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.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Re. Post 715: All fake stories. Is there any audio proof? I am sure the answer is “No”. I have seen a picture where RDB cry when Rafi Saheb expired! Can anyone ask Asha Bhosle about this story? I am sure she’ll also say NO!!!
May 29th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Mr.Rafian
Thanks so much for the links. I’ve listened to most of them… enjoyed them. Could you come up with your favourite songs between ‘76-’80?
Yeah.. ‘humein tumse pyar…’ was nicely sung by KK. I also like KK very much in ‘pal pal dil ke paas….’, ‘o sathire…’, ‘yeh jeevan hai…’ and many others. Actually KK’s voice had many shades (though not as much as Rafisahab’s) and it sounded good in ‘Kishorean’ songs and under MDs who knew how to get the best out of him.
Mr.Myk
I’m in the preocessing of hearing those songs, will be back with my views.
All
‘Mere naina…’ by KK isn’t aesthetically anywhere near Lataji’s version.. but see the kind of popularity it has… this is where KK’s scored… he made songs hummable and singable with his less-than-perfect rendition and a voice that is more earthy than divine.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Mr. XXX,
I agree, I think “Is mod se jaate hain” and “Tere bina zindagi se koi” were better compositions than “Nagma Hamara”, however as you said, rendition wise, “Nagma Hamara” is better than all the duets in Aandhi. “Tum aa gaye ho” is good, but there are better duets by Pancham in this category. For me Aandhi is all about Lata. Kishore sounded completely flat in the first two duets, Pancham should have taken Rafi for them and left “Tum aa gaye ho” to KK. Instead, Rafi is used for the mediocre “Salaam kijiye” which he managed to turn into a good song just because he sang it. “Beete na beetayi raina” did win the National Award, I think both this song and the Bulandi gem are winners for Pancham, as you said its hard to choose which song is better. I also agree that Pancham chose singers other than Rafi based on his personal relationships with them. Bhupinder was definitely a good singer, in fact I don’t mind if Pancham used him in some of his classical scores, because he was classicaly trained and a good ghazal singer, but the use of KK was silly, and a joke, if Rafi was not used then Manna/Bhupinder would have been my next preference, but using KK is going overboard. No matter how much he tried, he didn’t have the voice and skills to sing classical-based/flavoured songs.
Listen to the Lata version of “Mere naina sawan bhadon” and notice the haunting alaap as well as the great tabla rhythm, all missing in the KK version. I really wish Rafi sang the male version, we would have seen the alaaps as well as the great tabla use, and he would have taken this song to great heights. However its alright, because songs like “Pyar hai ik nishan qadmon ka”, “Tumhein dekha hai maine”, “Wadiyan mera daman” and other songs (in general and also in the classical genre) are all amongst the career-best of Pancham. Pancham referred to “Tumhein dekha hai maine” as his ‘prized composition’.
There are two excellent songs from Mrig Trishna in the 70’s composed by Shambu Sen, “Sun man ke meet” (Lata), and “Nav kalpana nav roop se” (Rafi). How would you rate these two songs ?. Shambu Sen’s brother Dilip, and Dilip’s son Sameer, formed the Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen duo.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Mr.myk,
bhupi was good and well trained classical singer, madan ji also used him very effectively,i think the only problem with his voice was lack of melody. he did quite a well job with rd’s tunes, but yes singer like rafi ji would have turned those compositions to pure gold as we all know that how much melodious this person was, as nayyar sahab rightly said that “singer to bahut aaye magar rafi ki awaaz mein jo khanak thi wo kisi mein nahi thi”.i think pancham’s selection of singers was highly influenced by the personal relationships he shared, bhupi was his ace guitarist and good friend and kishore too was his great friend so that might have been the possible reason.
i think aandhi songs composition wise better than the bundalbaaz duet, kk did great job in “tum aa gaye ho”, but he was not at all comfortable with “is mod se jate hain”, what do you think?? no “harkats” no “aalaps” nothing, only flat singing(comparatively) with a heavy voice(which killing the melody of the song) .. and “tere bina zindagi se” is all about lata ji…
regarding that bundalbaaz song it reminds me of the two songs, roshan ji’s “rahe na rahe hum” and dada burman’s “din dhal jaaye(bcoz of similar thaat)”. as we all know that pancham was big fan of this song “din dhal jaaye” and he many times get inspired by this song, another example is “abke na sawan barse(kinara 1977)” .. rendition wise this song was superior to the aandhi songs but this duet went unnoticed as movie bombed at the box office.
similarly that bulandi song is rendition wise and overall better than the “beeti na bitayi” and its tough for me to tell which composition was better. “beeti na bitayi” was national award winnig song but bulandi song again went unnoticed.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Dear Rafising,
Are you into some mischief and creating unnecessary controversies?
Infact you have not heard the fabulous 50s and the swinging 60s of Rafi saab’s lilting evergreen melodies to mention that the legend doesn’t have variety.Please come out of the symbolic frogs’s well and listen to atleast 200 hits of the greatest singer Rafi saab.
As for RDB he is several notches below his masters Shanker Jaikishen who were the greatest MDs in all aspects.
I fullu endorse Sanjay’s views
May 28th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Sanjay Aroraji,
I disagree with you. I do not even remember 5 songs (and not ten) of the 139 films you have named. After seeing the names of these 139 movies, I have to change my opinion further about RDB. I always considered him a good MD (Though not great MD) but now I have to revise my opinuion. A hall mark of any good MD is that he should be fairly consistent. In the case of MM, Naushad, SDB and OPN, we can safely say that their bad or rather not so good songs can be numbered on fingers in their career. But in the case of RDB, if the number of films are so much that most people do not remember the songs, that means he was very very inconsistent and can never be bracketed with other great MDs. Even he was talented, we should say that he wasted his talent.
May 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Sanjay ji:
You have a company in me, if you rate RDB well below the 50s/60s greats, below Khayyam, Jaidev, Ravi and LP. Off course there are several yard sticks and parameters in assessing a performer. Haldar Sir has opined at the start of this thread that one has to be judged on the basis of their best out-puts and one can’t really disagree with as knowledgable a person as him. Personally, I also assess performers (not just artists) in that manner, for intance I rate Mcenroe and Becker ahead of Borg and Lendl respectively, simply because at their best these two were just too brilliant for their more consistent rivals.
Coming to RDB, he did compose genuine, beautiful, brilliant and different tunes.. but these were intervened by really mediocre scores and blatantly copied tunes. Agree with many that others also lifted tunes but none did it as blatantly and as frequently and I don’t suppose any other well known MDs composed as much trash. He needed more ‘chingaries…’ and ‘musafir hun yaroons..’ to off-set all those xerox copies and craps to be a termed a real great (that’s speaking for myself).
May 28th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
ref mail 715,what you are referring as your interview is nothing but a photocopy of raju bharatn`s interview (hope you are not raju bharatan writing mails under the pseudoname).
RDB the most versatile composer,the biggest joke of the century.if you have
heard rdb music even casually,it is the same rythym ,the same expressionless male voice in 80 % of composition ,even a person who casually and rarely listens to hindi film music can make out this is a rdb composition.i am giving a list of his hindi film`s ,please advise me where is the versatility.
1 BADA KABUTAR
2 CHHALIA
3 DO PHOOL
4 DOUBLE CROSS
5 HEERA PANNA
6 HIFAZAT
7 JAISE KO TAISA
8 JOSHILA
9 MR.ROMEO
10 NAFRAT
11 5 DUSHMAN
12 RAJA RANI
13 RICKSHWALA
14 SHAREEF BADMASH
15 DIL DIWANA
16 DOOSRI SITA
17 GOONJ
18 IMAAN
19 ISHK ISHK ISHK
20 MADHOSH
21 MANORANJAN
22 SHAITAAN
23 TRIMURTI
24 ZAHREELA INSAAN
25 DEEWAR
26 KALA SONA
27 DHARAM KARAM
28 RAAJA
29 WARRANT
30 BALIKA BADHU
31 KHALIFA
32 MAHA CHOR
33 CHALA MURARAI HERO BAN NE
34 CHALTA PURZA
35 CHANDI SONA
36 CHOR HO TO AISA
37 HEERA LAL PANNA LAL
38 NAYA DAUR
39 BHALA MANUSH
40 SALAAM MEMSAAB
41 AANCHAL
42 BULUNDI
43 ALIBABA AUR CHAILIS CHOR
44 DHAN DAULAT
45 GUNEHGAAR
46 QATIL KAUN
47 PHIR WOHI RAAT
48 TAKKAR
49 BIWI O BIWI
50 DAULAT
51 DHUAN
52 GEHRA ZAKHAM
53 GHUNGROO KI AWAAZ
54 JAIL YATRA
55 KACHCHE HEERE
56 MANGALSUTRA
57 RAKSHA
58 SATTE PE SATTA
59 AAMNE SAAMNE
60 ADHURA AADMI
61 ASHAANTI
62 BEMISAAL
63 DARD KA RISHTA
64 GANGA MERI MAA
65 SWAMI DADA
66 YEH TO KAMAL HO GAYA
67 AAN AUR SHAAN
68 BINDIYA CHAMKEGI
69 BOXER
70 FARISHTA
71 KAUN KAISE
72 MAHAAN
73 MAIN AWARA HOON
74 MAZDOOR
75 PUKAR
76 RANG BIRANGI
77 ROMANCE
78 SHUBHKAAMNA
79 ANAND AUR ANAND
80 ANDHAR BAHAR
81 AWAAZ
82 BHEEMA
83 DUNIYA
84 HUM DONO
85 HUM HAIN LAJAWAB
86 JAGIR
87 JHUTA SACH
88 KARISHMA
89 YEH DESH
90 ZAMEEN AASMAAN
91 AAR PAAR
92 ALAG ALAG
93 AWARA BAAP
94 BOND 303
95 EK SE BHALE DO
96 HUM NAUJAWAN
97 LAVA
98 RAHI BADAL GAYE
99 RAM TERE KITNE NAAM
100 OONCHE LOG
101 SHIVA KA INSAAF
102 ANOKHA RISHTA
103 JEEVA
104 PALEY KHAN
105 SHATRU
106 ZINDAGANI
107 APNE APNE
108 BELAGAAM
109 DACAIT
110 HIFAZAT
111 INAAM DUS HAZAAR
112 ITIHAAS
113 MARDON WALI BAAT
114 AAG SE KHELENGE
115 DOST
116 BAHURANI
117 JOSHILAY
118 JURRAT
119 CHOR PE MOR
120 DUSHMAN
121 JEENO DO
122 KHARIDAAR
123 ZALZALA
124 GUNEHGAAR KAUN
125 INDRAJEET
126 JHOOTI SHAAN
127 DROHI
128 JAI SHIV SHANKAR
129 JANAM SE PEHLE
130 KHULE AAM
131 SARPHIRA
132 SIYASAT
133 GARDISH
134 GURUDEV
135 TUM KARO VAADA
136 PROFESSOR KI PADOSAN
137 GHATAK
138 YAAR MERI ZINDAGI
139 ANYAAY HI ANYAAY
yOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REMEMBER NOT MORE THAN 10 SONGS FROM THE ABOVE 139 FILMS.
THE MOST VERSATILE COMPOSER WAS SHANKAR JAIKISHAN ( NO PERSONNAL OPINION ),THE MELODY,THE ORCHESTRA WITHOUT ANY STEREO IMPACT,THE WAY THEY RECORDED THE SONGS OF `JIS DESH MEIN GANGA BEHTI HAIN`,SPECIALLY `AA AB LAUT CHALE`LISTEN TO IT ON YOUR HEADPHONE .
SJ NEVER COMPROMISED ON QUALITY,NO SINGER PREFRENCE,ALTHOUGH RAFI SAAB WAS THEIR FAVOURITE,THEY NEVER IMPOSED SINGER.HEAR THE VERSATILITY OF SHANKAR JAIKISHAN IN
1) BARSAAT ( ALL TYPE OF SONGS)
2 ) PROFESSOR
3 ) GUMNAAM
4) POONAM
5 ) HALAKU ( LISTEN TO RAFI SAAB DUET -AAJA KE INTEZAAR)
6 ) AMRAPALI (HAUNTING SONGS BY LATA -TUMHE YAAD KARTE /TADAP YE DIN RAAT KI )
7 ) CHOTI SEE MULAQAT ( TITLE SONG AND THE RAFI SAAB SUMAN DUET-TUJHE DEKHA TUJHE CHAHA )
8 ) SUARJ ( PURE CLASSICALDUET BY RAFI SAAB /ASHA)
9 ) SASURAAL
10 ) HAMRAAHI
11 ) SEEMA
12 ) AURAT
13 ) KATHPUTLI
14 ) LOVE IN TOKYO
THE LIST IS ENDLESS AND THE HIT LIST IS MORE THAN THE FLOP LIST OF RDB
May 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Mr. XXX,
I fully agree with you, Pancham’s best classical compositions went to Lata. The only aspect where Asha scored over Lata in the classical department was qawwali’s, where her and Rafi shone. I also agree, Pancham’s career best compositions came from Rafi, so many would feature among Pancham’s all-time best. I don’t know how Pancham being so talented and so knowledgeable, gave his other classical compositions to Bhupinder or Kishore. Even in Mehbooba, Manna was given a solo, and no Rafi in this film. Why did he shy away from the best male classical singer, the singer that Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh, (the doyen of classical music), considered to be the greatest male singer in classical music, the singer that most MD’s, singers, lyricists etc. all hailed as the first and last word in singing, as well as the singer who his father (SDB) had even said was miles ahead of the rest.
The scores of Aandhi, Mehbooba, Kinara etc. were all made for Rafi, only to be salvaged by the vocals of Lata, who sang her solos and duets beautifully, and in her duets outshone her male counterparts completely in all the songs where there was no Rafi. Had Rafi been there, we would have heard a classical treat just like in “Nagma Hamara” and in countless other classical songs they have sung together. For example, Aandhi is a big disappointment from the male perpsective, Pancham had a beautiful chance to employ Rafi here, and he missed it big time. Lata glides through the songs, she is wonderful and sweet to the ears, whereas Kishore is shrill and struggling. As you mentioned Dada’s choice of singers was superb, something Pancham should have picked up, but didn’t. For a person who had so much classical knowledge, you would expect him to make the best decisions when it came to choosing the right singer. He could have maximized the beauty of his other classical compositions by taking Rafi-saab, but he chose not to, and in the end, he lost out and no one else. I think Pancham realized this later on, and when he was all set and ready for a second innings with Rafi in the 80’s, maybe then he was going to give him more classical-based songs. However, thank goodness he gave Rafi-saab the qawwali’s, and other classical songs, it would have been sad had they been sung by others. This is not to say Pancham didn’t make good use of Rafi in his classical-based or raaga-based songs, he did, but he could have even more.
The orchestration in those three songs you mentioned shows SDB’s genius. Dada Burman was a master MD who could bring out the best emotion in such limited use of instruments, something which was a hallmark of Madan Mohan as well. They could use so few instruments, and express each one in such a unique way, that the message they were trying to get across would be conveyed with so much depth and feeling. SDB showed that you don’t need a large orchestra to construct a good song. You could also write so much things about each of those six songs that you mentioned, such is the quality of them all. All the songs are masterpiece creations and all milestones in itself.
Now comparing father and son when it comes to orchestration is interesting. I think they both were different and unique and excellent in their own respective ways. I agree when you say Dada’s orchestration complemented the song, it was like an ornament to the melody. Dada always believed that the music should never overpower the vocals. His music was the perfect blend of softness, sweetness and melody all packaged into one. On the other hand, Pancham was more on the opposite side, he threw more to the wind, experimented more with orchestration, he always tried new sounds. I think both were excellent in choosing the right instruments for a song, and both were very creative as well. This is not to say Dada did not experiment with his music, he definitely did as well. The best of both the Burmans came through Rafi, and this is a fact. Take out Rafi from both of their repertoires and you will find it dull. Also, take out Rafi from most MD’s repertoires, and it will be dull too.
Mr. XXX, please compare the three duets of Aandhi, “Is mod se jaate hain”, “Tere bina zindagi se koi” and “Tum aa gaye ho” to one duet from Budalbaaz “Nagma Hamara” and tell me which song you think is the best taking all factors into consideration, from both the male and female side (i.e singing, melody, composition etc.). Also, how would you compare Lata-Bhupinder’s “Beete na beetayi raina” from Parichay to Rafi-Asha’s “Hum jab ek saath hai” from Bulandi ?. Also, why do you think Pancham chose Bhupinder and KK (besides being his favourite) for his other classical songs ?.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Post 715 rafisings - RDB greatest ever - this statement baffles me. Of all the md’s rdb starting his career in 1966 finds it hard to teach rafi saheb who was already singning proffesionaly since 1944 and an icon by the time rdb started on his own. if he had not died before lata, he would probably have dared to say something similar.
it is with great pain i give my views on this article which has gone on too long and is an insult to real great mds.
May 28th, 2008 at 1:43 am
RD Burman the most versatile composer ever
He scored for 331 films in 32 years. How does his Kishore Kumar son-tal-ly compare with Asha Bhosle’s? Where Kishore sang 558 songs for him (227 solo, 245 duests), Asha rendered 840 of his compositions (406 solo, 338 duets).
He married Asha 14 years after he wed Rita Patel. His 14th death anniversary it is tomorrow and I have him, speaking here, in June of 1991, R D Burman was a trendsetter without peer by then, so I asked if he still rated Chhote Nawab (1961) , his first, as his best.
“I do, if only because Lata Mangeshkar wasn’t any longer singing for Dada Burman when Mehmood asked me to compose Chhote Nawab. Those days you were ‘made’ if you got Lataji to render your maiden song. So I told Dada pointblank I was ringing Lataji.
Actually Lataji too - I found out later - wanted to get back to Dada! So she readily agreed to sing Ghar aa jaa for me.
“Did you, initially, set Ghar aa jaa as Raag Bhimpalasi in the Kaafi thhaat? Or was it in that thhaat from the word go - to unfold as Raag Maalgunji? ”
Memories
“Who but you could pose such a query? All I know is I slipped into the Kaafij thhaat while composing Ghar aa jaa, so call it Maalgunji, if you like. In the face of having scored a thousand-and-one songs since, Ghar aa jaa remains my best. The memory of the legendary Lataji agreeing to sing so readily for a fresher like me makes Ghar aa jaa unique.”
“There were those three Lata- Rafi Chhote Nawab duets - Aaj huaa meraa dil matwaala, Matwalee aankhon waale and Jeene waale muskuraa ke jee. Today you openly say you never cared for Rafi. But, at the 1966 Chhote Nawab stage, you must’ve felt grateful to have our No. 1 male singer as your playback?”
“No doubt Rafi was No. 1 then,” conceded Pancham. “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,” recalled Pancham. “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!”
Difficult Task
“Easy to say that 25 years after it happened,” I noted. “Didn’t it all happen because you never were patient with Rafi - like O P Nayyar was with Asha - to be able to draw the most resonant results from the man who sang Tum ne mujhe dekhaa for you in the same Teesri Manzil! ?”
“Only I know how I got Rafi to do Tum ne mujhe dekhaa! ” insisted Pancham. “With OP, remember, Rafi was on his home Punjabi ground. I don’t agree I was more patient with Kishore, not so patient I was with Rafi, he slipped into the same vocal error - time and again.
Kishore - you had to teach him but once, he was onto it like a shot. See the feel Kishore brought to Chingaree koii bhadke. But that’s straight Bhairavi even for Kishore.”
“Straight Bhairavi or not, see how Kishore makes it sound as if he’s singing Chingare for you, and you alone, in Amar Prem.”
May 27th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Mr.myk,
rafi-pancham classical combo was great, infact whenever pancham composed his raaga based quawwallis he took the services of rafi sahab, their very first quawwalli “koi aane ko hai” to last one “yar mil gaya to” and in between all those quawwallis were nice, and some of them were amongst the hfm’s best quawwalis like “hai agar dushamn” “kya takalluf hai walla” & “pal do pal ka sath hamara” ….
however his masterpiece classical compositions went to lata(nam gum jayega(duet),raina beeti jaye) … but there is no doubt in my mind that his career best compositions came through rafi ji {vaadiya mera daman, tumhe dekha hai gulsita mein,pyar hai ek nishaan} .. but from the period of 1970-75 he served his kheer to kishore. but still his best trendy solo from this period(gulabi aakhen) and best trendy duet(chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko) came through rafi.
pancham recorded 122 songs with rafi and let me admit that 10-12 out of them are really mediocre ones as pancham was always in the habit of churning out mediocre stuff side by side, but iam sure that at least 110 out of them were good to ears and majority of them were great like “vaadiya mera daman” “deewana mujsa nahi” “pyar hai ek nishan” “zamane ne maare ” and those legendary rock ‘n’ rolls and quawwalis.
sdb was superb in the selection of singers, he did 96 songs(lesser than rd) with rafi ji, now just consider these 6 out of those 96 and tell me what do you think, did any md-singer pair surpassed them other than naushad-rafi??…
1.jinhe naaz hai hind par
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pOGczQ1VEKw
2.ye mehlo ye takhto ye taazo ki dunia
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0yhdnIEQAgc
3.dekhi zamane ki yaari
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WnyknG0GEBM
4.din dhal jaaye
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xJuK5K0zCa0
5.kya se kya ho gaya
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tMMHDuaJls4
6.tere mere sapne
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LGSzOK_am6E
Mr.myk, what is your take on the orchestration by dada in first three songs, how would you compare his orchestration with that of pancham? i think dada’s orchestration was minimal but meaningful and always complimanting the melody of the song.
May 26th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Ref. Post 707:
Mr. Haldar, I do agree with you, I think Pancham made the wrong choice in giving many of his classical numbers to KK. It’s sad that he had to compromise on the quality by taking his favourite.
Most classical songs by Pancham are excellent because of Lata, even in the duets, its Lata who steals the show over KK or Bhupinder. Had Rafi or Manna been called to render such songs, Pancham could have had similar results from the male side. I don’t think Dada Burman would have approved of Pancham taking KK for such songs. Pancham was a learned composer in his own right, and its shocking that he made such bad decisions when being so learned. The songs of Aandhi, Kinara, Mehbooba, Parichay etc. were all made for Rafi, and would have been much better had Rafi sang them. However Pancham and Rafi also have their share of classical-based/flavoured gems which make Pancham’s repertoire rich. Had Dada Burman composed for such themes, he would have surely taken Rafi for the majority of the male songs or maybe all the male songs, and maybe Manna for others.
Mr. Haldar, besides KK being his favourite, what were other reasons Pancham made such nonsense decisions ?. Why did he shy away from Rafi when it came to such a theme ?. Why did he have to resort to Bhupinder (besides KK) when Rafi could have done wonders to those compositions ?.
Btw, the version of “mere naina sawan bhadon” I was referring to was by Lata. I don’t consider the KK version to be anything remotely related to classical music, whereas the Lata version can be defined as a classical song.
May 26th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Rafi was a one road singer no variety.
May 26th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Yes indeed “Mere Naina Savan Bhadon” sung by KK is expectionly well but not effortless like in the case of Lata. The song over exposes KK’s trembling at high scale, which sometimes pinches our ears. There is a similar song “O Majhi Re” where again KK’s high scale operation is exposed. Instead I appreciate LP’s use of KK for the classical number from “Anurodh”; “Aap Ke Anurodh Mein”. KK is brillant here, since LP don’t over expose him to higher scale like Pancham.
Regarding Manna dey I don’t think Pancham used him effectively; instead he has used Bhupindar for a few classical based songs. Examples “Biti Na Bitai Renaa”; “Naam Gum Jayega”; “Huzoor Es Kadar Bhi Na”; etc. Bhupindar sang these songs quiet well. But with use of Manna Dey / Rafi these songs could have been superior.
Possibly may be Pancham tried to use KK as per Rafi’s capability, but not much success.
May 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
‘Mere naina ‘ is a wonderfull wonderful Composition from RDB.No doubt about that.If you listen to the Lata version you can understand the beauty of it.’Humey tumse pyar’ from Kudrat is alsoexcellent song where K.K has sung with a soft voice and So it became a gem of a song(When ever K.K sung with a soft voice I like him.What about you friends?)
May 26th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
DEAR SHRI. HALDARJI,
I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU. THE “MERE NAINA SAWAN BHADON” OF KK IS A OVERHYPED SONG, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUNG BY RAFIJI.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:38 am
A poll to select your favourite mohd rafi website
http://www.twiigs.com/poll/Entertainment/Music/12264
May 26th, 2008 at 10:22 am
ref post 706:
myk, you may not agree with me, but pancham didn’t reserve his best classical songs for rafi. Whenever he could, he gave his classical compositions to Kishore and Manna. Some of kishore’s were good while others were over-hyped, like “mere nain sawan bhadon”, towards which I have a total aversion; it sounds like a caricature. Contrast that with the classically untrained op, who even made rafi sing a classical song for a bangali chhokra:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Mk0130bbX-s&feature=related
Since asha is the flavour of the day (she must be very pleased that so many rafians are talking about her), here’s a beautiful op composition from the same film:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GKFalJWnqh4&feature=related
Both these songs are celebrating their golden anniversary this year.
In my opinion, the two sisters sang the best classical compositions by pancham. Here’s an old bengali song by asha di; tell me what you think of the song and the orchestration:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iLLW7gYEm1o
May 26th, 2008 at 2:20 am
Mr. XXX, Mr. Anil Cherain, Mr. Sanjay Arora,
What is your take on Pancham’s classical-based/flavoured output with Rafi ?. Pancham missed chances to work with Rafi on various classical-based albums such as Mehbooba, Aandhi, Amar Prem, Kinara, Parichay and so forth. However he did use him in other classical-based/flavoured songs. My question is, how would you rate the following classical-based/flavoured songs (which I will list below) ?. Do they belong to the category of Pancham’s best songs in this genre ?. I was just listening to Lata’s “Mere naina sawan bhadon”, what a masterpiece this is from Pancham. Pancham’s classical songs sound unique because he would use the guitar as an accompaniment to the main (tabla) rhythm, which was excellent. For example, listen to “Is mod se jaate hain” or “Do nainon mein aansoo bhare hain”, and “mere naina sawan bhadon” (as I mentioned above), and you will know what I mean.
Here is the list of songs, please comment on each song:
Nagma Hamara - Bundalbaaz (Lata/Rafi)
Hum Jab Ek Saath Hai - Bulandi (Asha/Rafi)
Pyar Hai Ik Nishan Qadmon Ka - Mukti (Rafi)
Jab Ek Kaza Se Guzro To - Devta (Rafi)
Tumhein Dekha Hai Maine - Chandan Ka Palna (Rafi)
Dukh Sukh Ki Har Ik Mala - Kudrat (Rafi)
Hai Agar Dushman - HKKN - (Asha/Rafi)
Pal Do Pal Ka Saath Hamara - TBT (Asha/Rafi)
May 25th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Dear ANil
See the link for the songs
http://www.4shared.com/dir/7249098/c3e36f37/sharing.html
Zindagi zinda dili ka is available at Youtube.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 am
Mr. Anil Cherian,
You have brought up a good point. It is true that many masterpiece songs or great songs are not popular simply because the compositions may not be very hummable or the tune is complex, compared to other songs. I think had Rafi-saab sang those three songs, they definitely would have been amazing classics, however as far as them being popular, I am sure they definitely would have been (i.e well known), due to the Rafi magic. As far as being popular with the public from a hummable point of view, it depends. Rafi-saab brought melody to every complex tune, that was his genius, but as is the case with many songs sung by many singers, those melodious tunes may not be easy to hum/sing.
For example, take Lata’s “Jane kya baat hai” from Sunny composed by Pancham. It is an awesome song, but not as popular as other Lata/RD songs, because even though Lata has brought melody to the composition, the tune is complex and not easy to hum/sing.
May 22nd, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Re. 695: Rafi Saheb’s version of “Dukh Sukh Ki Har Ek Mala…” from “Kudrat” is outstanding. Only Rafi Saheb could do justice to this song. Anybody need this song in Rafi Saheb’s magical voice, can mail me.
melodiousrafi@gmail.com
May 22nd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Some songs that others and I have listed as solos are technically duets. For example, “Tum jo mil gaye ho”, “Likhar tera naam zamin par” both have Lata in them, and “Kya hua tera vaada” has Sushma Shrestha in it. However these songs can also be classified as Rafi solos since he has sung most of each of these songs.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Mr.Myk:
It feels nice to see that many of my favs find their place in yours too. Actually ‘tum jo mil gaye ho…’ would also have been in my listing, but I thought it wouldn’t qualify to be termed a solo.
Thanks a lot for the analysis on the three songs. I also think all these would have been aesthetically more brilliant in Rafisahab’s vocals. However would they have been as popular? I mean wouldn’t Rafisahab’s near-perfect rendition make them un-singable/un-hummable for common folks?
Mr.Rafian:
I heard many of the songs, could you provide links for ‘hazeen dilruba’, ‘zindagi ab to’, ‘mein vohi vohi baat’, ‘aisa na hoke’, ‘doston mei koi’ and ‘zindagi zinda dili’?
All the songs (I’ve so far listened to) are quite good. Some are real crackers (like ‘tum jo mil gaye ho’, ‘ek na ek’, ‘aaj mausam’, ‘teri galiyon;, etc.). However I did observe certain negative features (relative to ’50s and ’60s). The first factor is the song quality. Although these songs are quite good, none of them (except tum jo mil gaye ho..) is exactly a ‘jaanewalo zara..’ or ‘tere mere sapnon…’ or ‘ o mere shah-e-quba..’ or ‘rang aur noor ke…’. For another thing, many of these songs were from the small/medium banner films picturised on less-than-top actors. As a result they didn’t turn out to be as popular as they deserved to be and it also practically cut-off Rafi sahab’s extra-ordinary voice adaptability/ modulation skill . Thirdly, these songs never really explored Rafi sahab’s prowess in the lower notes (the way ‘mere mehboob..’, ‘meri awaz suno..’ or ‘rim jim ke geet..’ did). He was made to sound a bit monotonous in many of them. Lastly something I wouldn’t really want to admit , it’s the fact that Rafi sahab’s voice quality did appear to have come down a notch (compared to his mid-late ’60s voice) in some of these songs. I was listening to some of his late ’60s songs in between these songs (nazar na lag jaaye…, tum bin jaaun kahan…). It appeared as if something was a bit lacking , though I can’t really explain what it is. What I can say is that that magical voice was straining an extra yard (and therefore sacrificing a bit of its core-sweetness and even the heaviness) in some of the songs, perhaps Rafisahab was going thru a phase of indecisiveness (as propogated by Raju Bharatan in one of his articles).