Din Dhal Jaaye … Haaye .. Raat Na Jaaye
This article is written by Mr. Shrirang Nawathe, Muscat. 00968 92 89 90 89
While viewing the song, DIN DHAL JAAYE HAAYE… RAAT NA JAA.YE. TU TO NA AAYE TERI..YAAD SATAAYE … from the 1965 film GUIDE, one can easily be filled up by number of thoughts. Even after listening the song NON STOP 3 horus, I still have desire for ONCE MORE…. The beauty of the song lies in the fact of “Dedicated Team Work”. Every member of the team had contributed the best and therefore the product has come out with the tag of Excellent Quality. The quality which lasts for the decades and centuries.
What is the beauty of the song? Beautiful things cannot be expressed in words or for that matter the dictionary of the words is not enough to express the simplest forms of beauty of nature. It just has to be experienced. However, I think of some inherent factors which made the song a Quality Product. Beauty of the song is its melody,voice, music, lyrics, besides direction, presentation and performance by the Legendary Artists.
Mohd Rafi and Dev Anand
Coming down to the song, one can observe that, Rafi Sahab had done full justice to the given situation and to create the moods as expressed by Dev Anand in the film. It is clear that, Rafi Sahab got himself involved to such an extent that, we hardly are able to distinguish whether the song is sung by Dev Anand Sb or Rafi Sahab. What an understanding of the situation and matching of the voice by Rafi Sahab..just unparallel.
The extra melodious low voice was maintained by Rafi Sahab. Throughout the song which produces great impact on our minds whenever we listen the song. Even to-day, the voice of Rafi Sahab creates such vibrations in our nerve cells that, after more than 40 years of recording of the song, we get moved by the theme and situation and tears just roll down on our cheeks unknowingly and we get convinced with Dev Anand’s situation.
Here, equal credit goes to two stalwarts namely, Shailendra and SD Burman. The mysteries of the life were revealed in the simplest words by great Shailendra and this was his extraordinary quality.
SD Burman too did not leave any stone unturned. He created such a melodious, meaningful, lovely music to give due justice to the song situation. A typical SDB style reflected and is quite visible to a music lover, when one listens Flute is used so effectively that, it altogether keeps you going with the song in the same moods. Similarly, use of Saxophone was also a masterpiece. SDB denied signing new contracts when he was busy with the music composition of GUIDE just to give full justice to the job in hand. This shows the total dedication of a music director. Therefore, it is quite obvious that, music created with such dedication has to leave an everlasting impact on music lovers’ minds.
In this song, the helplessness of Dev Anand was exactly expressed by Shailendra right from the beginning. It is evident when we listen the first line of the song i.e. DIN DHAL JAAYE HAI RAAAT NA JAAYE. In fact, we can not ignore the classic efforts put by Vijay Anand directing this song. The helplessness is reflected at every moment of the song. Not only that, but also it gets worsened gradually as the song advances towards completion.
For instance, the almost empty bottle and glass are shown in the hands of Dev Anand & he was shown sitting on the floor whereas his colleague is shown sitting on a chair. Similarly, the door of Wahida Rehmaan’s room was shown locked in the beginning to express her helplessness. These are classic indications and reveals the talents of the director.
Rafi Sahab was all time great and this was proved once again when he had sung this beautiful tragedy song. Rafi Sahab had sung many tragedy songs for that matter, but, this song has a speciality that, the justice to the job was done by every member of the team to produce the everlasting effects.
Therefore, listening DIN DHAL JAAYE..HAI RAAT NA JAAYE.. ultimately leaves only and only feeling of ONCE MORE… in our minds…
Hats off to SD Burman, Shailendra, Rafi Sahab, Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman & last but not the least, VIJAY ANAND who GUIDED the team in such a way that, GUIDE achieved a status of a mile stone in the Hindi Film World, winning 7 film fare awards in the year 1967.
February 20th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Excellent research on this lovely composition nay creation of a world class music that does not loose its sheen even forty years of its recording. One of the all time great musical composition, DIN DHAL JAYE HAI from guide is indeed also one of the finest examples of the indian musical notes. i fully agree that the best of all the players in this creation was achieved and the song remains one of the most sought after by musical lovers of all shades. Great piece of writing too by mr shrirang nawathe sahab. you have laudable writing skills and a very active and knowledgeable musical mind too. keep posting such ‘greats’ among our film music, specially from rafi sahab’s plethora of the best that music can ever produce. thanks for refreshing our memories to the minutest details of this gem of a song. asmurty2@rediffmail.com
February 21st, 2008 at 12:43 am
Very keen observation sir.
in a recent shailendra - rafi musical tribute , we kept this song out
and included ” tere mere sapne ” for the only reason that no singer
will be able to recast the song as rafi saaheb has done…. we may
have been right and wrong bt the song has enough of passion and
everything else which might should go in to a “immortal song.
the director vijay anand was a great rafi saheb fan and his stamp
of excellence can never be missed.
binu nair….. the rafi foundation… + 9833 250 701
February 21st, 2008 at 11:10 am
Binuji, I agree with you that any Singer will find it difficult to do justice to this song, one of Rafiji’s best. Rafiji sang throughout at very low voice without raising or lowering but maintaining the melody, the pathos and the feeling throughout the song. Very difficult for any other Singer to do that especially for three antaras. Any other Singer singing this song will become pedestrian and be-sura, out of tune. A very difficult song sung so beautifully. Another important point, even after 42 years, the songs of GUIDE appear so fresh and one will never feel that the songs are 42 years old.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:38 am
Any aspiring singer who wants to playback in films should study this song over and over again. Even if he can achieve 60% of this, he can be considered to be great. I don’t think any singer can cross the 70% mark. Along with “yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai”, this song is a masterpiece in playback singing. And kudos to goldie anand for choreographing this song.
myk and xxx, I have been following your discussion on the decline of the quality of music in dev anand’s films. Other than the sd factor, there is an important factor which you missed: goldie anand. I am glad that mr. nawathe has highlighted his contributions. My guess is that it was goldie who brought rafi into the navketan camp, probably around the time of nau do gyarah. Till then sd was using three singers for dev: hemant, talat and kishore. Rafi’s innings with sd started a few years before ndg. Here’s a song from Devdas, which Venkat ji might label as a rare gem:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tv0ooFyBfVk
But there were other great songs by Talat, Bimal da’s favourite singer, including the beautiful “mitwa, lagi re yeh kaisi”:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDk9EO20HBI&feature=related
SD hadn’t still made the switch. But by the time sujata came, he wanted rafi to croon “jalte hain jiske liye”. But Bimal da would have none of it and that is why there was so much unpleasantness between sd and talat.
The 1954-60 period was very crucial for Rafi. Till around 1954, Madan Mohan, Roshan, SD and even SJ were using other male singers more. Baiju Bawra happened in 1952, but it took a few more years for Rafi to establish his No. 1 position. And for that we’ll have to recognise the contribution of one of the most loyal rafians, who used rafi’s voice on every hero and comedian: dilip kumar, raj kapoor, shammi kapoor, guru dutt, dev anand, johnny walker, kishore kumar, bhagwan das, joy mukherji, biswajeet… He is one of the pancha ratnas in rafi saab’s life, the other four being naushad, sd, madan mohan and sj.
February 21st, 2008 at 11:48 am
‘Din dhal jaaye…’ stands out as one of the most melodious songs ever recorded. Rafi Sahab was in his element, and has infused so much pathos into this song that all listeners are still amazed by his incredible rendition! Rafi Sahab has deliberately suppressed his voice to reach the very low notes demanded by the intricacies of the tune. Fortunately, the picturisation did full justice to the singer, poet and composer.
February 21st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Nawathe ji
Excellent article. In fact all the three solos of Rafi sahab in Guide are masterpieces-othet two being Kya se kya ho gaya and Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hai.
Refreshing to see such good article after a long gap. I did not like so many controversial comments , personality clashes in this site and hence took a backseat. I feel this site should keep talking about such gems of Rafi sahab rather then going into endless controversies as who is a better singer/music director etc. This is more so important as Rafi sahab himself stayed clearly away from all controversies and was so humble.
Message to Mr Venkadri–eagerly awaiting your 6th part of rare diamonds!!
February 21st, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Good article by Shrirang Nawathe. he sang some songs to devanand which became very famous. SDBurman gave most of the music direction in his films. I like the song very much “Tere Mere Sapne aab ek rang hai”, what a soft song it is.
shashank_72@rediffmail.com
February 21st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Very beautiful song, sung by Muhammad Rafi Sahib. I m graphic designer in a leading newspaper of Lahore Pakistan. I have my colleagues who do not like old music. But, i would like 2 disclose this fact that when my colleague listened this song of Muhammad Rafi sahib. He said to me, he could not sleep all the night due to the most melodious voice ,great composition and thought provoking lyrics. This is the true fact of the melodious voice of Muhammad Rafi Sahib.
February 21st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
post 4 Haldar hi…
u are talking about the grand old ziddi man : op nayyar for whom
rafi used to sing:
yoon to hum ne kaee sangeet - kar dekhe hai; tumsa NAHIN dekha..
binu nair…..mumbai..
February 21st, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Interesting article, the song “Din Dhal Jaye Haye…” was specially composed for Rafi Saheb only. No other singer could dare to sing this song. This is Dev Anand ji’s best song. No words to describe how Rafi Saheb sang it! This song is as fresh as it was before 42 years. That’s Rafi Saheb’s magic.
melodiousrafi@yahoo.com
February 21st, 2008 at 8:56 pm
din dhal jaaye is surely among the list of the songs which wud be nothing wdout rafi sahab, i mean this composition was beyond d capability of any singer.. again a sad and divine composition by dada burman..
as Shrirang Nawathe ji mentoned that this song was utter example of dedicated team work, composers of 50s & 60s did their job with full dedication specially naushad ji…
haldar ji,
m agree wd u, goldie really brings magic to the navketan, apart from film making he was also master in d art of picturisation of songs..
it was only goldie’s great picturisation of song dat made me first time to feel the inner view of kutub minaar in d silken romantic voice of rafi sahab.. many times goldie got the invitations from the acting schools to teach the lessons on d picturisation of song..
goldie was nice actor too, my fav rafi sahab song picturised on goldie is
” masti mein chhed ke tarana koi dil ka ” composed by mm…
February 21st, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Magic is magic
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:34 am
Mr. Haldar,
You must be referring to one of the greatest composers of all time, OPN, he was indeed one of Rafi’s best composers.
Interesting you mentioned how Goldie brought Rafi into Navketan, if that had not happened, would SDB not have moved to Rafi the way he did ?. I find it hard to believe that a person of SD’s talent would not recognize another great talent in Rafi. Maybe SD would have moved towards Rafi after but its good to know that Goldie brought Rafi into Navketan territory. After that Rafi became a Navketan pillar. I also find it hard to believe that any male singer was competition to Rafi after he made his mark in the early 50’s. From that point onwards he rose above all others.
You mentioned another interesting point about those composers using other male singers more. With SJ, I see a trend of quite a few female oriented films in the fifties, maybe that could explain why, but even in 1954 for a film like Pooja, it was Rafi all the way and in other films during that time. As for the rest, we can maybe attribute it to various other factors and not anything to do with Rafi’s position or anything related to his singing. For example in 1953, MM’s Chacha Chawdhury is dominated by Rafi.
So we can assume these composers (barring SD who made the switch later on and became a Rafian after) were Rafians from the beginning but due to other factors (i.e female oriented films etc.) could not use Rafi the way they wanted to (as they did after) and when they had the chance to during that period (no factors like female oriented films etc. involved), like in Pooja or CC, they did. As they and the majority were Rafians, I am sure Rafi was always their first choice, if at all in any situation Rafi was not used by them, I don’t think its a case of preference for others, but rather other factors. There are choice exceptions, like MM wanting Talat in 1964 for Jahan Ara, but that doesn’t mean his first preference was not Rafi, it just meant he felt Talat suited those songs better. Imagine Rafi singing “Phir wohi shaam, wohi gham”, what a masterpiece it would have been. However, Talat did a fantastic job with those songs. I don’t know why SD didn’t use Rafi a lot during that early phase, but he definitely made up for it later on.
There has been no male singer in the history of HFM that ruled like Rafi, and that too for so many years. He left the competition far behind. KK’s reign for a few years (with Rafi not being there for a while) can’t be compared to Rafi’s reign, because Rafi, Mukesh etc. were right there in the mix, and not far behind, and Rafi came back to reclaim this throne, and left at the top. I find it amusing when Amit Kumar at his concerts mentioned his father ruled for 17 years after Aradhana, who is he kidding ?.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:54 am
On TV show when they asked Dev A u used KK mostly and he answered no also i used mohd rafi,Offourse KK gave great songs to Dev ji.
Dev ji was first romantic actor in bollywood if I am not wrong that was boz of SD and Mohd Rafi as I think.
the crazy actor of bollywood was Shammi Kapoor also because of Mohd rafi and SJ .
there are few other actors jest take out Mohd Rafi songs from there flims there will be nothing.
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Since, you have discussed about “Guide” and “Din Dal Jaye…” I would disclose one secret behind “Guide” and this song and also a Great composer who was victimised and sidelined. After the Silver Jubilee Musical success of “Hum Dono”Dev Anand signed Chetan Anand-Jai Dev The Director-Music Director team for his next film, as this is a convention in film industry to reperat a successful team. But later subject selected was “Guide”, and after hearing the subject, Chetan Anand withdrew himself saying that subject is on adultry, and also Vyjayantimala, the first choice of heroin on the same reason. But Jai Dev remained as Music Director. Shailendra wrote two songs which were composed by Jai Dev, which was liked by Dev, Goldie and lyricist. Shailendra took the news to SDB and told him that if his assistant continues like this he (SDB) will be out permanentely from Navketan camp. Hearing the same SDB rushed to Dev’s Bunglow, argued, thretened, and emotionaly blackmaikled
and the result- Jai Dev was out, and SDB got in as MD of GUIDE. But he retained both the songs composed by Jai Dev. On Dev’s insistance Jai Dev worked as chief assistant to SDB in this film silentely. After giving a Big Musical hit Like HUM DONO, Jai Dev has not done a second film for Navketan. Out of two songs composed by Jai Dev. one was a Rafi sollow. “Din Dal jayee.. is based on Rag Bilwar and Yaman. Bilwar is Jai dev ’s personal favourite rag and he composeas atleast one song in each film based on this rag. So it could be Din dal jaye. In Hum Dono, one hit song was Kabhi Kudh pe.. by Rafi sab. which was based on Raag Gara. Even Music composers repeat a successful raag in films. “Terre mer sapne” is based on Raag Gara, so this could be of Jai Dev’s composition. nobody knows, when I asked Jai Dev he didn’t tell which Rafi song is his composition. such a great composer, human being he was victimised by powerfull
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:36 pm
DEAR SHRIRANGJI
YOU HAVE DESCRIBED ONE OF THE GREATEST SONGS OF RAFI SAHAB SO VERY BEAUTIFULLY !
THANK YOU VERY MUCH !
BEST REAGRDS/ A.T.M. SALIM.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Great Article Nawathe ji,
In fact the song “Dil Dhal Jaayei” is a landmark in music. It is impossible for any singer to sing this song to perfection. The line “Raat Na Jaaye” needs tremendous control sur, where Rafi Saab sings it totally effortlessly. Similar is the Line “Tu To Na Aye Teri Yaad Sataaye”. It is a slow song which needs tremendous power of expression, depth and feelings. Rafi Saab provides every thing. Later Goldie Anand as a director uses Dev Anand to perfection in the picturization.
I agree with Halder Ji theory of Goldie’s association with Rafi. From the late sixties till the late seventies when Dev Anand himself directed films, Rafi was used only on one or two occassions. Other wise the main lead singer was always Kishore.
Mr. Iyer, thanks for the information on Jai Dev’s involvement in Guide. it could be 100 % true.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Dear Mr Iyerji,
1.-Thank you very much for your inputs.
2.-I was not aware of the fact that, the song was composed by JAIDEV.
3.-Surely after having the input and thinking on the tune one can conclude that DIN DHAL JAAYE might have been from JAIDEV..
4.-Ultimately, the song is a magical song..
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Mr. K B Iyer sahab, you have chipped in with vital information that was not known to me earlier. thanks for the useful ‘tidbit’ but like mr anmol singhji opined, it could be 100% true. Mr. iyer seems to know his music thoroughly well for he has named certain ragas and almost inside information about jai dev sahab. keep up this good work all rafians, we learn newer things almost each day through these columns and they are all very interesting indeed. kudos.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
myk, please study madan mohan’s and roshan’s track record during 1950-54 carefully, and you’ll be surprised. During that period, Talat was mm’s no. 1 male singer, while for Roshan, it was Mukesh and Talat. You are partly right about SJ, that his music was totally Lata-oriented, but he did give a lot of songs to Mukesh, Manna and Talat during that period too. The reason I brought up this issue was to highlight the intense competion among the male singers those days and the immense contributions nayyar saab, along with naushad ji, made to rafi saab’s career.
I deliberately mentioned the two Talat solos on Dilip Kumar (in Footpath and Devdas) to point out that Talat still had a grip on Dilip, and if you ignore Naushad, you’ll find that SD, SJ, Khayyam and Salil were happily using Talat/Mukesh on Dilip Kumar. For Raj Kapoor, it was Mukesh followed by Manna Dey, and for Dev Anand, it was Hemant/Talat/Kishore.
If you do a dispassionate analysis, you’ll realise what Rafi was up against. And that’s why OP’s contributions were so important. See the kind of success he had in the 1954-60 period. I am sure Goldie took note of what he did with Rafi on Guru Dutt and Dev Anand in films like Aar Par and CID. OP made sure that anyone who could move his lips would sing in Rafi’s voice. Is it a surprise then that SD wanted Rafi for both Guru Dutt and Dev? And then came Tumsa Nahin Dekha, with which began the Shammi-Rafi association.
When I said SD started his innings with Rafi in the mid 50’s, I didn’t mean it literally. If I remember correctly, Rafi sang a few solos and duets for SD in the late 40s and early 50s, but I consider that to be batting practice. His real association with SD began in 1957. Rafi retired hurt at 96, which included several sixers and fours, the likes of which I doubt you will ever see in film music.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I read an interview from Dev Anand where he specifically recounted about “a Rafi song he and Goldie were not satisfied by with”. He called SD Burman to tell him and SD thought it sounded just fine. The next morning, according to Dev Anand, SD Burman calls him and says you may have a point, he makes changes, and the result is what we have today Din Dhal Jaye.
This interview by Dev Anand seems to indicate that some other song must be by Jaidev. I also hear that Dev Anand waited 6 months for SD Burman to recover in order to finish Guide. Is this true and does it have any relevance to who was original composer (Jaidev could have come right back as original if SD Burman was sick. There are rumors that RD called the shots when SDB was ill - so why couldn’t Jaidev for a movie he started himself and RD had yet to reach the big leagues with Teesri Manzil?).
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
i also don’t see any connection with rafi and vijay anand (or the other anand brothers for that matter). especially in the 70s (even with vijay anand) i don’t see much rafi. rafi never appears from 70 to 75 except with madan mohan or sd burman in two films. maybe a few appearances in late 70s because of market forces.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
ref to p 15::
k b iyer ji,
are you sure about your story? i read somewhere dev’s interview where he mentioned that he was eagerly wanted sdb to do the score of guide, but dada after completing one song refused to continue bcoz of ill health, he said to dev that hire some odr composer, but dev also refused to do so.
in d same interview dev told d story of “din dhal jaaye” they already recorded the song with rafi sahab but goldie and dev were dissatisfied by the tune, they called dada & told him regarding this but dada replied “song is ok” but goldie & dev said “perhaps it could be better”.. half an hour later dada called up and said that “may be we had a point, he said that arrange a harmonium there for me im coming tommrow morning” and dada came up next morning wd excellent melody of din dhal jaaye than dev called shailendra who wrote up lyrics in juss 5 mins…
iyer sahab, sorry but ur story is just beyond my belief.. there are already various myths & crap regarding dada like pancham & jaidev were major architects behind his compositions, plz dn strengthen these myths. we all should respect these great composers..
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
ref post 15:
Mr. Iyer, very interesting story, but it doesn’t tally with the reports I’ve read on Guide. Jaidev had stopped assisting SD in the early 60s. I’m sure Jaidev, along with pancham and n. dutta, were the brains behind many of sd’s tunes, but you cannot survive in the cut-throat world of film music for 30 years if you don’t have super talent. The interesting thing about sd is that no matter who left him — sahir, lata, jaidev or pancham — he not only kept producing quality music, but also “hit” music.
SD was not in good health while Guide was being made. But Dev Anand has mentioned several times that he waited dada to recover. And here’s an excerpt from one of his recent interviews:
—————-
Q: Your skills as a man-manager are well known. You got the best work out of a short-tempered eccentric like composer Sachin Dev Burman.
Ans: His greatest compositions were created in the most informal sittings - Dada Burman playing around on the harmonium for hours, and I huddled next to him, rejecting one tune, and egging him on before approving another. It was a great feeling. But he had to be handled carefully. We once recorded a ghazal by an Urdu poet - which Dada composed and got Mohammed Rafi to sing. After the recording, Goldie and I thought it fell short of the mark. Baat bani nahi jo banne chaahiye thi. But we didn’t dare tell Dada right away. That night, I called him and asked how he felt about it. Bahut achha hua Dev, he said. I said, Dada usme kuch zarasi baat reh gayi hai, but I can’t explain what exactly is missing. He said, Nahi, nahi, bahut achha hua hai, and banged the phone down. I sensed he was mildly irritated, but also knew I’d succeeded in sowing a doubt in his mind. And the very next morning, he called to say he was coming over that evening. He came, played the harmonium for a little while and hummed the first notes of a new tune. And I said, that’s it. We summoned lyricist Shailendra who wrote the mukhda, and right there was born the famous Guide song: Din dhal jaaye, raat na jaaye.
February 23rd, 2008 at 8:56 am
P Haldar: “Rafi retired hurt at 96, which included several sixers and fours, the likes of which I doubt you will ever see in film music.”
I didn’t get your slang - please explain.
btw…Mr Iyer never questioned SDB’s talent as a composer who could produce hit after hit - he only suggested that even SDB had to be watchful of FICKLE forces in the industry. The SAME fickle forces that overlooked Kishore in 50s, Rafi in early 70s, Madan Mohan for most of his career, RDB during his last years, etc.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:01 am
Let us not forget that though Talat had very good songs in Jahanara under MM, two songs of Rafi also stood out in this film, solo “Kisiki Yaad Me” and duet with Suman “Baad Muddat”. Perhaps MM thought that these two long and soft songs required Rafi.
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 am
“Din Dal Jaaye” is one of the very many difficult songs of Rafi Sahab simply because this song demands dhard, expression from the whole heart out, clarity and above all that softness without being volatile, to bring that evening soulful expression of a true lover. All this and many more demanding qualities of a singer can undoubtedly be brought by our one and only Rafi Sahab..
Regads
Chandan
9841071388
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:25 am
Interesting story Iyer ji.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
ref post 23:
xxx, well said. dada bashing has become a popular sport (no pun intended). For someone who took talim from Ustad Allaudin Khan, arguably the greatest figure in Hindustani classical music in the last century, to have to rely on Jaidev for composing in raag bilawal must be something. To compose in raag bilawal, all you have to do is to refer to the national anthem. Junior burman gave his parichay in that raga. By the way, I was thinking of the second line from Jaane woh kaise (pyaasa), which goes like this: hum ne to jab kaliya mangi knato ka haar mila. Isn’t it eerily similar to “punjab sindh gujarat maratha” from the national anthem?
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Ref Post 20:
Mr. Haldar, I agree with you regarding MM’s and Roshan’s top singers during that period, but they did also use Rafi, maybe not as much as others, but I don’t think it had anything to do with their different opinion on Rafi at the time.
The point I was trying to make is that I find it hard to believe both Roshan and MM who later on used Rafi so much, didn’t take him as much earlier because they weren’t convinced of his talent. I think taking others and not Rafi (even if they wanted him) could be for various reasons (as I mentioned in the previous post). I mentioned that these composers were Rafians which is why I find it hard to believe they didn’t take him as much earlier because they didn’t find him as great.
You can look at it from another way, that because of what they did with Rafi later, we “now” term them as “Rafi composers”, and maybe earlier they weren’t inclined towards him for their own reasons. However I find it hard to believe that these composers who turned fully to him later, had a different opinion of him earlier. I’m sure all along they knew he was the greatest, but due to various reasons they used others.
As for SDB, being another Rafi composer, I am surprised why he didn’t take Rafi as much as earlier, when he thought Rafi was the greatest. I find it hard to believe he or others recognized Rafi’s supremacy later on (if that’s the case).
What I think is that all these greats, MM, Roshan, SDB knew Rafi was the best from the time he made his mark, but somehow their thoughts didn’t turn into actions until after. Or maybe they weren’t like Naushad and OPN who recognized Rafi’s supremacy very early and used him a lot from early on.
Like I said I find it hard to believe these genius composers didn’t recognize Rafi’s talent early on as to use him a lot, because they all fully switched to him later on. Not using Rafi could be due to various other reasons, and nothing to do with talent. Maybe since Talat was the top singer for a short period, due to various reasons they stuck to him, even if they wanted to use Rafi, and could use him (the way they did) in the 50-54 period, because of other factors. Once the mid fifties came, they switched over to Rafi.
I agree, the OPN-Rafi combo was very successful during the 50-64 period and ofcourse later on.
What do you think ?
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Very nice article on my Favourite song which brings tears to all music lovers.
Murty sir told me that when some youngster talent singer sang this song in one of the reality show one of the judges told him why you selected a simple song?.
Murty sir pl highlight who this musically deaf judge made such stupid comments.
I personally cannot think of any tribute to Rafi sahab or Burmanda without atleast 8 songs in list of 28 songs played by the duo.
Yes Haldar da like G.R.Vishwanath scoring 97 runs in that agressive innings at Madras which gave us victory Rafi sahab has scored that 96 or 97 to give us the best hits from the Navketan banner….
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Good Article!!! I love this song many times after 2 bacardi large with a good Gold flake king in hand.. Rafi saab many moods one great gentleman. Jai Rafi saab not only for your voice but your humanity and behaviour too.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I am not here to start a controversey, since main people involved like Dada, Jaidev, Shailendra, and Goldie are no more. I knew Jai dev personally and he told me that he was replaced from Guide, which was a big set back of his carrier, and two of his compositions were used with little modification by Dada. On an earlier occation, for the film Kalapani, gazal “Hum bekudi ” was also originally composed by Jai dev. Film Industry has certain unwritten rules and style. They need successful artists than talented, that is why Madan Mohan, Jaidev, Roshan and Khayyam could not survive, because they failed in marketting. Jaidev , a Punjabi was the diciple of Sarod mestro Ustad Ali Ali akbar Khan, and Ustad was invited to compose music for Navketan and he brought Jai dev as his assistant Music director. But Ustad was not interested in film music, and then came Dada, but Jai dev remained and was permenent empolyee of Navketan in their Music department, and was cheif Assistant Music director to Dada in all Navketan films. Chetan Anand introduced Jai dev as independent Music director, and with Dada’s consent Dev signed Jai dev for Hum Dono, HD turned out to be big musical hit for Navketan, and so Dev sighned Chetan Anand and JD for next production, which latter turned out to be Guide. Chetan Anand and Vyjayantimala walked out because of subject. JD composed two songs for Guide, which was used with liitle modification. Bilawar is a rag very close to JD. He is the only Music Director who had bagged four times Sur Singar Samsad award for classical songs in Hindi Film, twice Nation award for best Music, playback singer award twice for his composition. Don’t under estimate him, he was not powerfull, didn’t had any lobby
his contribution to Dada was much bigger.He is the only Music Director who was not repeated by his producer inspight of giving a Musical Hit. Comming back to “Din Dal Jaye . this song was selected by Times Music ,musical division, Of Times of India as one among their list 100 Millenium songs in 2000. Other song they selected was “Abhi na jaao” (Hum Dono), which they gave ten out of ten marks saying that its a perfect song.Reason given:- best lyrics by one of the best in the industry Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Music by talented Jaidev, based on Raag Yaman which was used for Romantic sequence, and was a evening Raaga( here Hero Heroine meet in the evening) was apt, Floute in the song was played by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasya, and beautiful santoor by Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, and of cource most beautiful and best playbacking voice Rafi- Asha. There is a unreleased film “Khunnus” which had a beautiful gazal composed by JD and sung by Rafi, and Rafi sab has held this song as good as of Guide and Hum Dono . that tells all.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:26 pm
myk: this is re ur query….
i) Song ae mere man, mai hoon agan : fully composed
and recorded by s.d.b. (dada burman ) confirms our friend
shri yogesh goud the lyricist from goregoan , mumbai.
ii) Badi sooni sooni hai : out and out Kishore song, practiced by
him in music sittings. the lyricist : yogesh and s.d.b. had kk in
mind when the song was concieved.
my rafi fan has almost ditched me re the aradhana song , roop
tera mastana and meri sapnon ki raani, sung by rafi.
i strongly think that such two songs do not exist; and i
request the rafi fan - not to indulge in gossips re great legends….
binu nair… the rafi foundation, mumbai…9833 250 701
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 pm
what and where is the difference when one tries to sing two songs:
the immortal bhagwan and the daisy fresh ” din dhal jaaye raat…
which among the two is more difficult?..
please try…
binu nair.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Somebody has said it correctely. FAILURE IS A ORPHAN, SUCCESS IS A BASTARD. More people will come forward to father a successful attempt. There are so many unknown artists, and tecnitions whose work comes out in somebody’s name, and they silentely suffer hoping to make it one day. And also there are groups and lobby, where they don’t allow anybody else to enter. Very few have survived in these man eating man Industry. Madan Mohan, and Jaidev were good friends, they shared booz and and creative ideas imagined alike. MM was also a victime of these groups and failed commercially. Kishore Kumar has replaced Rafi’s voice in the film “Paisa ye Paisa” and was not ready to shoot untill he playbacked the song.(K.K was the hero of this film) Rafi sab was replaced several times by Anil Biswas for Talat Mehmood. This is a routine in film Industry. If you are powerful and has got God father, only can survive. Dev sab and Dada Burman had very close emotional relation, and that is why JD told that Dada had emotionaly blackmailed Dev to remove JD, and he did it for his Guru. Every Music Director is talented, classically trained, but to strike at a perticular tune at the right time is essential. When they get a right tune irrespective of the source, they grab it and nobody is exceptional here.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Well Binuji, Both songs are difficult to sing. Of course, raising the voice in “Bhagawan” and maintaining the soft low voice in “Din Dhal Jaye” especially with those slight raising and lowering and dragging buit still maintaining the melody, we can say demnaded quite opposite requirements.
Regarding MDs not using Rafi much in the fiftees, well, the reasons are obvious. The leading heroes of that period had their own favourite Singers like Raj Kapoor had Mukesh / Mannadey, Dilip Kumar had Talat, Dev Anand had KK / Hemant, Pradeep Kumar had Hemant, etc. Heroes like Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, etc. were yet to find a permanent place. Only Bharat Bhushan and Guru Dutt had Rafi as their main Singer and among MDs, OPN and Naushad were using Rafi regularly. The success of Baiju Bawra revealed the range of Rafi. Subsequently, songs from Mother India, Vachan, CID, Naya Daur, etc. established Rafi as the No. 1 Singer so much so that even Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Pradeep Kumar started using Rafi as their Singer. The arrival of heroes like Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shammi Kapoor, etc. forced MDs to use Rafi as their main Singer by late fiftees. And of course, in the sixties Rafi was the main Singer for almost all the heroes except of course Raj Kapoor.
February 23rd, 2008 at 6:20 pm
haldar ji,
“jane wo kaise log the” indeed shows tagore’s influence on dada. im agree wd u,composer of dada’s caliber would not rely on jaidevji for his raaga based compositions, atleast not for well known bilawal whose sargam is equally well known to music lovers as well as to common man, this raag is directly or indirectly known to everyone.
jaidevji & pancham might helped dada during his compositions but overall music direction was of dada only, madan mohan & manna dey assisted this maestro during their early days and let themselves groomed in an innovative manner.
i think enough is enough, some wants to bring down naushadji by simply ignoring his gr8 contribution to 40s,50s & 60s and saying that he cudnt surivive in 70s, odrs want to bring down dada by saying that his assistants did all the tricks. i really dn know why all this happening here with these two greatest composers.
February 23rd, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Dear Sri Shrirang Nawathe Ji
very nice, well research and heart touching article.
It is the best song ever picturised on Dev Saheb sung by Rafi Saheb with association of SDB, Shailendra and Vijay Anand. Director Vijay Anand will be recognised forever as best director for song picturisation in HF.
SDB used the voice of Rafi for three solos in Guide: “Din Dhal Jaye”, “Tere Mere Sapne” and “Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya” and SDB openly admired for which no other singer never matched .
The association of SDB,Rafi and Dev Anand created some everlasting songs in HFM (in the films like Nau Do Gyarah, Kala Bazar, Kalapani, Tere Ghar Ke Samne, Guide, Jewel Thief, Teen Devian, Gambler, etc.)
with warm regards 2 all rafians
biman baruah
sivasagar, assam
February 24th, 2008 at 12:33 am
ref post 33:
mr. iyer, please don’t get me wrong. I consider jaidev to be one of the unsung heroes of film music. I would include at least two of his solos, if not three, in Rafi’s top 25 list. What I didn’t like about your post is the allegation that dada blackmailed dev to throw jaidev out. Just because we love jaidev, we don’t have to assassinate the character of someone whom stalwarts like naushad, op, mm, roshan and salil admired, and who played a big role with almost every major playback singer.
“hum bekhudi mein” was not jaidev’s composition. I clearly remember what jaidev himself had said on the jaimala program. He said that he heard a Rajasthani naat (some say it’s a muezzin’s call to prayer) and relayed the tune to dada. Dada then sang it himself in Bengali and then had Rafi deliver it in Kalapani.
What xxx has said about mm assisting sd is true (though xxx says he is from genX, I think he is an old monk). You can’t imagine the kind of respect that the old man had for mm; once he had said that he was willing to exchange his entire life’s oeuvre for mm’s score in only one film! Then why would he go all out to destroy Jaidev, who was one of the most talented assistants that the music world has seen? Other than your post, I haven’t read about the guide episode anywhere else. In fact, what I have read totally contradicts what you have said. There has been some noise about “kahin bekhayal hokar” from teen deviyan. The rd camp tried to sell it as a pancham composition, but I have serious doubts about that. But if someone puts a gun to my head and asks me to select one of the assistants, I’d say “jaidev”. The only problem is that jaidev was not assisting dada then.
Here’s a sobering thought for all of you who want to join the dada-bashing bandwagon. Post Aradhana, when everyone knows for a fact that jaidev and pancham were not around assisting sd, which assistant created the music for gambler, ipzn, tere mere sapne, sharmilee and abhiman? What the old man created lying on his sick bed, many md’s of the 70s couldn’t create when in the pink of health.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:58 am
ref post 25:
mr. jai, when I said that rafi retired hurt at 96, I meant the 96 songs he delivered under dada’s baton. I used the word “hurt” to convey the hurt feelings of rafi saab when he was deprived of completing his well-deserved century. If after composing the tune of “badi sooni sooni re”, dada had said, “rofi, tu gaa”, that one would have gone for a sixer. Rafi would have taken the rough hues off that song, and you’d be talking about that song in the same breath as his other famous “sooni” songs, including this one.
I have compared Rafi’s innings with dada to Vishy’s 97 not out against the fearsome West Indian attack at the Chepauk. That’s what Narayanan ji was referring to in his post. Andy Roberts bowling at his fastest on a bouncy wicket and Vishy goes on the backfooot to guide the ball through square with a turn of his wrists. The ball went so fast that no one had a chance to move; all that they could do was to stand helplessly and admire the artistry. That’s “mera man tera pyaasa”, one of the last SD-rafi gems.
February 24th, 2008 at 2:08 am
While we are on the topic of SD’s assistants, a sudden thought came to my mind. Dev crooned “abhi na jaao chhod kar” to stop his beloved from leaving, and then years later he told her “ruk…ruk…ruk”. What a fall! Sorry, I’ll be more sober from now on.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Ref Post 34:
Binu-ji, Thank you for the reply, and taking the time to ask Yogesh-ji the questions, much appreciated.
The Rafi gem from Us Paar should once again shut myths that Dada Burman could not compose western-based songs. Many say that he left his western-based songs to Pancham, and that he wasn’t strong in this genre. The truth is, that Dada Burman was strong in every genre.
Kishore did a great job with “Badi Sooni Sooni Hai”, but as Mr. Haldar mentioned one time, had Rafi sang it, the song would have been an all-time classic.
February 24th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
narayanan sir, ref post no. 31… I do not know the names of any of the musicians of today who sit on judgement on reality shows that showcase rubbish noise calling it music and while i had watched it for mr abhas joshi singing rafi sahab’s songs, i just happened to see the above episode and i immediately lost all further interest in the programme. there is no point in discussing these so-called mds of today who have little or no idea of the real music and unfortunately the media gives them all the unwarranted importance. but then, like ‘power’ money corrupts too. leave alone today’s mds and the singers of the present day bollywood, no one could have given the song such a singular and unique dimension that rafi sahab has provided and it has withstood the test of times, just as thousands of other golden songs from rafi sahab’s matchless voice.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Sunil Dutt is one of the cultured actors of bollywood who always has been respected by a large section of the filmlovers. He got decent role in Bimal Roy’s Sujata, opposite Nutan,
February 25th, 2008 at 5:34 am
Ref Post 40:
Mr. Haldar, wasn’t it Naushad who mentioned he’d trade his entire life work for “Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha” from Anpadh ?. You are right, SD really respected MM as well, when asked about Heer Ranjha, he said:
“I could not have scored Heer Ranjha with half the felicity Madan Mohan did.”
That is a huge compliment coming from the grand master of music. I am having a hard time believing that some songs of Guide were composed by Jaidev.
I love your analogy about Rafi’s 96 not out “retired hurt” with SD. This innings is much better than many centuries. How about Rafi’s century with RD ?. This innings also consists of many awesome fours, sixes, glorious cover drives, cuts, hooks, pulls, excellent straight drives etc.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:48 am
myk,
do you have that article where sd said it? it’d be a good read? seeing that both great mds sadly died the same year - i hope madan mohan was alive to hear that. it hurt him to know he didn’t get the appreciation he deserved. i hope such remarks coming from a great like sd would cheer him - but it was probably too late.
as for rafi leaving hurt - sd did acknowlege even in 1970s who his best singer was and what his best songs were - so i hope rafi realized sd did it to give kishore a break, someone sd had personally & closely seen not get enough assignments for 23 years.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:07 am
ref post 45:
myk, I think you are right. I remember that dada was very impressed with the music of heer ranjha and naushad with the beauty from anpadh. Anyway, I am posting an interesting mail from one of my friends, who is a great sd fan; this may give a partial answer to one of your earlier queries on sd’s tabaliya.
————–
Here is an interesting fact: In the case of almost all Hindi and Beng. songs with the same tunes, the Beng song was the original. However, in the case of Jaane kya tune kahi from Pyaasa, it was the Hindi that came first. Later, when the song became a big hit, Roby Guha Mojumdar, who had taken talim in Purab-ang thumri from SDB when the latter was a Calcuttan and who had penned the lyrics of many of SDB’s Beng songs, persuaded Korta to record the song in Bengali. The old man initially refused, saying that a Bengali copy of a Hindi hit would never be a success, esp. when Geeta had greater market value than himself as a singer. However, Roby Babu’s wish prevailed and he himself wrote the lyrics to fit the tune (Mono dilona bondhu, mono niloje shudhu; ami ki niye thaki). This story was narrated to me by Roby Babu himself. I was first taken to his house on Hazra Road by my singer-friend Bablu (around 1986-87) and later became a frequent visitor. In his house I met Brojen Biswas, the blind tabaliya, who was SDB’s regular accompanist since his early days.
February 25th, 2008 at 9:19 am
xxx, you and myk have listed several SD-rafi gems in another thread, but you missed out on a really good one. I am mentioning it now because this song also gives you the “sooni” feeling, a feeling of loneliness. In this song, rafi prolongs the word “kahaa…an” to give a dard-bhari experience. Unfortunately, this song did not get the same fame as “hum bekhudi” or “din dhal jaaye”, but when you hear it, you wonder if it is any less. Sadly enough, this song got somewhat overshadowed by another beauty from the same film (hint: the competition was from unexpected quarters). I’d request you to start a thread on the song with a detailed analysis.
February 25th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Ref. Post 47:
Manish,
I tried searching for the article (which had the quote from SDB) that I read a few years ago, but couldn’t find it, maybe it doesn’t exist on the net anymore. However I found another article that mentions the quote and more. It’s a nice article, and an interesting read:
http://www.geocities.com/~sm0e/R-madanMohan.txt
February 25th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Srirangji u r absolutely right abt.Rafiji’s life time one of the best among best is din dhal jaaye… and who has god given heeart and mind and knowledge of understanding the meanings of the songs could/would have pass thro the same feeling at the time of listening the song.
The Guide storyline was very very bold at the time of its release(1967) and thanks to viewers of that time for theire contribution to run Guide silverjubilee.As u mentioned it is team dedication that made a product like guide.
But apart from all the team work only one and only one Vijay Anand (Goldie) can handle this timeless/spaceless subject.And if u analyse goldies than u find his directorial talent or musical sense to get out best from his artist,he was trend setter in his subject(He never repeat his subject)but others made many film after his film hit on silver screen .some of his directorial venture are Hum Dono(Love-war-sacrifice-MD-Jaidev),Johny mera naam(Md-KA,a hundreds follows then after on same subject like under world DON)Teesri manzil(MD-RDB-a thriller-suspense movie)Ter mere sapne,tere gar ke saamne,sharif badmaash,have light romantic,suspense,and off beat theme.and Jaan haazir hai a newcomer starrer with MD-Jai (KA asst.)which celebrate golden jubilee in Ganga jamuna cinema Tardeo - mumbai and Ram balram,Rajput(Md-LP)
Considering the cinsideration only Goldie was master behind to get best from each atrist from all the depatrment of hindi cinema.
February 25th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Mr. Haldar, Mr.xxx,
This will be my last posting on this subject. Whatever I have said is true, and enough reasons to beleive. I also respect, admire Dada burman and am a fan of his. Jaydev came to Navketan much before Dada had arrived. Dada and Dev shared a very close, professional and emotional relationship. JD was only employee of Navketan and Dev was his employer. Every employer expects his employee should be honest, and obedient. that is what JD proved. His boss asked him to leave Guide, he obeyed, His employer told him that whatever work he has done will be used, he didn’t protest, he was asked to assist Dada, and he accepted. Rememb er, JD was not dada’s choice as assistant, but forced by Navketan. Dev sab has confirmed in a interview to worldspace that there were major replacements in Guide. Other than JD, Chetan Anand, and Vyjayantimala were other replacements. remember JD was assistant to Dada only for Navketan. Bilawar is very common raga Dada doesn’t need JD I agree. But to compose correct melody at the right time is important and nobody knows who will strike. In 60’s every MD has a prefered favourite raga and when they composed song on that raga they excelled. SJ had Bhairavi, Roshan had Yaman, KA had Charukesi, Ravi had Pahadi, RDB had Piloo, and JD for Bhairavi If you make a list of 10 best hindi songs based on Bilawar minimum 5 will be of JD. When Jd told me that his two composition are used in Guide, and didn’t tell any other details. and when I heared Din dal jaye… I had doubt it could be of JD, because it was Bilawar. or may be Tere mere Sapne.. which was based on Gara, he had Kabhi kud pe.. (Hum Dono) on Gara, very successful composition. Dronacharya used all the tricks to stop Eklavya t0 protect Arjuna. Dada is also human, emotional , Music direction is a business also. Navketan is his regular good customer. No businessman will want to loose a good customer. It happens everywhere. You are offered a promotion, and a hard project work side by side, when you finish some tough work, and somebody else takes over from you, and accepts all the credit for your contribution also. Hum Dona was not a Navketan film Guide was the first film JD got from his employer, had he completed his carear would have been different. He died in 1986 Jan.06 like a begger. H e was bachelor and didn’t even had a house of his own anywhere in the world. his future was grounded before take off. After Guide he didn’t work with Navketan, and Dev also didn’t bother .
February 25th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
haldar ji,
you must be reffering to this one::
Rafi ji’s gem
and here is another magical rafi ji’s duet from the same movie::
great rafiji duet
haldar ji these songs will always be remember among the best of rafi sahab.
February 25th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
haldar ji,
the magical duet from the same movie is this one::
long live rafi sahab
sargam of this song is pure melody, asha also sung well but as usually rafi sahab definiately had edge over her in this song, juss listen to those lines by rafi sahab “jane kahan hoke bahar aayi”… great singer!! sheeer magic
February 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
ref to p 43::
manish kumar ji,
dada once in 1972 open heartdly admired the work of madan mohan ji for his movie dastak. he equates his work to the stalwarts like ravishankar & vilayat khan, i think dada was only maestro who appreciated madanji during pre 75, all others appreciated him post 75(including naushadji)..
here is link, he gave his views on madan mohan, naushad & his son rahul in last four questions..
http://www.sdburman.net/website/Articles/Article_aCaseForFolkMusic.htm
February 26th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Mr. Iyer, I don’t want to needlessly drag this controversy any further, but let me make a few points. If you read your post (no. 15) carefully, you have cast s. d. burman as a villain and shailendra as a co-conspirator in the plot. I don’t doubt the veracity of your interview with Jaidev. But you yourself have said that Jaidev didn’t identify the songs, not even the fact that the songs were the ones in guide, yet you are quick to make a leap of faith based on two ragas: bilawal and gara. You mention pahadi as Ravi’s personal domain and gara as Jaidev’s. I’m sure you are aware of several hit compositions of dada’s in pahadi, including in Guide. Did Ravi compose Gaata rahe and Dil Pukare? Pahadi has been used by so many md’s that there is no point in mentioning them. But here’s a list: khayyam, sd, naushad, sj, op, lp, roshan, shiv-hari… No one has a monopoly on ragas, though I’d admit some of them excel at some. The truly great ones, like naushad, sj and sd, can use almost all the ragas effectively.
Hum Dono came out in 1961 and Guide came out in 1965. In between Jaidev composed the score for at least two films independently: Kinare Kinare (directed by Chetan Anand) and Mujhe Jeene Do. And dada worked on several films in that period, including baat ek raat ki, bandini, tgks, msta, and possibly teen deviyan. After hum dono, it was tere ghar ke samne for navketan. And if what Jaidev has told you is indeed true, you could consider teen deviyan. There are two rafi solos there, and one of them is in “gara”. Given the plot, you could have gone down that trail, but you didn’t. Because you wanted to snatch dada’s jewel from him, the one and only guide, whose popularity will only increase with time. If you want to play Sherlock Holmes, try to do a better job next time.
From your post, it appears that Jaidev couldn’t work for anyone but Dev. Weren’t there other producers around? How did Ravi and Chitragupta get so many films? Did dada call every producer and tell them not to use Jaidev? Here’s a man who never lobbied for a Filmfare award and you have the audacity to come to this site and tarnish his image!
And I am not sure what you meant by “jaidev a punjabi was a disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan”. Do you know what the ustad’s ethnicity is? He is a bengali whose father was the pre-eminent Ustad Allaudin Khan, under whom sd took talim. And junior burman learnt to play the sarod under Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The burmans shared a much stronger relationship with the Khans than you’d care to know about.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
the maestro who left the movies like “madhumati” & “phir wahi dil laya hoon” for the sake of others, emotionally blackmailed dev to through out jaidev!!!….. ironic!!!
i dn know abt odrs but to my surprise iyer ji associated piloo with rdb,although in 60s his first classical gem with lata came under same thaat as that of plioo(kaafi thaat), i think we should associate some more prestigious names with this sweet raaga like naushad ji or roshan sahab, i dnt think that piloo was rdb’s fav raaga.
by the way here is roshan-rafi gem in piloo…
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wp8m9idMQbI
February 27th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
i do not want to enter into this harangue, but i would like to share one small, but very significant aspect about the dada-jaidev conundrum. sdb once told me that he was very appreciative of jaidev and nothing pleased him more than to see his one-time protege break the shackles and go solo in hum dono. in fact, he even went to the extent saying kabhi khud pe kabhi haalat pe rona aaya was the kind of composition he would have loved to score himself. all this talk about dada running down jaidev is rubbish and a figment of someone’s fertile (?) imagination.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:12 am
ref post 53:
xxx, as expected, you are right on spot. But why didn’t you mention the other song with the chorus in the background? One of the best bidaai songs.
February 28th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
haldar ji, “chal ri sajni” was one of the best vidayi songs and one of the best of mukesh as well.infact sd burman is the name which is associated with a one of the best of every great singer from yesteryears..
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
1. sd wd one of the best of rafi ji::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XeCh08II2Cc
2.sd wd one of the best of manna::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PfBrop-vOFI&feature=related
3.sd wd one of the best of mukesh::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cTjc0O433vo
4.alhough talat rendered beautiful songs under baton of many but this one wd sd is stupendous in terms of class & mass appeal::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jFUcjX1LGeo
5. kishore’s one of the best with dada::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=flkFD4g2Qpw
6.lata’s best with dada::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CgHEJYGjD9g
7.asha’s one of the best wd dada::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ufdSupclbUE
8.geeta’s best with dada::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dS681XZqAoQ
9.shamshaad begum’s one of the best and most popular is also with sd::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BQGk2d9nUzw
10 and ofcourse hemant kumar’s breakthrough song::
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WRfVXUk9kFw
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
February 29th, 2008 at 12:19 am
tales of wasted talents abound and jaidev ji was a sure victim
just like many artistes of the era who are “marketing failures”.
why blame somebody for this as i remember dev sahebs’s words:
he said, every one has his takdeer (luck), some succeed some
others do not…
quite true…. and significant to this context.
binu nair.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Mr. Raju Korti,
Can you please elaborate more on the RDB-Rafi relationship and any inside details you may have about their association, in the RD-Rafi thread. I am very curious to know.
I read that you had the chance to meet Burman Dada, what an experience that must have been. Did you get a chance to meet Pancham ?.
February 29th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
dear myk
a lot has been written about rdb-rafi relationships in the threads on this site. but i am afraid most are speculative, hearsay and concocted. without being prejudicial to all those who have been contributing their info here, i may say that mr p halder has been quite there. to explain the chord between the two would need reams of paper, but i will cut the long story short.
at the outset, i must make it clear that it is a complete myth that rdb had no regards for rafi. yes, both dada and rdb were musically inclined towards kishore. dada for one never hid the fact that he regarded kishore as his ‘manasputra’. but he always acknowledged rafi as a genius without peer. he once told me that he composed great tunes for kishore and he sang them well too, but rafi was up, up there where no one could touch him. he would even chide kishore saying he could never become a rafi. “howsoever i liked kishore, rafi always took my breath away with his phenomenal range and exceptional brilliance,” he conceded. saying thus, he even proceeded to hum the rafi classic from benazir “dil mein ek jaane tamanna ne jagah paayi hai”. and when he hummed a few lines, it became crystal clear how rafi gave the words a majestic expression. for me, it was a heady experience and dada was unabashed when he gushed how his tooti-footi hindi could be grasped with such amazing ease by the maestro.
pancham grew up under dada’s shadow. he had been seeing rafi’s vocal dominance over the decades and was in complete awe of the singer. at this juncture, i must point out that that if rdb cared two hoots for rafi, why did the legend sing so many songs for him — and even till the end? true, in the wake of aradhana wave and rafi being told by some people that singing was against the tenets of islam, our hero took a backseat, but by no means he was out. remember, rdb was using rafi’s services even in his so called lean period. if the scales tilted in kishore’s favour, the fault lay not with the likes of rajesh khanna. for all their considered supremacy, most music directors (with the honourable exception of op nayyar) succumbed to either their whims or pressures from actors/producers of their time. a legend like naushad quietly replaced talat for mahendra kapoor, a master like shanker (of sj) had the audacity to chose sharda because he had a “soft spot for her”. c ramchandra carried his talat obsession to the extent he aped him in azad (kitna hansi hai mausam). the tail (or tale) is endless.
rdb too succumbed to the new wave pressure, and for some time, a convenient impression was sought to be created that rafi was no longer currency. some wannabe mds and jealous singers joined in spreading this canards. for all his lung power, rafi was poor at one thing. he never sold himself and hardly marketed himself. ironically, it was just as well. afterall, mountain should never go to mohammad (pun unintended). this was one mohammad who was a mountain himself.
suprisingly, rdb, who i consider as an erratic master, was led on by his whimsical instincts and the market players. it is another story that he had to lean on rafi whenever he was at a dead end. in the quicksands of film industry, values don’t count much. a rafi as an exception only proves the rule.
i know for sure rdb looked dreamy-eyed when rafi was near him. “he is a good composer, provided he is controlled,” is what dada said of rdb. and that probably summed it up. i can cite many rafi songs which have been credited to dada on record, but are actually rdb’s creations.
the point i am trying to make is we as discerning listeners shouldunderstand who says what about whom and in what context. especially in an industry where hypocrites abound. rafi held sway on such a fickle profession for over four decades. that should settle all the issues once and for all. rafi was the engine, others were rakes.
please do not believe that rdb hadn’t much respect for rafi. read all the equations in the contexts of individual whims, market forces and personal compulsions.
ps: i referred to nayyar as an honourable exception. we all know he chose mahendra kapoor for songs that should have had rafi’s ownership. but true to his candid and forthright nature, nayyar admitted that he erred in having mahendra kapoor in his recording room. i remember his comment which was typically straight like him: “they (shankar-jaikishen) blundered by using sharda, but what different did i do using mahendra kapoor?”
i hope you get my point
February 29th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
raju korti ji…. good one and much needed for the record. post 63..
to add a point, when i was in kerala, ahmed bhai rafi’s friend told
me : no, r.d.b. was never against rafi.
r.d.b. himself went to rafi’s house to cajole him to start singing or
to sing for him. this statement reinforces rajus above lines.
binu nair.
March 1st, 2008 at 1:38 am
Dear. Mr. Korti,
Thanks a lot for your detailed analysis, it was an excellent read. Can you please comment on:
———————
a) Why did Dada Burman move away from Rafi in the 70’s when Rafi was his first serve and he thought he was the greatest ?. Kishore became popular, and Dada didn’t have anything against him, but was there any reason to use Rafi less during that time ?. Could Dada’s ill health and others taking over his films have anything to do with Rafi’s non-presence in his recording rooms ?. Usually others would mean RDB, but he never had anything against Rafi and used him much more than Dada in the 70’s, so when I say others I don’t mean Pancham unless he was in charge and as you pointed out market and producer pressures etc. were involved here just like in Pancham’s own films. When Dada was healthy, he preferred more of Kishore to Rafi during that time, why is that ?.
Mr. Haldar mentioned an interesting point about how SD used to drop singers based on the situation. Early on he used Suraiya, Geeta, Lata and when he had a bad patch with Lata, Asha became his main singer, when Lata and him made up, he dropped Asha. On the male side, he earlier used Talat, Kishore and Hemant, dropped them all in favour of Rafi, then after Aradhana Kishore became his main singer.
b) I read one of your posts where you mentioned what Pancham had to say about Rafi saab on the VB radio show and the song from Chandan Ka Palna. I have been looking for many anecdotes about where Pancham talks about Rafi but they are very hard to find. Can you please write more about what Pancham had to say about Rafi ?, including at the time of Rafi’s passing away and just in general.
I read on Wikipedia that Rafi’s death stuns RDB, as it does the entire nation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahul_Dev_Burman
Contrary to popular belief that Pancham wasn’t really affected by Rafi’s death, I am sure he was affected. Can you please comment on this aspect as well ?.
I have read about how Pancham compared Rafi and Kishore to Lendl (Rafi) and McEnroe (Kishore), is this true ?. This is similar to how he compared Lata (Bradman) and Asha (Sobers). In my view Lendl was a much better and more talented player than McEnroe, so that sums it up.
It is great to know that Pancham was dreamy-eyed and in complete awe of Rafi-saab. The media and Raju Bharatan give a totally different impression.
———————
Both Dada’s and Pancham’s best songs and landmark albums came through Rafi. They may have had a personal relationship with Kishore, but their relationship with Rafi must have also been personal and was excellent as well. It is a fact, that whatever they both composed for Rafi, no other singer could render.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:46 am
Dear Mr. Korti,
I forgot to add, did Pancham have any personal favourites that he composed for Rafi, any songs that were close to his heart ?. How about any specific incidents related to the creation of certain songs.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:26 am
Would like to add, when I mentioned “market and producer pressures”, I did not mean pressure from the market to not take Rafi. Rafi was always a market force no matter what the period, his songs always sold big and were always popular. What I was referring to in my statement was what Mr. Korti had mentioned which was, “suprisingly, rdb, who i consider as an erratic master, was led on by his whimsical instincts and the market players”.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:37 am
WHO ELSE CAN SING SUCH A SONG WITH SUCH EMOTION? THE VOICE JUST TOUCHES YOUR HEART. SD BURMAN, SHAILENDRA, ALL WERE BRILLIANT. THE MUSIC WAS SO GREAT THAT IF MANNA OR KISHORE HAD SUNG IT, IT WOULD HAVE ALSO SOUNDED GOOD. BUT RAFI ALWAYS HAD SOMETHING EXTRA, THE PURE DEDICATED VOICE WHICH HAS MADE THE SONG EVEN FAR BETTER. RAFI WAS THE ULTIMATE GENIOUS!
KISHORE HAD TOO THICK OF A VOICE AS IF THE ACTRESS WAS SINGING WITH HER FATHER. RAFI HAD THE PERFECT MALE VOICE, NOT THIN, NOR THICK, JUST A GENTLEMAN KIND OF VOICE.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:22 am
myk,
you already know my thoughts on rafi in the 70s so i’ll be relatively brief. as p haldar suggested - sdb didn’t need his ace in the 70s like he did in the 60s with the likes of sj or roshan. second, early 70s was the kishore wave and all his songs (even his lesser ones) were selling like hot cakes. third, variety - to me personally this is important in music. fourth, as you told me a while ago, sdb could have seen this as his chance to give kishore a break. sdb himself saw kishore struggle for 23 years and not get his due - finally! so why NOT go for kishore? aces were easier to score in the 70s anyway.
you and i are errr biased rafi fans (sorry can’t help it lol). of course we think rafi versions of 70s songs would have been the best by far. in any case, the sdb-kk pair was very successful in 70s and even if that costs the sdb-rafi 70s period - i’m fine with it and more than satisfied!
March 1st, 2008 at 11:29 am
dear myk
to answer your queries, i will have to repeat some of my observations from the earlier post. but still, i must elaborate without being too subjective. your pertinent question why dada didn’t use rafi much after the 70s has a simple answer. in the seventies, dada was bogged down with an indifferent health. in any case, there were not many films that he composed. i wouldn’t like to reel out statistics, but you see rafi has been used in choice songs. most of the assignments dada had were being done by rdb by proxy. but not too much should be read into this since pancham and his mother meera burman had already been doing that since the fifties. some day, i shall list most of the songs that have dada’s name on the record, but the tunes were actually conceived by his son and his wife. and surprise of surprises, some of the extremely romantic and melodius rafi numbers (tere ghar ke saamne, kala bazar etc) were pancham’s brainchild. i have seen and heard pancham completely mesmerised and groping for words when talking about this chandan ka palna song. it’s a song which is out of this world for its amazing rendition. pancham gushed on this song, prising that it was his prize composition.
in your post, you say you know pancham used rafi quite a lot even in seventies. what does that signify? that he was against rafi? i will tell you, pancham was the victim of his own doings. in an attempt to become maverick, he started throwing musical norms to wind. the result was some outrageous piece of work. but when in his senses, he did great work too. if you analyse pancham’s career, you will see it punctuated by some really masterpiece performances. the trend that he introduced was exploited by other composers to the extent that he was beaten at his own game. and as for rafi, as i said earlier, he had cut down on his assignments for various reasons. it was a period when he was at his personal (not musical) ebb. it was left to his mentor naushad to bring back rafi into the pristine glory that was pre-eminently his.
now coming to whims, even dada had his own. take kala bazar for instance. he employed manna dey (saanjh dhali) going on the stylish dev who was singing the intensely romantic khoya khoya chand in the same movie. now it was not as if manna was singing any better than rafi or rafi any less than manna. talat (kinare kinare, house number 44 etc) and hemant (house number 44, jaal etc) also entered dada’s recording rooms by this yardstick. mind you, i am not trying to run down talat and hemant, who were good in their own right. as for kishore, i have already said the burmans thought of him as their protege. rafi was the only one who came on pure merit and not on any whim or instinct.
referring to the comparisons lendl-macenroe and bradman-sobers, i admit they sound quite attractive, but i do not know for sure whether the burmans really felt this way or it was some journalist trying to spice up his copy. but i have seen pancham misty-eyed when rafi suddenly passed away, leaving the music industry orphaned. and that was the time, pancham was not close to asha the way they became before the former’s death.
in anutshell, dada and pancham had too much of respect for rafi to rubbish him. i hope i have made myself clearer. but one point: let’s not condemn raju bharatan roundly. i admit some of his recent articles and observations have been unseemly, but he is a knowledgeable person. i know of many articles wherein he has praised rafi sky high. at this juncture, we must ignore him saying “sathiya gaya hai.” can you believe that lata was apprehensive of talking to me simply because my name too started with raju? she said one raju has done enough damage by “writing all rubbish about her in the biography bharatan wrote. that, i believe is what is collateral damage.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
rony ji… post 59..
rafi ji had the most “melodious” voice ever in singing; but he rarely
talked much as he sincerely believed that his voice when speaking
was non-melodious.
since he was god gifted, he could sing any song to perfection - in any
“sur” - like a knife cuts the butter, very effortlous - ly.
binu nair….. the rafi foundation…
March 1st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
mr. korti, what a wonderful post! You are one lucky person. I just loved your portrayal of dada’s tooti-footi hindi (was it something like “tum kya korta hai?”) and the mountain-mohammad analogy. If anyone wants to listen to the benazir song mr. korti has mentioned, here’s the link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=J0JN8xJ52BI
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:10 am
thanks mr halder
if there was one response i was really looking forward to, it was your’s. i hope to sit one day with you and share my long, long experiences and anecdotes with you. sometimes i feel so helpless. rafi is an ocean. there is no end to the avenues and vistas that he opens for you whenever you write something about him. i am completely bogged down by this nagging feeling that i may not be able to last a lifetime writing about this man who has swamped the lives of all of us with such depth of emotion. a myriad of ideas and millions of shades of sentiments overwhelm me when i think about rafi — which is almost round the clock. one day i hope to write an epic about him — a completely different perspective about this man who was so simple, so unassuming, so god-fearing, so affable, so innocent and so benign. vocabulary falls short. if i can do that that in my next hundred births, i will have done my duty on this mortal earth. and i am not being too sentimental nor am i going overboard. i think i must stop here. let me not demean the dictionary and thesaurus to decsribe someone who is as wanted and necessary as the ectoplasm in the atmosphere.
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:42 am
Dear. Mr. Korti,
Excellent write-up, Thanks a lot. The Chandan Ka Palna composition “Tumhein Dekha Hai Maine” is indeed excellent, one of Pancham’s best songs ever. When I first heard the song I didn’t know Pancham was the composer, and I was surprised and delighted at the same time to find out it was RDB who composed this song. It’s a song in the ghazal genre along with a classical flavour and Rafi’s rendition is out of this world, so soft and soulful at the same time. The composition has a touchy feeling as well, right from the intro music and notes, all the way throughout. It’s great to know that this gem was Pancham’s prized composition, and what a song it is. There is another beautiful duet from the same film “Zulfon Ko Aap”, Rafi with Asha, it is a great melody.
Mr. Korti, What were Pancham’s feelings when Rafi won the Filmfare and National Award for “Kya hua tera vaada” (HKKN) ?. I am sure he must have felt on top of the world that he created a song for “Saatwan Sur” that received such great recognition. It was sad that HKKN didn’t win the best music award for 1977. As much as I love AAA’s music, the music of HKKN was better, it was an embarrassment of musical riches, one of those out of the world Pancham albums. I mentioned this in another thread, that it seems everytime Pancham and Rafi came together, the result was melody and innovative compositions.
—————
Dear Manish,
I know that Mr. Haldar listed the reasons/factors why SDB didn’t use Rafi as much in the 70’s, and I know we discussed it as well, but the reason why I also asked Mr. Korti is because I wanted to find out if there was anything else behind SDB not using Rafi as much in the 70’s. What Mr. Korti mentioned is what has been discussed earlier, that SDB was not in the best of health during that time. All the reasons and comments by Mr. Korti, Mr. Haldar, yourself, and others, make sense as to why we didn’t see much of SDB and Rafi in the 70’s aside from choice songs.
I also appreciate, and like, the variety that you mentioned, and SDB-KK did produce gems in the 70’s, but it never matched up to what SDB-Rafi produced overall. Even in the 70’s, “mera man tera pyaasa” and “teri bindiya re” were the best songs of their respective films, among the other KK songs in those films, and they yet again proved without a doubt that Rafi was the greatest of them all.
When you have been exposed to the “best”, its natural that other things will pale in comparison lol. Kishore-SDB was a great pair, but Rafi-SDB was in a league of their own, and Imagine some of those songs from Sharmilee, TMS, Mili, Arjun Pandit etc. going to Rafi, he would have done wonders with them. Kishore did an excellent job but Rafi would have turned those songs into all-time classics. It’s alright though, even though SDB-Rafi didn’t work as much in the 70’s as earlier, they still are one of the greatest combo’s in film history and we have many songs from them to cherish forever. They didn’t need to work as much in the 70’s for their combo to be gold, the gold was already established previously. In the 70’s, we gained gems from Kishore-SDB which is also a great thing.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:08 am
on the subject of raju bharatan’s knowledge & dada burman. raju bharatan says rdb took over when sdb got sick. amit kumar says he was there when dada burman was having kishore sing the song. i think other *primary* sources also say that dada was recording the two aradhana duets with kishore. due to this inconsistency of primary sources, i don’t know who to believe. any ideas? of course pancham played instruments in his father’s compositions - but the harmonica in mere sapano ki rani points to pancham. more importantly, the picturisation of mere sapno ki rani implies the song should have been romantic (hero courting sharmilee and singing to her). yet to me, despite the lyrics, it was rendered less of a *romantic* song but more of a *fun* song, just like koi haseena jab root jati hai (which i thought again should have been a romantic song but turned out to be a “fun” song). that’s my subjective analysis. both these measures point to pancham and raju being correct. so what do you guys think? maybe amit was very young and didn’t remember too well.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
correction - not aradhana duets but aradhana *solos*! sorry i mistyped.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 am
Dear Raju Korti & P Haldar,
Seeing your Knowledge and understanding of the Farishta through your writings, I am of the option that both of you should jointly pen down Rafi Sahab’s biography in English.
Possibly it would be a great feat for all the Rafi Fans, once we see the biography of this great personality all the leading stores world wide. His great qualities as a person need to be highlighted.
March 3rd, 2008 at 10:47 pm
ref post 77 by anmolsinghji, i second his proposal for a book in english by the likes of raju kortiji, p haldarji and would also request other knowledgeable persons like h v gurumurthyji, s venkatadriji and some more of the better informed rafi-lovers to create such a unique biography on rafi sahab. perhaps there can be a sort of a “writers’ guild” within the die-hard fans of rafi sahab. such a book would sell like hot cakes i am sure. it would go a long way in showing our dedication to the memory of rafi sahab and will be a big feather in our caps. asmurty2@rediffmail.com
March 4th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Mr. Murtyji,
Refer Post No. 78. I am ready to do any thing for Rafiji who has done so much for us with his wonderful songs.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
further to posts 78 and 79, let me also add that other good rafi-lovers who have the best of ‘articles on rafi sahab’, ‘photographs of rafi sahab and his family’ etc. can also contribute for the book. others who have good anecdotes (veriafiable ones) can also chip in. there are quite a few books in the market already, but another one will only add to the glory and perhaps such a book can be translated later into urdu and hindi too, since these two languages command the highest readership among lovers of rafi sahab’s music and songs.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
ref post 77:
anmol ji, thanks for your kind words. I second your suggestion that mr. korti should write a book on the farishta. He has so much to share. As for me, I am a passionate rafi lover who loves to share his views. But I don’t have the inside knowledge that’s important for writing a book. If mr. korti writes a book, I’d like to be the first person to buy it.
March 6th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
to all the rafi admirers out there
i am overwhelmed and touched by the affection and faith you all have expressed in me on the issue of writing rafi’s biography. in one of my threads i have already expressed my feelings on the gigantic magnitude of this task. i doubt if anyone is really equipped to write about him. that’s because it is virtually impossible to encapsulate the legend in words. i know i can write a 10,000 page book on him and yet i may be left with the nagging feeling that i haven’t done justice to the man and his achievements. that is my only fear. i do not want to live with this sickening feeling that i could not be fair to someone who brought such unrequited joy to millions across the world — me being one just small fry. i would rather prefer that this great forum is kept going with an unending stream of anecdotes, stories, song narrations and just about everything that connects with the mighty rafisaab.
i do not claim to be a know-all on rafi. yes, i have first-hand access to a whole of of information and privy to many conversations and incidents concerning rafi. i have had the privilege to meet many music directors, lyricists, instrumentalists, actors and big-time dignitories who spoke so glowingly about him all the time. but i still feel handicapped that i am perhaps yet to know a lot about him.
one reason was rafisaab was a man of very few words, very reticent. shy and self-effacing, his humility was amazing. i cannot ever forget those days when i met him. if i write about all that we exchanged, it wouldn’t even run into 50 pages. but his gentleman demeanour, impeccable, polished manners brought to fore an unfathomable spectrum of dimensions to his personality. he wasn’t educated, but he is easily the most dignified and cultured person i have met in life. and believe me, in my profession, i have met thousands of national and international legends.
my most endearing memory of him was when he personally walked down the steps to greet me, hands folded in a warm namaste and face that sported an innocent and cherubic smile. not much was exchanged in that meeting, but i can never forget that throughout the meeting his head was always bowed in complete humility. later, i came to know from the more veterans that he was always like that, no matter whom he met. while his singing prowess is non pareil, what most people always marvelled at was his humility. it was mind boggling. to call him a farishta is an understatement. there was nothing put on about him. with him everything was so simple. even singing, which was child’s play for him.
i have had the good fortune of witnessing (and hearing) some of his recordings. believe me, i haven’t got out of that stupor yet. i will tell a detailed story of these experiences some time, but i will tell you all for a fact that he was so expressive during his recordings that even established heroes took cue. sunil dutt once acknowleged to me that there could never be any dispute as to who was the real hero of the film. rafisaab was both the crowned and uncrowned king. it was quite ironic. here was a man who was simplicity personified to the point that he never looked people in the eye. and there were any number of big shots who were in complete awe of him. afterall, one becomes a legend by virtue of his persona and abilities, isn’t it?
rafisaab’s legendary exploits are stuff folklores are made of. i still remember one recording from an evening in paris where rafi walked into the recording room with silent steps, just smiling at people. he hardly spoke. once in front of the mike, he was a different man altogether. he directly went into an octave with o janeman kinaro (aasman se aaya farishta). he made quite a picture with his serene smile, hands held up to match the octave. recording done, he simply wished everyone and went off, leaving the air wafting with the perfume of his ‘attar’ and the melody of his notes. memories are many, and all so close to my heart. seeing your idol in flesh and blood is an experinece one can only feel from within.
i will try to share my rafi with your’s. let’s get drenched in the downpour called rafi.
ps: please apologise for any keying in errors, if any.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
raju korti ji, thanks for your post 82. it was by itself very informative and made absorbing reading. i totally agree with you that the persona of rafi sahab can never be encompassed in one book, however large it may be. he was too big to fit into any defined frames. i also agree that most people do not know much about rafi sahab, for the simple reason that rafi sahab was publicity-shy and spoke little to most people. but even then, each new book on rafi sahab is a gift to all of us and you have known him closer than many of us. while we only know of his songs and a few bits of stories here and there about his persona, you have had a much deeper insight into his life. it is with these inputs that we have requested you to take the up this challenging task and we are sure to find newer anecdotes, newer insights and a far more revealing picture than we have had access to all these years. yes you may feel that you may not have done justice after resting your pen on rafi sahab, but that little ‘effort’ on your part will be more than satisfying to us all to know ‘your rafi’ as well. please begin in right earnest and believe me when i say that all of us would love to possess the book.
asmurty2@rediffmail.com rafimurty@gmail.com
March 8th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Dear Korti-ji
You are so lucky to have met Rafi-saab as well as witnessed his live recordings. Not many people have had the fortune of doing so, and it must have been the experience of a lifetime. Add to that the number of people you have interviewed in the industry about Rafi-saab, I really hope you continue to share your experiences with us.
The AEIP recording must have been a thrill ride, seeing Rafi record that song. I assume you also had the chance to interact with Shankar and Jaikishan ?. How was it like meeting them, they were genius MD’s, its sad that Jai left this world so early. There is a picture I saw of Rafi-saab along with Jaikishan, Shakti Samantha and Sharmila Tagore from that same recording.
My father is the biggest and greatest Rafi fan that I know, and I am happy that I have come to know an interact with other big and great Rafi fans out there on this forum such as yourself, Haldar-ji, XXX-ji, Manish-ji, Binu-ji, HV Guru Murthy-ji and various other Rafi fans (my apologies if I haven’t taken other names, you all are also big and great Rafi fans). I myself am a huge fan of the legend, and I am thrilled to interact with everyone here on a regular basis. I hope we can all continue to share our thoughts, experiences etc. of ’saatwan sur’.
I also think you should come out with a book on Rafi-saab, as the information that you have cannot be found just anywhere.
March 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
dear myk
thanks a ton. yes, i am indeed lucky to have met rafisaab and to be present at some of his recordings. but please do not feel deprived. i think you are as lucky as all of us fans. we are all privileged to have been born in the same century as the maestro. rafisaab is like a whiff of fresh, perfumed breeze that brings relief and serenity to us. his voice is the best thing to have happened to all of us. isn’t it wonderful that we are all here, don’t know most of us by faces and yet the rafi chord connects us? that’s what rafi magic is all about — to bring diverse people drawn from different ethnicities, cultures, religions and castes under one religion that is as lofty as it can get — the rafi religion.
yes, i have also had the privilege to meet the great duo of shankar jaikishen. they are, according to me, the best composers of all times. of course there were sdb, naushad, c ramchandra, naushad, op, mm, and a host of second and third line composers. but why i would rate sj highly is because of their consistency and their ability to make simple, yet hummable and intense tunes. they were truly the composers of masses, but they never became frivolous. both complemented each other like they were made for each other in heavens. while jai was flamboyant and light, shankar, the south indian was more intense and classically inclined. if shankar had mukesh singing dost dost na raha for him, jai had rafi going on rajendra kumar with the soft romantic yeh mera prem patra padhkar. some day i will list — as much as i can remember — the songs each composed — though they went under the names of both. i have a goold black and white pic of rafisaab snuggled between the duo.
with a lot of fear and apprehension, i concede to write a book, but before i venture into this risky exercise, for which i may not be really cut out, i need to meet you all rafi lovers.
god knows whether that book will happen or not, but i will always revel in the nostalgia that somebody afforded me the honour of writing about a person whose heights few people can reach in the history of mankind.
March 10th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Dear Korti-ji,
S-J were indeed the greatest composers, they were the perfect mix of class and mass. I have read that Jaikishan taught Kalyanji studio balancing and mixing, K-A, L-P and Pancham were all big fans of the duo as were countless others, they were a school of composing. If Rafi revolutionized playback singing, then the same can be said of S-J when it comes to music. Their variety is mindboggling, the amount of genres they have covered is amazing, they were truly the best of the best. Had Jai not passed away so early, I think we would have seen them shine in the 70’s as well.
It would be great to meet with you and other Rafi fans on this forum. Please do take up the idea of writing a book, I think you would do a fantastic job, and it would be a treat for all us Rafi fans.
March 10th, 2008 at 7:58 am
It is frequently quoted that SDB told Kishore that no one could have sang the three solos of Guide better than Rafi. What is the SOURCE of this information? How do I know this isn’t a false anecdote on the Internet? If someone could provide me a primary source (other than the song which makes it very believable) - I would be grateful. Thanks.
This statement has been stated too many times to be uncited as it is.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
dear myk and all
from 1956 to 1965 when op nayyar arrived like a collossus to steal a commercial and melodious march over all his great contemporaries with his unique blende of rhythm and melody, sj were the most affected. yet, sj continued to do great work. op told that he had the greatest regards for shankar-jaikishen. “koi bhi parakh le aise aise heere moti diye hain”, he said of the duo, though his highest respects were reserved for sajjad hussain and c ramchandra.
actually, the film industry got its first composer duo in husnlal bhagatram and sj admitted at that point of time that hb inspired them. that was all.
sj revolutionalised melody in the sense they made it look so easy that anyone could sing those tunes without having to strain their vocal chords. though jaikishen and shankar were poles apart by nature, they complemented each other to perfection. such was their togetherness that even films where the score was composed by either of the two, the credit went to both of them equally. there was no rancour here. for instance, the songs from amrapali were all classical based and composed by shankar himself. unfortunately jai, a great and magnanimous human being, got into binge drinking for personal reasons. so much that he met an untimely death at just 34. forget his compositions, he was as good looking as any other hero on screen. remember raj kapoor’s shree 420 where jai acts a small part as nadira’s drunkard husband. he even acted a hero in begunah, suprisingly opting for mukesh’s voice in the songs “ae pyaase dil bejubaan” and “kisi nargisi nazar ko dil denge hum.”
after jai’s death, shankar was only a pale shadow of himself. the rhythm was gone and eventually, shankar also died a disillussioned man. as i have said in one