
6.deedar(4 gr8 rafiji’s numbers)
>hue hum jinke liye barbaad
>meri kahani bhoolne wale
>dekh liya maine
>naseeb dar pe tere
7.jadoo
>lo pyar ki ho gayi jeet
>nadaan mohabat
>ab raat milan ki
>roop ki dushman
8.aan
>maan mera ehsaan
>tujhko kho diya humne
>gao tarane man ke
9.baiju baawra
>mann tarpat hari darshan ko(dis song becoming most popular & prefferable bandish for raag malkos in music schools of today)
10.amar
>radha ke pyare krishan kanahai
>na milta gam to
>na sikwa hai koi
>jane wale se mulakat(gr8 lata num)
11.mother india
12.mugle-azam
13.kohinoor
>madhuban mein raadhika(gr8 composition in hamir)
>dhal chuki shaame gam(gr8 rendition by rafiji)
>do sitaro ka milan
14.ganga jamuna
15.mere mehboob
16.leader
17.ram aur shyam
>aaj ki raat mere
>aaye hain bahar mite zulmo sitam
>maine kab tujhse kaha
18.dil diya dard liya
>koi saagar dil ko
>fir teri kahani yaad aayi
>guzre hai aaj ishq mein
19.aadmi(gr8 rafi sahab songs )
>aaj purani raaho se
>na aadmi ka koi bharosa
>main tooti hui ek naiya hoon
>kaisi haseen aaj baharo ki raat(gr8 song)
20.sangharsh
>jab dil se dil takrata hai(andr gr8 rafi-naushad number from late 60s)
i believe dat naushad sahab always conquered the quality field,, also naushad ji was first person who exploited the real talent of rafi sahab wd songs like suhani raat dhal chuki & album baiju baawra….
every one shud b indebt of dis composer for giving us the rare pearls of sur-taal & kohinoor of hfm- rafi sahab
accn to me top 10 ranking of mds wud be:::
1.naushad
2.sachin dev burman
3.shankar-jaikishan
4.madan mohan
5.roshan
6.rahul dev burman
7.c.ramchandra, salil chaudhary
8.op nayyar
9.laxmikant-pyarelal
10kalyanji-anandji……………..
refer to d post 303::
“”"”With due respect to everyone India till date can’t produce a dynamic singer like Kishore Kumar and music director like Rahul Dev burman who have created and gave us the creations and magic with same pace. “”"”
mr. indranil,,
>i have already xpressed my views on rdb but as far as kk concd, i believe dat he was not even 10% of rafi sahab…….
kk was good only in one dimension-playful mood songs but rafi sahab was xpert iin every dimension & genere of singing….
>rdb was
always aware of genious of rafi sahab but he used kk bcoz of d special bonding between them,, like raj kapoor prefferd mukesh not bcoz of he was superior to odrs,, raj kapoor & mukesh were gr8 frnds dats y raj gave him prefference over odrs…
>kk never gave d variety that rafi sahab gave to us frm bhajans to classical to rock n roll to romantic to sad melodies to gazals to daadra…
kk was far away from rafi sahab,, although kk was good singer,gr8 artist & grtest comedian hindi film industry has ever poduced but in terms of singing he was far behind from rafiji…………
>kk himself also accepted dis fact dat rafi sahab was far away from him…. so there is no question left on rafi sahab’s superiorty…….
January 15th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Nothing was impossible for Rafi Saheb. he could sing “any” song with ease.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Aaajaaa Aaaa Aaaajaa’ Asha Ji had many story abount this song I don’t know wh0t is true,once on Sharjah TV she said no one can win Mohd Rafi and she was not able to sing this song with Mohd Rafi!!!!!!!?????????.
January 14th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Dear Binu sir,
Thanks for consoling me. Would you me kind enough to reproduce the signed article of CR ? That will help me sleep in peace!
Haldar Sahab, It is time you come out with your rebuttal against Mr. Raju Bharatan, which you have promised. Ab, paani sar ke ooper chad chooka hai!
Shirish Kulkarni
January 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am
A legend who sings some of the most difficult hindi film songs
cannot get the nuance of “aaja Aa aajaa”… it’s absurd.
please listen to rafi’s two english numbers which he has rendered so
majestically.
some one is lying herein or some one is playing some “games”
which they have played all their lives…
binu nair.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:29 am
shirish ji….
u must be knowing that after a certain age, the mind starts acting
like a little child.
I am talking about certain old people who lose their mental balance
and raju bharatan is in the same leage…
he is old and he has no fresh stocks so he reproduces “old thrash”
to fill the columns. It benefits him as “they” become controversial.
this element is called “yellow journalism” in journalistic parlance.
now read what c.ramchandra said after rafi saabs demise .. in a
signed article.
c.r. had recorded just ten days back ( in july 1980 a private song )
with the farishta rafi saab.. he paid great tributes to rafi saab and
came to know about the true worth of rafi saab - a bit late.
this was due to the lata effect…..
c . r. and lata were very close and rumours were there that they
would get married - but it did not happen…
later lata turned against c.ramchandra and the films dried up along
with the cash.
to survive, he sold his assets. he was admitted to the k.e.m. hospital
with old age and sickness - forlorn and forgotten.
when rafi saab died, c.r. realised his mistakes (rather late in the day)
and paid glowing to rafi saab .
raju bharatan should check his facts before writing and apologise to
readers ‘for” continuing to indulge in “sensational journalism” which
do not stand scrutiny.
binu nair.. mumbai.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Mr. Raju Bharatan is at it again. He seems to head a “Malign Rafi” brigade.
In an article in Hindustan Times today on the occasion of C. Ramchandra’s birthday, he has unnecessarily dragged Rafi Sahab’s name. He has quoted CR as saying that Kishore was a great artiste, a great singer. Then he adds his below the belt blow and says, CR, later like RDB, did not care for Rafi (Sahab).
Is this the sort of language a legend like Rafi Sahab deserves? Shame on you Mr. Raju Bharatan
Shirish Kulkarni
January 12th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Mr. syed: asha bhonsle is playing games as she is the wife
of r.d.b (the third).
don’t get fooled by ashas live comments as raju bharatan has
also written that in the duets of kashmir ki kali, rafi saaheb finished
his part in half an hour but asha culd not get it ‘even’ after few
hours of painstaking effort…
raju was in the studios as he was the assistant editor of
the illustrated weekly of india and its music critic.
secondly all singers have few singing problems which raju
is not reporting… the composers train the singers and make them
sing.
do u know that lataji fainted during a naushad saab recording..
would u write her off and would raju bharatan ’shout’ from the
roof-tops .
no.. such things happen.. .. but there are selfish interests at work
“Never forget this”… and please don’t get in to the bandwagon of
any camps…
binu nair… the rafi foundation… binus2000@hormail.com
January 11th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
World knows Rafi Saheb was far better singer than KK, and if RDB really preferred KK over Rafi Saheb then its because both were Bengalis, nothing else!
January 11th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
#303 indranil: kishore kumar was one of a kind no doubt - but part of the reason why you can’t see someone even close today is because there are no music directors today to make use of singing talent. if kishore kumar were alive today - there’s a chance he’d be doing very few songs because only few compositions would be worth his time. if you see shows today - some singers have the natural talent but lack the training or direction or are confused in how they should render - they need guidance and we just don’t have the mds to do it. it is much easier to promote singing shows than md shows. also, some people are just confused today trying to copy american music.
#302 - syed - my guess is that you’re being sarcastic! lata had the voice, asha had the willingness to sing every kind of song. lata had just as much ability as asha imo (even in range) but was stoic and unwilling to sing certain songs - for example she won’t sing the remix trash asha likes to do to promote herself / increase numbers. of course asha had a great voice too -but clearly not as good as lata’s. rafi had a great voice (male counterpart to lata) and great ability to sing any kind of song that respected mds provided him. he had it all. hence, rafi >>>.
January 11th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
#302, Syed: then I’ll consider the possibility that Asha Bhonsle (who was partly responsible for RD’s untimely demise) manipulated RD Burman in the early 90s when he was weak and made him say these things to put down Rafi. Asha Bhonsle was always second to Lata (exception of OP Nayar). Rafi & Lata were the first serve, the A team, the gold standard. She knew if anyone would beat her in ability or versatility - it was Rafi Sahab. So put down Mohammed Rafi to make him look lesser.
Asha Bhonsle’s rendering of “O Aaajaaa Aaaa Aaaajaa’ is unpleasant because I can feel the bottom of lungs - she OVERDID it in any an attempt to beat Rafi Sahab. She failed. Mohammed Rafi did it just right and if needed - he could have done more or less - as the MD wanted. When you the see wide variety of compositions Rafi has worked with (he holds record for working with maximum MDs) and all kinds of songs, and you see how he grasped the nuances of some very difficult / emotional songs, and you see that “Aaja Aaja” would be a walk in the field for Rafi.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
post 303
It is a shame that the writer Raju bharatan a very senior journo resorts to some mudslinging Rafi sahab singing talent and he claims to be his biggest fan along with Latajis.
Raju claims that he cannot write a biography but has published more articles on icon Rafi sahab than on any other singer in his career. But I have read most of the articles where he revers Rafi sahab but sometimes resorts to gimmicks or so called yellow journo culture which he fails with a legend like Rafi sahab.
As u rightly pointed out if Rafi sahab is not loved by anyone following hindi music then they are plain deaf or blindly biased like Anil Biswas.
For the same Anilda ,Rafi sahab had high respect and sung some good melodies but he being Talats fav would have made such comments.
RD Burman has been misquoted by Raju and even he took Rafi sahab for 108 songs while Rafi sahabs had sung max with other famous MDs which is itself a big record.
Infact the lovers of Vintage music considers Rafi sahab and Lataji the greatest,dynamic,melodious,talented,evergreen, singers in the hindi film industry followed by Asha,kishore n mukesh.
In the music industry the vote goes to Shanker Jaikishen,SD Burman,LP,Naushad,Madan Mohan,OPN and RD burman
January 11th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
“If a person cannot appreciate the greatness of Rafi, then it can be safely concluded that the person does not have a sense of music. Of course, RDB was a good MD though not a great MD like Naushad, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, SDB, etc.” -
I am surprised that how a person who is writing an article can comment like this. It is published through internet means going the wrong message to everyone. No not about the Legend Rahul Dev Burman. I am scared about the site. Everyone knows who is Panchamda and his creations. Either the person is nonsense about the music or he is mad and sick who has comment like this. First try to understand the differences between TALENT and GENIUS. Rahul Dev is born Genius and he is a trendsetter and dynamic. With due respect to everyone India till date can’t produce a dynamic singer like Kishore Kumar and music director like Rahul Dev burman who have created and gave us the creations and magic with same pace.
January 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I think that some of my esteemed Rafian’s are mistaken - the comments regarding Rafi Saab’s difficulty in getting the “Nuances” of aaja aaja correct were also highlighted by Aasha Bhosle in a live t.v interview which i have seen. She stated that Rafi saab just could not get the correct feeling of the song and only she done it correctly.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Ref: Post 294
Mr. Gurumurthy,
I totally agree with you. I am convinced that Mr. Raju Bharatan has misquoted RDB. RDB may have had personal liking towards KK (which he is entitled to). But it is difficult to believe that RDB did not like Rafi sahab for his singing inabilities. After all Rafi Sahab was SDB’s favourite singer!
It was a joke to read that Rafi Sahab found it difficult to grasp the nuances of RDBs tunes! Naushad Sahab, Roshan Ji, Madan Mohan Ji and other greats must be squirming in disgust.
Aaa aaja must have been a cake walk for Rafi Sahab!
Shirish Kulkarni
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