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.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Illyaraja (though technically excellent), to me, is not in the same league as the MDs of the HFM golden period… however he’s ahead of RDB on various parameters, consistency is one of the major ones… And this comes from a South Indian who’s listened to a lot of Raja songs in various languages.
Anyway, neither of the two are my big-time favourites. In the South I’d anyday prefer the great Malayalam composers of the ’60s (esp. later part of it) and ’70s (the golden period of Malayalam film music). I’d mention some names for those who are not familiar- Devarajan (Many of the MDs like Illyaraja started out under him), Baburaj, Dakhshinamoorthy, Raghavan, M.B.Srinivas, Arjunan. And then there was Salilda with his unique music (some of them original compositions for Malayalam).
August 28th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
mr Myk ji.Don’t be furious to Sanjay ji.The way KK/RDB fanatics treats fans of other Singers/MDs is as bad as anything.That is why he wrote like that.
My Top-20 songs of RDB.
Mere naina sawan(Lata)
Zindagi ke safar mein(Kishore)
Aanewala pal(Kishore)
Naja mere humdum(Lata)
Zamane ne mare(Rafi)
Wadiyaam mera daman(Rafi)
Oh mere dil ke chain(Kishore)
Suhani chandni ratein(Mukesh)
Humein tumse pyar(Kishore)
Musafir hoo mein(Kishore)
Tere bina zindagi se koi(Lata,Kishore)
Tum aagaye ho(Lata,Kishore)
Nagma hamara gayega(Lata,Rafi)
Kya janoo sajan(Lata)
Na koimang hain(Lata)
Agar tum na hote(Lata)
Churaliya hain tumnse(Asha,Rafi)
Do lafzom ki hain(Asha)
Tumhe dekha hain(Rafi)
Kuhc na kaho(Kumar Sanu)
August 28th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Pancham might have been talented but he erred in selecting singers and his choice of singers perhaps restricted him to exhibit his real talent. Also he was highly inconsistent, if one goes thru his entire track record, perhaps he has equal number of hits and flops (music-wise).
Salil was also talented but let us not forget that his quantity (repeat number of films) was not that great to really compare him with others like Naushad, SJ, LP, SDB, MM, etc. Of course he gave music in four languages, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada, but people who have listened in all these languages know that he used to make one tune and use them in all the languages. Of course, it was his prerogative.
Ilaya Raja is definitely a Class MD especially if we listen to his Tamil songs, which are so melodious and soft (not loud) that even a non-Tamilian would like the song.
Of course, the above are again my personal opinion.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Would like to add something about S-J. They were a school of music by themselves and the original trend-setters.
Many MD’s were influenced by them and copied their style. These MD’s all had their own unique styles as well. I will list a few examples (there are other examples as well):
Laxmikant Pyarelal, the legendary duo and two of the best MD’s ever, and fans of S-J, patterned their music on S-J. Laxmikant said in an interview that early on, their music was “50 % SJ, and 50 % LP”, then it became “100 % LP”.
Kalyanji Anandji, another legendary and excellent duo were also fans of S-J. Early on from 1958-1965, their music had strong shades of S-J in it.
Usha Khanna’s selected music in the 60’s had some shades of S-J in it as well.
SDB aped S-J’s style in Ziddi and Kaise Kahoon.
A few early RDB films had some shades of S-J in it too.
Dattaram, S-J’s assistant, also aped S-J’s style in some of his films.
There was S-J’s influence in two of Ravi’s albums as well, China Town and PKTDK.
Check out the awesome 70’s chartbuster “Tum jo mil gaye ho” (Hanste Zakhm), from the genius Madan Mohan, its S-J all the way. How about “Yehi hai tamanna” (Aap Ki Parchaaiyan) which is in S-J style as well.
Salil Chowdhury’s use of the accordion and violins or unorthodox music reminded one of S-J even though it was Salil all the way.
Rajesh Roshan’s unique style of percussion and violins was vintage RR, but S-J brought this type of style years back. Check out the violins in the antara of “Dil kya kare” (Julie), S-J did that in the interludes of “Mere tumhare beech mein” (Jhuk Gaya Aasman), and “Sabhi kuch hai tujhse” (Pyar Mohabbat).
August 28th, 2008 at 12:33 am
IR is definitely not in the league of Naushad, S-J, SDB, MM, Roshan, RDB etc. however he is a great MD in his own right.
Thanks to those that answered my question as to how many Rafi songs would make it to RD’s Top 20 and Top 5 all-time best songs. I will post my choices soon.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Ofcourse the real great MD’s are the likes of S-J, MM, Roshan, SDB, Naushad etc., and even though Naushad mentioned those great things about IR, it doesn’t mean IR is in the league of the above mentioned MD’s.
Many a times, praise for another artist from other artists show how good that particular artist is, but it doesn’t mean that the particular artist is the best, it just means they’re good. Praise could however mean a particular artist is the best, but one has to look at it from a smart point of view. For example, if someone says KK is the best, its praise, but it doesn’t mean he is the best, because Rafi is the best, far greater than Kishore. On the other hand if someone says Rafi and Lata are the best, it makes sense, and any knowledgeable music fan will tell you the same thing. There lies the difference. So regardless of Naushad’s comment about IR, it doesn’t mean IR is the best, it just means he’s a good MD. Ofcourse not everyone can create raga’s, or write symphonies, but I’m sure th HFM greats could have done just that and more than what IR did, because in my view they were more talented.
The reason why I compared IR to RD is because IR was often referred to as the “RDB of the South”, just like V-S were referred to as the “S-J of the south”. Also the fact that RD and IR were contemporaries.
Anyways, I would rank Pancham among the all-time legendary and great MD’s (up there with S-J, SDB, Naushad, MM, Roshan etc.), as he is one of my favourite composers.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Also, compared to Pancham’s or S-J’s music, IR’s doesn’t have as haunting an atmosphere you associate with S-J and Pancham and MM and others. IR has made many haunting compositions, but the overall atmosphere is not as great as other MD’s. Ofcourse this is just my opinion.