Kalyanji Anandji cared for Rafi in the 70s
This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji
Mohd Rafi with Asha Bhonsle and Kalyanji
Mohammad Rafi was the uncrowned king of bollywood music in the 50s and 60s. After the composers like Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madanmohan, Ghulam Mohammad, OP Nayyar, and others realized the range of voice of Rafi, they made him the first choice during a period when able singers like Mukesh, Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood, and others were at the top of their career.
But Kalyanji Anandji’s association with Rafi in the 70s require special mention considering the fact that RD Burman and SD Burman sidelined Rafi to promote Kishore Kumar and with the death of Jaikishan, Roshan and many composers the only challenge that could be put forward before RD Burman was done by LP and KA.
Kalyanji Anandji started their career at that time. The film industry was not moved to that extent with his film Samrat Chandragupta in 1958. In Raj Kapoor’s film Chalia and Dulha Dulhan, KA gave decent music, with songs like “chalia mera naam”, “humne tumko pyar kiya hai jitna” sung by Mukesh becoming big hits. It was difficult for Kalyanji Anandji to get the scope of composing films of leading actors of the 60s who were associated with Rafi, for the sole reason that most of the actors were associated with established composers. Pradeep Kumar was associated with Roshan, Guru Dutt was associated with OP Nayyar, Shammi Kapoor and Rajender Kumar was associated with Shankar Jaikishan, Dilip Kumar was associated with Naushad, to name a few.
But wherever he got scope of composing music in the films of such big shots, he used Rafi very well. Rafi’s songs in Shammi Kapoor’s film Bluff Master (with hit song of Rafi like “govinda ala re”) and Joy Mukherjee’s film Ji Chahta Hai (the title song “ji chahta hai” require special mention) were very melodious. KA’s music in Shashi Kapoor’s film Jab Jab Phool Khilen created sensation in the mid 60s.
Each song of Rafi including “pardesiyon se na”, “mai yahan ek ajnabee hoon”, “na na karke pyar”, etc., entertained the audience. KA Rafi struck gold in Shashi Kapoor’s film Haseena Maan Jayegi. All the songs of the film were hits including “bekhudi me sanam”, “chale the saath milke”, “dilbar dilbar”, etc. Besides, KA also used Rafi in duet song “gulaabi raat gulaabi” with Asha in the film Upkar, where Mahendra Kapoor’s song “mere desh ki dharti” and Manna Dey’s song “kasme wade” made everlasting impact in the minds of the listeners.
Mohd Rafi with Asha Bhonsle and Kalyanji
KA Rafi combination was very successful in Rajesh Khanna’s film Raaz, with notable songs “akele hai chale ayon”. In the 70s, KA continued with their loyalty with Rafi. In Dilip Kumar’s Gopi, KA gave landmark bhajan “sukh ke saab saathi” which still remains one of the adorable devotional songs. KA and Rafi created storms with the film Geet.
Each and every song of Rafi in Rajender Kumar’s Geet became super hit including “aja tujhko pukare meri geet”. The compositions of KA involving folk flavor of the mountains always enchanted the Indian audience. Right from Himalay Ki Godme to Maryada, KA maintained the consistency.
KA Rafi combination created gold in Raj Kumar’s Maryada as well. Although KA gave songs to KK like “gussa itna hasin hai to” for Rajesh Khanna, they maintained the Raj Kumar Rafi combination by giving the song “dhol sajni dhol jani”. KA kept the Dilip Kumar and Rafi combination intact in the film Bairaag with hit songs like “peete peete”, “sari shahar me aapsa koi nahi”, etc. KA continued with Rafi in Feroz Khan’s films as well. One of the hit songs include “kya dekhte ho” from the film Qurbani.
Due to huge demand for KK to sing for Big B, KA had to comprise with KK in films like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, but KA used Rafi to sing the same title song “rote hue ate hai sab” which was sung by KK. KA showed their respect for Rafi without doing injustice to Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore, Mahendra Kapoor and others. It is not possible to cover the Rafi KA combination in a small article as KA had contributed in more than 250 films over a period of 40 years. The songs and the films should be restored.
Mr. Souvik Chatterji, the author of this article
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
KA and LP and Sj had always inclined towards RAFI.
JJPK,Rajasaab,Roop tera mastana,Daastaan,Maa aur Mamta,naach utha sansaar,Insaniyat,ji chahta hai,ishaara,khoon ki kimat,aakri dao,Himmat,AAsha,
I think it depends on producer,director more to select the singer for selling their product.
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Souvikji,
thanks, its a really mice article written of kalyanji anandji with rafisahab. keep it up!
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
souvikji once again you have come up with a neat article on ka-rafi combine which produced some very great songs. you have not left out any movie i presume, and the song ’sukh ke sab saathi dukh mein na koi’ is one of the best bhajans ever. in the film maryada, we have this beauty of a song – mohobbat ke sunane din jawani ki haseen ratein’ rendered so beautifully by rafi sahab. thanks for the article.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Sauvikji,
Sorry Sir, I beg to differ. If you list out the songs of KA in seventies, he has more songs with KK and a miniscule with Rafi. Most of the Rafi songs with KA in 70s were Rafi-Lata duets. In fact, I would rather say that the only two composers who stood by Rafi in his lean period were MM and Usha Khanna. KA gave wonderful music with Rafi in 60s, but in 70s like most other MDs, they used Rafi very rarely. Of course, it is MDs prerogative to choose the Singer, but definitely, Rafi was not used extensively by KA in the 70s, but for Maryada and Bairaag and a few Rafi-Lata duets.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
KA said that [i guess it was anandji who said] rafi preserved his best for some other composers. it is a serious allegation. i dont think ka was ever fond of rafi. in 60s mukesh got the better tunes, in 70s it was kishore. rafi gave some hits (and we all know that hits are not necessarily the better compositions) with them in the 1960s, but that was mostly because mukesh did not fit shammi or shashi. even in dilip’s gopi, they used mahandra instead of rafi except for one bhajan.
i agree with mr. murthy….mm and uk stood by rafi in the 70s. also lp played a key role.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
souvik ji,
kalyanji bhai aur anand ji bhai ke saath jo bhi kaam rafi saheb se liya gaya tha yaa rafi saheb ne jo anjaam diya hai un gaano ka to koi jawab nahin. us waqt ko hamare liye bhool paana koi aasaan baat nahin hai. rafi saheb ke chodi hui sampati yaa property ka mein aaj bhi bharpur istemaal karta hoon. kyonki mere yaar doston mein aajkal rafi saheb ka hi sangeet hai. aab mujhhe yahin chinta satati hai ki mere baad mera collection kaun sambhalega.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am
dear souvik
your article is informative like your previous HV Guru remarks are also shows there knowledge ,actually KA promte mukesk rafi , kishore kumar
for example film saccha jhoota in that hit film kk and rafi both sung for rajesh khanna like meri payari bhania and by rafi yu he tum mugh se bat karti ho
this blog shows knowledge of music lover
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
In respect to the opinion of Mr.Guru Murthy, I agree that Madanmohan was always a Rafi loyalist. But Madanmohan, just like Roshan or Ghulam Mohammad, did not believe in commercial usage of music. His one song “tum jo mil gaye ho” is equivalent to 10 songs of RD Burman. But in the 70s, Madanmohan hardly got any scope of composing music in commercial films.
So the films where KA used Rafi got commercial success like Geet, Gopi, Maryada, Bairaag, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, Qurbani, etc. So KA’s contribution in the 70s only comes next to LP. In fact, Jaikishan’s contribution in the 60s mattered a lot for Rafi because SJ produced the most successful music in commerically the biggest hits from 61 to 69. In fact Jaikishan’s death in 1971 was the greatest blow for Rafi.
Souvik Chatterji.
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I ALWAYS LIKE M.RAFI JI BECAUSE RAFI JI WAS A GREATEST SINGER IN WORLD.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:32 pm
SOUVIK JI……. i THINK U MISSED ONE GREAT SOLO SONG OF RAFI SAAHEB FROM MOVIE MARYADA …. MUHABBAT KE SUHANE DIN…
Two major points : first, mohd rafi and lata didi stopped singing at different music events in the name of composers – although for diffrent reasons. its said that after a major event, the coloured liquid flowed freely at a venue and rafi did not like this. he decided not to attend such events and some music composers were hurt and k.a. was one of them it must be told.
in one of the major events in 1976 , lata didi refused to attend the 25th silver jubilee event of maestro salil choudhary at shanmukhananda hallo in mumbai and there was some hard talk over the phone between them. except lata, rafi and talat, most of them weree there – including yusuf khan dilip kumar who gave a stirring speech at the event in chaste english…..
November 24th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
sir, your article was quite pleasing considering the fact that it was related with the unmatchable voice in the universe.
It is in fact a lose to the entire world that between the 70,s & 80,s the music directors failed to create the history in the bollywood by neglecting the most melodious and magical voice of the heavenly body my Guru may his soul rest in peace MOHD.RAFI SAHAB
November 24th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Rafi sb was the need of every music director as he became integral for any situation and for any actor. His rendition was superb and for any period.
Regards,
-Imran-
November 24th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Dear Sauvik,
I second Guru Murthy’s response. According to me, KA were good friends of Kishore Kumar and used him a lot for their style of music. They complete ignored Rafi Saab’s versatality and also responsible for his lean period. Its very unfortunate that people played politics and sidelined a great gentleman. However, it was Madan Mohan, Usha Khanna and the great Laxmikant Pyarelal who stood by Rafi saab and gave him the required boosts in late 70s. Not to forget the contribution of the great Manmohan Desai saab. He was a die hard friend of Rafi saab which we could see in his early 80 movies starting with a tribute to Rafi saab. Kishore was great during 70-75 and then after rafi saab’s death. KA, RDB were responsible for Kishore’s gain by producing songs for the masses and not classes. I fully disagree with your writeup.
rgds..KM
November 24th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Thank you for mentioning “dhol sajni dhol jani”. I had not heard this song before. What a youthful, fresh, malleable voice Rafi displays in this song. It goes without saying that the same applies for Lata. Rafi’s voice suited Raj Kumar very well. Here is a link to this excellent duet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsrHYAp79xU
November 25th, 2009 at 5:39 am
Souvik and Mr. Gurumrthy,
First of all it might seem that Kalyanji Anandji was more inclined towards Kishore. But unlike other music directors, KA’s choice of singer was driven by the producer and the actor. If you follow their music, you will see a definite pattern (and at times the pattern would be different from what all other music directors were following):
-KA went with Kishore for most Prakash mehra movies.
-Owing to Rafi’s fallout with manoj Kumar and B.R. Chopra, KA went with Mahendra Kapoor for most of their movies. Rafi lost out big time owing to this.
-KA went mostly with Kishore for traditional Rafi-centric stars like Feroze Khan and Dharmendra.
-KA went with Rafi for traditional Kishore-centric stars like Rajesh Khanna (Raaz, Saccha Jhutha, Chhoti Bahu)
-KA went with rafi for most Sashi Kapoor songs.
I think part of the problem with this article is it is sparse on the song list from the 70s (most of the examples are from the 60s). Here are the list of prominent KA films with Rafi’s hits from the 70s.
-Maryada
-Geet
-Gopi
-Zanzeer
-Kathputli
-Samjhauta
-Rakhwala
-Kab Kyun aur kahan
-Bairaag
-Haath ki Safai
-Adalat
-Vardaan
-Saccha Jhutha
-Uljhan
-Darinda
-Anokha
-Qaatilon ki qaatil
-Professor Pyarelal
-Nazrana Pyar ka
-Shankar Sambhu
-Qurbani
Some of these were duets but each had significant impact on the film.
November 26th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Rafi saheb not only created magic but also rendered his voice in perfect tune to every one lips
November 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Dear Souvikji,
Adaab Rafi !
Your article was informative but in my humble opinion KA did not prefer Rafi sahab unlike Jaikishen,Naushad,Madan Mohan,Lakshmikant Pyarelal, Usha Khanna, Op Nayyar and sonik-omi to name a few.
What was shocking at that time for us was in Gopi except for the bhajan all the songs were by Mahendra kapoor.
But not to give credit to KA is offending for music lovers who will always acknowledge their contribution for phenomenal Rafi-lata or Rafi-asha duets…
KA even in a Manmohan Desai a devout Rafi Bakt gave preference to Kishore in the solos of Sacha Jhuta. If the MD is MM or Jaikishen this would not have happened.
Anyway Iam not complaining as Rafi sahab’s Contribution to KA success is also creditable in the swinging 60s
Narayan
November 29th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I don’t think ka cared for rafi. I heard the songs in maryada was to be sung by someone else to picturise on raaj kumar. It was raaj kumar who said he will not act in these songs if it not sing by rafi. ka were not happy but had to oblige to the actor demand.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
In respect of few replies as mentioned in the perspective of KA’s combination with Rafi, some writers had compared KA’s combination with Rafi with Jaikishan’s combination with Rafi. The two combinations does not match because, Jaikishan not only gave majority of songs to Rafi, SJ composed music in at least 8 to 10 films per year during the 60s when Rafi was matchless. I had mentioned also that Jaikishan’s death in 1971, did make a difference for Rafi, if we look back at the film Andaz, as against one song given to KK ‘zindagi ek safar” SJ gave songs like “hai na bolo bolo”, “dil use do jo jan de de”, “re mamma re mamma re” etc. It clearly established the fact for Jaikishan KK never featured within 5000 km of Rafi. He never survived after 1971 to see the profit motives of producers in sidelining Rafi to promote KK.
As far as KA is concerned, KA managed to bag big budget films in the 70s like Geet, Maryada, Muqaddar ka Siqandar, Zanjeer, etc. In most of these films Rafi featured. Whether he did justice by exploiting the versatile talent of Rafi is another question. But there is no doubt that Rafi’s songs mattered a lot to KA during the 70s, just like the songs of KK and Mukesh.
Souvik Chatterji.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
murad,
in that case i think the article shud be called rajkumar cared for rafi in the 70’s.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I concur with Murad – post 18. unlike other leading md’s, who always had favourites, KA did not have any favourites though they tilted toward mukesh the most. there ration of other singer like rafi, mkapoor and kishore is high. ka’s only comment about rafi analysis of all singers was that “Dekho ji Rafi jaisa singer koi bhi nahin tha- he sang many songs for us. favourite being jab jab phool klhile’s yahan main ajnabee hoon”. I would have rated some other songs higher. But they were NOT out and out Rafi fan.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
KA reserved very fast paced songs for Rafi. They tried recreating the magic of “Affoo Khuda” (Jab Jab Phool Khile) in the 1970s. But both these attempts were not as successful. Note the similarities in the beats (taal) with the JJPK song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrwFGan6AQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb-4TQzL7rs
December 1st, 2009 at 9:33 am
reg post 5,it is unbeliveable what k or a had said after listening bhajan of gopi orsongs of raaj orhaseena man jayegi or maryada orbluffmaster orany other song.whatever rafi saab had sung,had gvn his best, each is a masterpiece.a biased view.long live rafi saab n this site.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Posts 18, 20, 21 and 22,
The bottom line of this article by Shri Souvik Chatterji is that Kalyanji Anadji did not go all out for Kishore Kumar during 70s as some other MDs (read Burmans) did. His distribution of songs for variuos singers was similar (if not same) in 70s as it was in 60s. And Rafi too getting some share of songs, implying that KA cared for Rafi in 70s. In that respect I agree with Shri Souvik Chatterji’s observations in the write-up.
December 4th, 2009 at 6:48 am
The article was excellent and it showed great passion for the talented Singer. Realities of life and that of the film world is totally different. Just like when a young boy enters an engineering college there is idealism that excites him. He enters life and is in a world of competition. The ideals takes a little shift and he sees other priorities like a will to succeed. This is the same with music directors. They come with love for music but as they enter the competitive world their priorities change for no one recognizes unless you are successful. Their priorities shift to find ways to be successful. We know rafi is talented but is the busiest singer. We know he is versatile but appreciation does not not bring success to the appreciator. His success lies how he creates another rafi by taking inspiration from the plus points of rafi sahab. Even industry grows only like this. If it were not for this aspect we would not have a galaxy of singers today in every field of music irrespective of language. There are umpteen fan clubs each singing the praise of their chosen hero.
I conclude with the great song of Rafi sahab:
JIYO THO AISE JIYO JAISE SAB THUMHAARA HAI, MARO THO AISE KE JAISE THUMHAARA KUCH BHI NAHIN
SIVARAM
December 24th, 2009 at 4:06 am
My Dear Rafi Sahab !
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
On this auspicious occasion of your 85th birthday we all miss you a lot.
You are not there, but you are there…in our hearts, in our memories and you will be there till this time is there…and I know time never ends.
May your soul rest in peace !!!
Rajkumar Akela