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.
March 7th, 2008 at 8:24 am
HALDARJI,
DO YOU HAVE THE TEXT OF THE INTERVIEW, IF SO CAN YOU PLEASE E-MAIL TO hvgurumurthy@yahoo.co.in.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
ref post 398:
the interview that guru murthy ji has referred to appeared in the illustrated weekly of india. There was a picture of rafi saab with one of his sons. In that interview, rafi saab reminisced about the great music composed by the likes of naushad, roshan, sj, mm, sd, op and khaiyyam, and revealed his displeasure about the quality of music in the 70s. I clearly remember what he had said about the present-day mds: “only laxmikant-pyarelal seem to have some sense” (not a very lofty compliment, though). It was one of the few times when he had criticised anyone.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Post no. 397, Mr. XXX says, “i can firmly say that Rafiji wudnt b happy wd the music scenario of d 70s”. I remember reading a small interview of Rafiji in the seventies, when he frankly told that he is not happy with the music being churned out those days and also felt that only LP gave some good music based on Indian classical music. The same opinion was echoed by Lataji also.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
mr.myk,
“kahe ko bulaya”.. was amazing song.. thanx for ur these lines–”Maruti Keer revealed that for this song the dholak beats were created first, then the song was composed after based on that particular taal. “.. its been added into my knowledge base..
pancham did somwhere 100 songs wd rafi ji in 70s and all those were gr8, also the charm of his most of d compositions increased 4 times wen rendered by rafi ji, but same is not the case wd kishore, kishore bring down d charm of most of his great tunes, although kishore da was great singer but just notice his heavy voice with these songs by pancham…
1.mere naina sawan bhado
2.tere bine zindagi se shikva
3.aap ki aakhon mein kuch mehke hue se raaz hain
there are dozens more examples where kishore’s heavy voice not at all going with the melody of the tune, but still pancham employed him..
what i think that pancham’s strenth was his jazz music(fusing indian melody into jazzy base and interludes) and his knowledge of classical music. his knowledge of classical and jazz was unparalled among 2nd gen mds, as we can see that most of his outstanding work with rafi sahab in 60s was either in jazzy genre(teesri manzil) or in classical genere(chandan ka palna). but how intelligently he changed his face of music in 70s to bring up kk!!! pancham was very well aware of the fact that kk wasnt d master of these two genre like rafi ji so he changed his music to simple melodies,peppy tunes, pop oriented, shor-sharaba music.. notice that whenever he used jazz in 70s(gulabi aakhen, chura liya hai) he used rafi ji, imagine that same person composing “tumhe dekha hai maine gulsita mein” & “o mere dil ke chain”.. one is classical melody and odr one is melody on straight notes.. but his stock for these kinds of tunes only remained for 5 years(70-75) as fusing evergreen melody into straight notes is not at all easy. his stock was over untill 1976, as we can see that there are very few notable pancham-kk solos post 1975. i think as a commercial point of view 1976 was his dead end, he gave many quality albums in 1976 and his best was mehbooba, but it was classical based and commercially did not helped pancham much, his darbari kanadda based gem “gori tori paijaniya” went unnoticed, only famous song was “mere naina” where he exploited kk’s weakness rather than strength, i think at that time he was not at all comercially stable,he was badly losing the awards & movies to lp,ka & rr….
but thanx to nasir hussain, in 1977 came hkkn, i think this movie was commercial come back for both(rafi ji & pancham), pancham’s commercial strength was jazz and that’s wat he finally used as a bramhastra to made comeback,and who was the best jazzy singer?? yes ,, rafi ji, it was 3rd time that pancham introduced new sound to the hfm, earlier he did with his breakthrough jazzy album teesri manzil and with many albums from 1971.. 2 solos & 2 duets with rafi ji rocked the nation, and from d sam movie kk’s numbs went unnoticed(except bachna aey hasino).. in the same year pancham gave another great album but this time classical based(kinara), nasir hussain & gulzar exploited the real strenghts of pancham..
so i think hkkn was pancham’s comeback as well, rafi sahab was always there in quality throughout his career but he was not the same commercial phenomenon in 70s as he used to be in 60s, reason was simple, king maker of 50s naushad backed rafi ji, king makers of 60s s-j used rafi ji but king maker of 70s rahul dev burman utililised kishore.. pancham’s strength was jazz and classical but he limited his strenghts as per his favourite’s limitations
but i really dnt bother abt who utilised whom in 70s as truly golden era was ruled by rafi sahab, i have a lot of respect for the 50s & 60s, here some esteemed names from 50s and 60s- naushad,sd,sj,mm,roshan,opn,hb,cr,salil,anil biswas, vasant desai, chitragupt,ravi… and many odrs, some of them used rafi all d way some used rafi for selective songs but all of them were truly great and very melodious. but wat abt mds from 2nd and 3rd gen?? i think only 3 names we can rank alongside veteran gr8s(rd,lp,ka), wat abt dozens of odrs?? and these 3 also went over quantity rather than quality..
i can firmly say that rafi ji wudnt b happy wd the music scenario of d 70s, the only thing that making him happy those days wud b the rise of his good frnd kishore kumar…
March 3rd, 2008 at 8:37 am
Dear MYK,
I agree with you, “Churaliya Hai” was a class song, but let us not forget songs like “O Mere Sonare” of the same Rafi-Asha-RDB combo, which were also huge hits. Of course, both these songs “Aa Raat Jaati Hai” and “Vadiyan Mera Daman” were good songs of RDB-MR combo and can be heard again and again. Other songs of the same team which can be bracketed with these songs are “Chand Mera Dil”, “Kya Hua Tera Vada”, “Maine Poocha Chaandase”, “Pucho Na Yaar Kya Hua”, “Bolo Bolo”, “Yeh Ladka Hai Allah”, well, the list is becoming longer and longer.
February 29th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Mr. XXX,
You mentioned RDB re-created the magic of “Churaliya Hai Tumne” with “Aa raat jaati hai”. That is true, and both the duets are the best songs of their respective films. Whereas “Churaliya Hai Tumne” went on to become probably Pancham’s most popular song ever, “Aa raat jaati hai” didn’t receive the attention it should have gotten.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Mr. XXX,
Sorry, but I don’t have a direct link or source to Majrooh’s comments on “Wadiyan Mera Daman” Whatever I mentioned was part of what Majrooh said at a function for his 80th birthday. A Pancham fan on another forum attended this function, and wrote about that particular part I mentioned. It would be great if we could find out more on what Majrooh said about this Abhilasha gem.
The Rafi-Asha duet from CKP is outstanding, the melody is excellent. CKP is one of Pancham’s best and most under-rated albums, the songs have a lot of variety.
I think “Yaara O Yaara” from Benaam received more attention than the Rafi-Asha duet. It is a good song by Chanchal, but I think “Aa raat jaati hai” was better, and it didn’t get the credit it deserved. It was a classy composition, check out the saxophone piece played at the start of the second interlude, simply brilliant.
What do you think of the song “Kahe Ko Bulaya” from Humshaqal ?. Maruti Keer revealed that for this song the dholak beats were created first, then the song was composed after based on that particular taal. It is a brilliant song, one of the best Lata-Rafi duets, the orchestration is very nice, and the melody is great.
February 26th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
mr.myk,
very well said abt asha ji’s family
well iam agree that rd-rafiji pair was great, i love that chandan ka palna solo-”tumhe dekha hai”, also that duet with asha is also really melodious one-”zulfo ko aap yun na sawaara karo”.. these two songs are something that i never expected from the pancham, specially not after the jazzy “teesri
manzil”. infact whole “chandan ka palna” was something different by pancham,
aa raat jaati hai- rdb recreated the magic of “chura liya hai tumne” with this song but somhow this one didnt get so much attention, dn knw y?? may b coz of film was flop..
myk ji, cud you provide me the exact words of majrooh on “vaadiya mera daman”?? do you have any link or excerpt of that from an original??
February 26th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Mr. XXX,
Pancham was involved in SDB’s music as an assistant, and he was part of the creation process for some of Dada’s compositions, but the NDG song sounds vintage Dada to me. Asha Bhosle and her family are out to promote Pancham and sometimes what they say is a joke, so you shouldn’t take all their comments seriously.
The two songs you mentioned from Chhote Nawab are nice, Pancham composed great songs in his first film.
“Wadiyan Mera Daman” is outstanding, you are right, not a lot of praise has been given to this song when it deserves it. Majrooh Sultanpuri had once singled out this song as one of his favourites, and explained how he compared the heroine with earth, and the lyrics “raaste meri baahen, jaao mere siwa, tum kahan jaaoge”. It’s a wonderful melody with nice orchestration, Rafi’s rendition is beautiful.
Two more excellent songs from RDB-Rafi:
Tumhein Dekha Hai Maine (Chandan Ka Palna): This a fantastic classical-flavoured song in the ghazal genre. Rafi-saab sings this song in such a soft manner, yet the rendition has so much punch and is very soulful. RD combines many traditional instruments beautifully, and there’s also some Roshan influence in this song as well. This is definitely one of RD’s career-best compositions.
Aa Raat Jaati Hai (Benaam): One of the best duets of 1974, this is a composition set in the “waltz” style, something that S-J were masters at. The melody, rhythm and arrangements are all top class, and wonderful singing by Rafi and Asha.
It seems whenever RDB and Rafi came together, the result was melody and innovative compositions.
What do you think ?.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
mr.myk,
no doubt that these two songs were great, personally i like that bulandi song, very melodious one, also these two songs are most underrated rd-rafi gems as well, including many odrs like ilaahi tu sun le & aan chum taan chum(1st one is sad & 2nd one is funny num from chhote nawab). also that abhilaasha number “vaadiyaan mera daman” very melodious one,but i never heard someone praising this one …
by the way i read somwhere asha’s son interview where he mentioned that pancham composed that melodious duet “aakho mein kya ji” from nau do gyarah, dont you think that they praising pancham by just going beyond the truths & facts????,i mean koi bacha b bata dega ki ye song dada ne hi banaya hai..
February 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am
When I mentioned KA had choice albums in the 70’s and 80’s that didn’t match their own high standards which they set in the 60’s, it is no different from many other composers. There are times when composers don’t match their standards in choice albums. It has nothing to do with talent, and its due to various other reasons.
I would like to mention two more outstanding KA-Rafi songs:
Mohabbat ke suhane din (Maryada)
Kisi Aasman Pe To Sahil Milega (Kashish)
February 24th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Mr. XXX,
Thanks for your views. I agree that KA gave their career-best compositions to Mukesh, but I also feel they gave their career best compositions to Rafi as well. There are many KA songs sung by Rafi that are amongst KA’s and Rafi’s career best. Some examples, “Yeh raat hai pyaasi pyaasi” (Choti Bahu), “Teri zulfen pareshan” (preet na jane reet), “tere jaisa kaun hai” (tamanna), “tu jo nahin koi mera” (darinda), “mere mitwa mere meet re” (geet). They also gave great songs to Kishore, but in my view their best was reserved for Rafi and Mukesh.
Talk about duets, and KA composed their best duets for Lata-Rafi which surprassed any of their other duet combinations (in my view). KA’s Lata-Rafi duets are in a class of their own. They are very under-rated composers, even though they managed to produce great music throughout their career. KA did change with the times, but I also feel in other choice albums from the 70’s and 80’s, they produced music that didn’t match their own high standards set in the 60’s. They made great use of a variety of singers, such as Rafi, Lata, Mukesh, Kishore, Asha, Manna, Mahendra Kapoor etc.
I agree when you say LP gave their best to Rafi, and RDB his best to Kishore and Rafi.
Since this is an RDB thread, I would like to mention two more Rafi-RDB songs that are excellent:
Mohabbat mein aji kya (phandebaaz): This is one of the best duets RDB ever composed, and one of the best ever Lata-Rafi duets as well. A beautiful melody, with excellent orchestration, the flute, santoor, accordion, violins etc. and the RD rhythm stamp are all in this song.
Hum Jab Ek Saath Hai (Bulandi): The mood of this song is similar to SJ’s “Jab bhi yeh dil udaas hota hai” from Seema sung by Rafi-Sharda. Another gem of a song, it has a classical flavour, again a great melody, and again one of the best Asha-Rafi duets and one of Pancham’s best duets as well.
Mr. XXX, what do you think of the above two songs ?.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:34 pm
mr.myk,
im really not much into the ka’s music, but yes they gave amazing music in 60s. some of their associatios with rafi sahab were really great like in jab jab phool khile, hasina maan jaayegi, geet, and that bhajan “sukh ke sab saathi dukh mein na koi”.. but i believe their career best compositions went to mukeshji. as i can eaisly rate “chandan sa badan” & “chand si mehbooba” among their best compositions, some of their associatios wd manna da were also great like kasme vaade pyaar wafa & nadiya chale chale ye dhaara. in 70s they became composers of kk, in most of big banners they prefferd kk.
on the other side pancham & rafiji association was full of fun & music. among the 2nd gen coomposers. lp took out best from rafi sahab followed by rdb. ka were gr8 wd rafi sahab but their career best went to mukeshji.. lp gave their career best to rafi sahab, rdb gave his career best tunes to both(kishoreda & rafi sahab)..
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
mr.abey john,
1st of all i wud like to mention that musical tastes differs from person to person, yes i praised pancham but keeping mds of 2nd & 3rd generation in mind(lp,ka,rr,rj..). but there is simply no comparison of pancham to veteran md naushad as i accept that apple orange theory, both of them gave diff type of music.. also i never compared these two, only i wrote that naushadji was greater than pancham. juss check out that who was more consistent and dedicated, the naushadji-rafiji pair was something that cudnt be surpassed, also there is a bulk of mediocre albums by 2nd & 3rd gen mds(rdb,lp,ka,rj,rr) but same is not the case wd naushadji & other veteran gr8s.
as i mentioned that musical taste differs from person to person & my kind of music is in the bracket of higher & divine standards set by naushadji. ofcourse i like western music too but later is not my 1st preference. you mentioned that naushadji lacked d ability to change with time. but i think he is known as a successful md of 40s,50s,60s who never compromised wd quality.note that he changed himself in each of these decades wd utmost quality. sj were most versatile & prolific but great shankar did nothing exceptional after 1972. as far as 50s concerned all of them(sdb,sj,roshan,mm) gave great music but i think naushadji was king maker of 50s, there wud be no rafi sahab if naushadji wudnt b there wd d songs suhani raat dhal chuki, o dunia ke rakhwale and many odrs, this great shy personality groomed under naushad sahab & came out as a voice which was as rocking as heavenly. now finally here im mentioning 3 naushad-rafi songs of ultra high quality, can any one cite me 3 songs from hfm which cud surpass these 3 in respective generes.
1.nain lad jai hain to manwa main.. folk.
2.madhuban mein raadhika naache re.. classical
3.o dunia ke rakhwale… genere of songs having ultra high range covering all three saptaks…..
and for the above mentioned third genere, only rafi sahab was utilised by everyone, so we can call it rafi genere. .
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Mr. Haldar & Mr. XXX,
I would like to mention that I love both the KA-Rafi and RD-Rafi combinations, these three composers created many beautiful gems for ‘Saatwan Sur’. I am asking you the question of KA and RD vis a vis Rafi-saab because I would like to know what you think of both the combinations, which combination attracts you more and so forth.
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Thanks Mr. Haldar for the interesting flashback, that six-man orchestra must have had such a great time with Rafi. How many concerts did Rafi do in his lifetime ?. Thanks Mr. XXX for your response as well, I agree RD was amazing in his guitar use, the GG song you mentioned was a great arabian influenced gem with Rafi coming in for the Big B and stealing the show.
A question to both of you, Mr. Haldar and Mr. XXX, who was the better composer for Rafi, Kalyanji Anandji or RDB ?. I am interested in knowing your opinions, since they both created excellent songs for ’saatwan sur’. You can say KA were Rafians, but they also composed quite a bit for Mukesh and later Kishore. RD was a Kishore man, but the “melody” in his world came through Rafi as well as many of his greatest songs.
I know a lot of people on this forum would say K-A in a blink of an eye, but there’s much more to the RDB-Rafi combo then people think. You can list all the great composers Rafi worked with, but it would be injustice if RD’s name was not one of them. Rafi even won a Filmfare and National Award for the same song under his baton (something KK could not even do), and many of his modern classics are composed by that same man. Had Rafi lived longer, and the two created more songs, I’m sure many opinions would change, but I see no reason why they shouldn’t now considering their output was still excellent, regardless of number of songs compared to other MD’s Rafi worked with.
I’ve always loved the RDB-Rafi pair, the modern and innovative music of RD combined with the Golden voice of Rafi. What Rafi brought to RD’s compositions, is something KK could not do. Whenever they (RD-Rafi) came together, the result was magic.
Here is a clip of RD playing the tune of Rafi-Lata’s “Lehra Ke Aaya Hai” (Waris) on the harmonica, in a concert from Dubai. Read some of the comments below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du54paUkRFQ
—————-
Abey John,
I think Rafi is the only singer you can attribute “only full justice” to simply because of his wide range and skills combined with his heavenly voice. True, every singer sang songs that suited their range, skills etc. and its hard to imagine another voice doing justice to those songs, but if you had to pick one singer that could cross boundaries and sing those songs rendered by others as well or even better, it would have to be Rafi. Whereas with Rafi’s songs, there is absolutely no way others could replicate them since they are way out of reach of any other singer.
Coming to Aandhi, Kishore wasn’t at all suited for these types of themes, including Mehbooba, Parichay etc. This is where RD didn’t pick up cues from his father, choosing the best singer for a particular theme. When I listen to these RDB themes, all I see is Lata shining high and bright and leaving her male counterparts far behind. The songs in these films were made for Rafi, had he sung them, the result would have been different and mindblowing, and I can say only Rafi could have done full justice to them, even though Kishore sang them, because Rafi’s skills were above anyone else’s.
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:42 am
xxx,
i admit it is apples oranges comparison with naushad & rdb as they produced different kinds of music as binu ji suggested. however, what i revere is the ability to change with the times. sj & sd burman had it. naushad seemingly did not. before one argues that naushad refused to compromise - you yourself astutely pointed that rd burman did not compromise with quality even as late as 1994! rd was innovative and always experimenting. this is why he could produce great music in 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. i hold that in very high esteem.
i can perfectly understand a classical student like you holding naushad at #1 but you’re part of a very select group and we must look at from an overall spectrum if applicable.
myk & xxx,
remember perspectives when you talk about “only rafi could have done full justice to aye-jaane-wafa”. you are calibrating “full justice” to exactly what you heard with rafi singing it. it influences your definition. if you set your standard or definition BEFORE the song was actually rendered, you’re standards would be different. a mukesh fan could easily feel the same had the song been in his voice. more interestingly this idea extends beautifully to your discussion about one of my favorite songs “tere bina zindagi se koi”. kishore’s rendition was not your “traditional or technically perfect”. combine that with his golden voice and soulful personality and you have a NOVEL, unique rendition. rafi’s version would have been no less but it would be from the voice we’ve had as #1 for last 20+ years (and never get tired of, just like sunlight), more importantly it would have been technically perfect and that would make it somewhat routine and you’d unjustly (through no fault of rafi) lose the novelty factor. in this case it hurts to not make mistakes if this is making any sense at all. if i had to describe rafi’s voice i’d say “as close to heavenly a human voice can be”. if i had to describe kishore’s voice i’d say “as cool as can be”. my apologies to both if i appear to get into a rafi kishore debate which is not my intention. imo some songs are best suited for a heavenly voice like ehsan tera hoga mujhpe whereas other songs are better suited for the cool voice (even if the heavenly voice would be no less). tera bina zindagi se koi shikwa ranks the top 10 of my favorite songs but had it been rendered by rafi, it would have fallen behind songs like tere mere sapne, kyse kya hogaya, ehsaan tera hoga mujhpe, yeh mera prem patra, etc. the kishore rendition is just novel and i love his personality & voice for that song. it isn’t something you expect.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:25 pm
mr.myk,
rdb made gr8 use of guitar throughout his career, dat song Aye jaane-e-wafa was gr8 indeed, but omposition was totally rafi dependent, i mean dis song wudnt have been even recognizable if it wud b rendered by some odr. juss check out first 3-4 starting notes of rafi sahab, only he was capable to do more than justice wd these type of compositions..
imagine rdb’s gr8 compositions like ” tere bina zindagi se shikva ” or
” chingari koi bhadke ” wd rafi ji. but ok its fine, kk did fine job, also these type of songs help dis rafian to earn some respect among classes.
i also like rdb’s guitar work in d song ” main tumko kya kahu, diwana ” from d movie gr8 gambler. also myk ji notice dat rafi sahab rewrites d history of “late entry & outshining d asha” wd d song rakasa mera naam from d same movie.. earlier he did amazingly in “yamma yamma yamma tu parwana main shama” under ravi’s baton
February 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
If Naushad was the musical personality who had nurtured the talent of Rafi, from the beginning, then he is the same person who had given immortal tunes to Lata considering her melodious voice. Lata had a tragic appeal in the song “bhool gaye sawariya” from Baiju Bawra, composed by Naushad in 1953.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:38 am
myk, the concert that you are referring to was held in February, 1980. Pancham was not on stage while rafi was performing. Pancham and Asha sang together for an hour or so, then Kishore came to the stage and joined them. Manohari Singh, Uttam Singh, Kersi Lord, Swapan C. and Hemant Bhosle were there, along with other musicians. Pancham and Asha left after some time, and then Kishore performed alone. Around 10 pm, Kishore asked one of the organisers, “Rafi saab aa gaye?”, and when he said “yes”, Kishore sang “chalte chalte” and left the stage. When rafi came on to the stage, pancham was already gone, so there was no interaction at all. If I remember correctly, other than the hkkn and teesri manzil songs, he also sang another unreleased pancham composition; the film must have been released the following year, but I can’t remember the name.
Rafi’s style was very different from most of his contemporaries. Unlike Lata, who would have Dilip Kumar or Sunil Dutt introduce her, and have Hemant Kumar or salil c. or hridaynath m. direct the orchestra, he would always travel with a six-man orchestra (Narinder Kaka, Leslie Godinho, Anibal Crasto, Syed Ali, Ramnarang Naidu and Anwar Ahmed) without any accompanying fanfare. He was the real star. Once at a concert I remember the tabaliya couldn’t come, but can you guess what song he started with? Yes, with the kohinoor of film music!
February 20th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Mr. P. Haldar,
How was the interaction between Pancham and Rafi during that 1979 concert that you attended in Calcutta, when the crowds went crazy over Rafi saab. I’m sure Pancham knew at the back of his mind that Rafi was the greatest ever, and was he on stage when Rafi was singing, or present when he was singing his Pancham songs ?. I know Pancham and Rafi had a great relationship. How many concerts did Pancham and Rafi do together ?.
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Mr. XXX,
The Pancham-Rafi combo has a freshness to it, and their association is beautiful. I would like to mention an excellent solo from Chhalia (1973), “Aye Jaan-e-wafa”, I have mentioned it before on this site, and I would like to point out that the guitar work in this song is similar to KK’s “Jaan-e-Jaana Jao Kal Phir Aana” from Samadhi (1972). Compare the two renditions, KK is good, but Rafi just rocks, combined with the sweetness !.
What are your thoughts on the above songs ?
February 16th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
jaidev’s only one score wd dev hum dono was superb…
guru murthy sahab, i think “pal bhar ke liye” & “o mere raja” were nice numbers by k-a for johny mera naam..
February 16th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Post no. 376, I think Jaidev gave music for only one Dev Anand film - HUM DONO, so also OPN - CID. Numberwise, SDB gave music for maximum movies of Dev followed by SJ (Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Asli Naqli, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Patita - Yaad Kiya Dilne Kahan Ho Tum, Duniya, Pyaar Mohabbat, etc.) all with hit songs. KA also gave good music in MAHAL but not in Jhonny Mera Naam. But the music of Dev’s films in 70s deteriorated considerably even though MDs like LP, RDB, RR, etc. gave music (with few exceptions like Des Pardes, HRHK, Warrant and Gambler). It should also be admitted that the standard of Dev’s films also came down drastically in his seventies and later movies.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
Post 369 mr.xxx
i am sorry to say that my friends had some bitter experience when
they approached khayyam saab to say a few words on rafi saab.
the former demanded cash to say a few words on camera…….
we do not have a great opinion about such mercenary characters…
binu nair.. mumbai.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
mr.myk,
those two pancham songs were gr8, that mukti song was really master piece, infact in later 70s he maintained gr8 balance b/w rafi ji & kk, he served his kheer to rafi sahab in later 70s, no kk song from late 70s cud matched d quality of songs like kya hua tera vaada, pyar hi ek nishaan, .
lp also did same thing, western numbs like paisa ye paisa, om shanti om, anthony gonsalvis obviously went to kk, but real quality songs like mujhe mat roko, darde-dil went to rafi sahab…
compositionwise some kk songs were gr8 beyond doubt, like hazaar raahen by khayam sahab & rim jhim gire sawan by pancham, but renditions were comparatively much weaker dats y we cant compare dem wd kya hua tera vaada & mujhe mat roko mujhe gane do…
im agree dat rafi-rdb pair was underrated, infact there 1st association from 1961-69 and second association 1977-80 were sheer magic.. and in between they gave some pathbreaking scores too..
regarding your comment–”I feel S-J gave better music to Dev than RD did.
” im agree wd u dat sj were next to sdb for dev followed by pancham and jaidev.. and honestly i feel dat jaidev’s association wd dev was better dan any of pancham’s association, none of d dev-rdb movie cud stand before jaidev-dev association wd exception of hare rama hare krishna..
“kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aaya” was simply masterpiece by jaidev,
navketan lost its sense of music & filmmaking post 71, they simply ruined their legecy of music by ignoring rafi sahab post 71,, and its a fact that moment they parted their ways wd rafi sahab they simply deteriorated..