Singers inspired by Rafisaab
This article is written by Mr. Abhishek Taparia
28 years since his death the maestro continues to enthrall and inspire people. Rafisaab could indeed take the credit of inspiring the most number of singers.Some of them good some of them bad but nevertheless everyone succeeded to some extent. Here are the few singers who made the most out of their inspiration
Mahendra Kapoor
Mahendra Kapoor
Rating 3.5
It has to start with the self-confessed ‘chela’ of Rafisaab. Mahendra Kapoor’s voice was so similar to Rafisaab that many a time listeners had to listen very carefully to distinguish the two voices. Both hailed from punjab, had similar pitch and a similar kind of voice and sang some great songs. But the same voice would become the bane for Mahendra kapoor although he sang some great songs he could never quite come out of the shadow of Rafisaab. The main difference between the two was Rafisaab had total control over the ‘surs’ n ‘taals’ n would never go off key whereas Mahendra Kapoor could go off key at times. But nonetheless he was one of the legends of HFM and would always be remembered as a great.
Anwar
Anwar Hussain
Rating 2
Anwar came into prominence in the 70s when Rafisaab was having a slight rough time. Anwar I feel did sing some of the songs which could have been pocketed by Rafisaab (like the song ‘hamsa ka bhool hui‘ from Janta hawaldar, ‘mohabat ab tizarat ban gayi hain‘ from arpan) but once rafisaab came back into fore Anwar lost his ground. Anwar voice was in a way similar to Rafisaab but more hoarser than any other Rafi follower. I read somewhere that Anwar was related to the legendary film maker Nasir Hussain but it didn’t help him much.
Shailendra Singh
Shailendra Singh
Rating 2.5
Shailendra singh idolized Rafisaab but the best thing about him was his voice was completely different from Rafisaab and he never tried to copy Rafisaabs style. Shailendra was one of those singers who had very limited capabilities. He came as the voice of Rishi Kapoor and thanks to Rishi Kapoors chocolate boy image he got to sing a lot of good romantic songs for Rishi Kapoor. The pitch and range of Shailendra were very limited and he was not the one who could express all the emotions with his voice. But shailendra did sing quite a few good songs (like ‘hoga tumse pyar kaun‘ from ‘zamane ko dikhana hain’ and ‘jaane do na‘ from sagar).
Mohd Aziz
Mohd Aziz
Rating 2
He shared his name with Rafisaab and tried to sound like Rafisaab but did not measure up all that well. He came into the picture after the demise of Rafisaab and sang quite a few songs in the worst era of HFM the 80s. He had more range and emotions than both Anwar and Shailendra but as he tried to emulate Rafisaab. He became more of a clone like Anwar. He did sing some good songs for Govinda, Rishi Kapoor etc but unfortunately the era was marred by some really poor music.
Shabbir Kumar
Shabbir Kumar
Rating 1.5
He just like Mohd Aziz tried to emulate Rafisaab and was another in the clone category. Again like Aziz he tried to bring in emotions into a song by changing his voice unlike Rafisaab who would not change his voice to express some emotion but would change his mood as was required for the song. Shabbir’s main problem which I feel was his unclear voice he would eat half the words while singing. Also his pitch was not that high thus singing at the same pitch throughout his career. The highlight of his career were the songs of Betaab and a supposed tiff between Big B/RDB(im not sure) and Kishore Kumar allowed him to sing a few songs for the big B in movies like Mard, Coolie.
Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan
Rating 3
Udit Narayan as confessed by him comes from Rafisaabs school of singing. The best about Udit Narayan is his sweet, happy voice which became his USP. Udit Narayan never tried to copy the maestro and thus became the no 1 singer in the mid 90s by replacing Kumar Sanu. Udit has sung a large number of songs and is still very active. He became the voice of Aamir Khan and SRK for most of the music directors. Udit as others has limited range (has hardly sung sad songs) and pitch. He is very good in romantic and happy songs.
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Rating 4
Now I come to the guy who I feel is the number one successor of Rafisaab. Sonu started off as a clone of Rafisaab and would sing for those low budget T-series remakes of old songs but he had potential. The best part about Sonu is he is highly learned and thus like Rafisaab would never go off key and has number of variations and ‘harketeins’ in his kitty. The main problem with Sonu is his shrill which does not allow him to go full on as it would crack at higher pitches. Although he has a lot of Rafisaab singing qualities, Rafisaabs humanly qualities are missing in him the main being humility. The Rafi resurrected tour was a bit overboard and he could easily have interfered and named it Rafi Revisited. But anyways for me he is the best singer who got inspired by Rafisaab.
There are a few more singers who derived inspiration from Rafisaab but i cant recollect their names if anyone would want to add the singers i have missed they are welcome.
P.S. The ratings are my sole opinion and readers view might differ.
Sarfaraz bhaai Shabbir kumar ki Original aazaaz ik baar bolne me sunna phir aapko pata lagega ki wo Rafi saahab ko kitna copy karte hai. Ik singer ki aawaaz uske bolne se pataa lag jati hai. Aur unki aawaaz bolne me aur gaane me bahut differ nikalti hai
Please listen to Anil Bajpai Live ……….No one can come near him
for rafi saaheb songs.
Ye sab Rafi saahad ke copy clone hai inke alaava sonu nigam aur udit narayan aur naajaane kitne hi Rafi saahad se inspired hai. Aur to aur kishor kumar ne bhi na jaane kitni harkat Rafi saahad jaisi li hai.
1.Anwar husain 2.Mahendra kapoor 3.Mohd Aziz 4. Shabbir Kuman 5.vicky mehta 6.Vipin Sachdeva
Dear All
Ratings are not correct
Shabir Kumar is best singer of the world
Hi,
Well I don’t agree with you on all your points but it is your own personal opinion your expressing which you’re entitled too…..
….. It would have been nice for you to have dedicated a page titled “Who inspired Rafi”…
Indeed it was one of his Greatest Ustaads. The Great Bade Ghulaam Ali Khan.
Every great singer has certain great qualities. Because some singers, after Rafi, sounded like him doesn’t mean that they should be belittled in any way because of this. They were born with that sounding voice. Singers who have been inspired by Moh’d Rafi also have Respect fo Moh’d Rafi. Just the way Moh’d rafi was inspired by his Ustaad’s but had Respect for them too.
I’m sure you are genuine lover and follower of Music and would urge you to emulate those dire music enthusiasts that have left this world and those who still remain here with us today!
Regards
Mo
kishore kumar called rafi saab his guru and was a fan of rafi saab. He wanted to sing like rafisaab but could not. It is evident kishore wanted to sing na kisi ki ankh ka noor hoon but could not. he was quoted as saying rafi saab could sing a song in hundred ways but he in one way. in a way Kishore Kumar could be considered a student of Rafi saab.
Rafi sahab is absolutely irreplaceble. Anwar was the closest to Rafi sahab. Listen to songs like ‘zindagi imtihan leti hai’, ‘haaton ki chand lakeeron ka’. He is deceptively close to Rafi. Sonu Nigam is definitely well versed in singing but that doesn’t mean the others are ‘bad’.
Only one singer can compete with Rafi and that is the great Manna dey (well even Rafi is an equally good singer).
i am glad Post 62 for the ‘ correction ‘ done to my post of number 60.
i appreciate your ‘eagle eyed’ observation just like one has for the nuances of great songs of rafi saaaheb.
pls do comment on songs of rafi saaheb which are used for advertisement. Just to mention herein that the economics times recently published a half page article about the heiniken advertisement and the song :
“jaan pehchaan ho “.
I have preserved the copy and laminated it.
regards
binu nair
Kind attn. post 59, Mr. Nair. The ad is for Nissan Micra and the song in the background is ‘chakke me chakka, from Brahmachari
forget bharat ratna Post 60 mr jayesh….
the govt has not even cared to give the second highest award to mohd rafi saaheb.
the punjab govt has so far ‘not even’ considered mohd rafi as a son of their soil and initiated an award in the name of legend mohd rafi.
when, the fact remains mohd rafi was groomed by a sadhu who used to sing and visited the rafi household. the young rafi would follow the sadhu and remain in the fields ( in Punjab ) the whole day – mesmerised by the sadhu.
in the evening, he used to get some amount of beatings from his dad, its said. but, rafi would be lost in the songs of this sadhu.
rest being history known to all.
jayesh ji : be assured that the deaf and blind governments will do nothing to hail our legends and decorate them. most of them today are involved in cornering national resources – in their or their kins names.
they have come with “zero” means – but acquired crores of rupees of wealth according to various govt sources.
who ever said “these” men and women work for the people.no. they work for themselves.
therefore , in the fitness of things mohd rafi lovers have duly crowned mohd rafi as : Bharat Ka Ratna………..
the rafi foundation….
I agree with the views expressed by Shri Binu Nair saheb. In fact, Rafi Saheb should be conferred with Bharat Ratna for enormous contribution given by him to the Indian music industry. It is unfortunate that persons having low calibre in their respective fields have been given this award, but Rafi saheb, who truly deserves it is still not conferred with this award. It is shame on the Indian Political system who gives such awards based on political influence and not on merits.
but, the music composers of repute brought in mohd rafi for rishi kapoor and there was magic once again.
just like some of the shammi kapoor songs.
the only singer to sing for three generations of actors is mohd rafi saaheb.
he sang for Prithviraj Kapoor / raj kapoor-shashi kapoor-shammi kapoor and raj kapoors son rishi kapoor.
a friend said to me : if rafi saaheb was alive, then would have sung for ranbir kapoor.
no, my friend. mohd rafi by this time if alive would have taken a gracious retirement unlike his contemporary who have lost the ‘sur’ and ‘voice’ but still says ” I will never stop from singing “.
in the lighter vein and – for the time being “hence” ranbir kapoor is using mohd rafi’s eternal voice for the hundayi advt with the song……….
” savera waali gaadi se chale jaayenge ” playing in the background.
the healthy discussions about the singers will give very good
informations about them.i think when the fans of kk come to
know more about him and rafi saab,the result was the complete
stoppage of the website of kk.
we should think very seriously to promote more about rafi saab
and his everlasting songs and thereby to clear the misunderstandings
if any.
it is not that much tough to copy a singer but when these
singers starting to sing their own songs we will see the
voice difference.nobody can sing like rafi saab.
when these new singers appear for them there is a sky.
that was rafi saab but when rafi saab started his carrier
there was no sky for him to look at.he created his own
sky and entirely changed the film music of indian cinema.
ofcourse there wa good mds to create good music.
like yesudasji told rafi saab is the cause of livelyhood
for thousands around the world.
DEAR i DON’T FOLLOW THAT SHAILENDRA SINGH IS FOLLOWER OF RAFI SAHAB! ACTUALLY AS FAR AS I KNOW HE IS INSPIRED BY LEGENDARY SINGER MUKESH. AND MUKESH IDENTIFIED HIM FIRST TIME IN A CONCERT IN THAT SHAILENDRA SING WAS SINGING MUKESH SONG,. MUKESH GOT SO IMPRESSED HE DISCUSSED ABOUT SHAILENDRA SINGH WITH RAJ KAPOOR. THAT TIME R.K. WAN MAKING PLANNING FOR BOBBY. MUKESH SAID RISHI NAYA HAI TO RAAJ KAPOOR KI AAWAAZ KAISE GAYEGA? RISHI KE LIYE TO KOI NAYI AAWAAZ HONI CHAHIYE!!
REGARDS,
PANKAJ MUKESH
I think your assessment of Udit Narayan is unfair. He has sung sad songs. In the 90s, Nadeem Shravan dominated the scene and used Kumar Sanu too much, not giving Udit the platform he deserved. He really has a very versatile range and pitch and is very educated classically. He proved himself in Dil Se, Taal, Lagaan in terms of classical music. There is no song he can’t sing just wasn’t given the opportunities. And the best thing of all, he used his own voice, even if it meant him waiting ten yrs from Unness Bees to QSQT to make it in Bollywood. And to rate a legend like Mahendra Kapoor is downright disrespectful and disgusting.
I remember another Mohd Rafian singer called Debashish Dasgupta -kya hua tera wada fame. I know him personally. pl be added. thanks.
WHAT EVER YOU HAVE WRITTEN THAT IS NOT ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! I HOPE YOU DONT HAVE THE PROPER IDEA.
REG MOHD AZIZ & SABBIR KUMAR WHAT U HAVE WRITTEN IS WRONG
YOU ASK ME I WILL SAY YOU WHAT A GREAT SINGERS BOTH AZIZ
SAHAB 7 & SABBIR KUMAR JI. THEY ARE NOT GEETING SONGS IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THEY WILL GET RATINGS LIKE 1.5 & 2.
THIS IS YOUR RATING AND YOUR RATINGS ARE NOT CORRECT I SAY!!!
Dear sir,
Pls watch 21 yr old Hamid Khan Tareen’s inspiration.
To understand Rafi sab’s voice itself is not an easy task. Singing like Rafi saab at that age is only Almighty’s blessing. pls include his name in your article
Singing like Rafi saab is not my cup of tea, but I am proudly fortunate that I can atleast understand what he is singing. Unki awaaz to bas Khudrat ka ek karishma hai.
link to Hamid’s songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1HxEhiPUrM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sAPQT_olLM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeRdX9AP2iU
Hi All,
Mr. Abhishek ka aritcle aur itne sare comments padhne ke baad mai Asan lafzo me kuch khulasa karna chahunga. Har koi wahi likhta hai, wahi kehta hai aur wahi karta hai jo use( Khud ko) acha lagta hai. all 5 fingers are not same magar hume har kisi ko madhe nazar rakhte huwe aur sach baat karni chahiye. Har kisi ke lehaz se sochenge to ye baat saaf hai RAFI SAHAB jaisa koi singer nahi. Aur kisi dusre singer ko naam bhi nahi rakhna chahiye q ke agar kisi ko naam rakhte hai to phir kam se kam ek khami (lack of singing talent) to har singer me hai. Fir likhne wale aur kehne wale kya un jaisa ga sakte hai jiski burai karte hai. nahi na? to wo bhi apni jagah pe bilkul sahi hai. wo apne mukaddar se apni rozi kama rahe hai. Haa kuch politics to chalti hi rehti hai jo kabhi kabhi mukaddar ke aade bhi aati hai. par wo uparwale ki taraf se ek azmayish hoti hai. khair mai itna kehna chahunga ke Anwar ki actual kya problem thi jo unhe chance nahi mil paya ye log nahi jaante but media ke hisab se chalte hai. Shabbir kumar aur mohammed aziz jaisi gane ki taaqat to aur kashish to bahot kam singers me hai. sonu nigam aur udit ki bhi to zamane ko zarurat thi. shailendra aur mahendra kapoor to rafi sahab ke zamane se hi the, shailendra is mixture of rafi group & kishore & mukesh group also. dont mind but it is fact. he has also his own talent which like by people. bus meri sabse yehi guzarish hai ke koi kisi ki jagah nahi le sakta. Anwar, shabbir & aziz ki aisi aawazein hai jinse log khiche jate hai, bahot kashish hai unki awaz me. sab apni jagah thik hai. iska clarification b de sakta hu par ye comment bahot lamba ho gaya hai. padhnewale zarur padhenge q ki sach hai aur har kisi ko madhe nazar rakhte huwe likha hai. bus kisi ka dil na dukhe meri in bato ki wajah se yehi request hai.
U can send me mail on heart_touch2011@rediffmail.com
I have a lot of knowledge in most of fields which life taught me.
just search [ m ifrahim ] on youtube then you ll’ find m.rafi sahab orignal and pure student m.rafi sahab teach him personaly thanks
Great article. There can be no match for Mohd. Rafi in Bollywood, indeed. He had a divine voice with immense control over notes.
Here are my two cents. As already mentioned by Santosh, I too believe that Shailendra Singh doesn’t come from Rafi style of singing and yes he sounds inspired from Mukesh more than any other singer. I’m also surprised why Vipin Sachdeva is not mentioned here, if not Debashish Dasgupta. I agree with all your analysis of all Rafi clones, however, I think Sonu Nigam is highly overrated singer. His positives are his voice quality and being perhaps the only Rafi clone who can sing western kind songs (which is the trend in current bollywood music) but he lacks the ‘thahrav’ (i don’t knwo the exact english word for it) in his songs. Also, his singing is exposed at high notes where Mohd. Aziz is better. To me he sounded much better during his early days. I don’t know if some of you remember the songs, ‘agar aasman tak mere haat jaate’ (file: Meherbaan), ‘Lag ja gale se mere o sawariya’ (film: Muqabla). His cover version of Rafi songs with T-series were great. But of late, his arrogance is quite apparent in his songs also. He has taken singing and his success for granted, thanks to the young generation of music listeners. He is confused whether he is a Bollywood singer or a typical “ROCKSTAR”. His singing needs more time than his harstyles. I wish he starts respecting singing once again and get back to what he is. Yes, a singer is never bigger than singing. Sonu, are you listening.
Copying is not bad if done wisely.
All newcomers are inspired by some old singer. Rafi Sahab was inspired by G M Durrani; but listen to their duets, Rafi soon overtook him.
The lack of talent today has created a space and made some half baked singers very big ones; Not that they are great singers but greats are not there, so public considers the existing one the greats. The mood of public also has changed and there are major crowds, who have no understanding of sur and taal , but concerened with Shayari only. For that reason, an average singer Pankaj Udhas succeeded.
And it hurts, when these singers are compared with Rafi; and indicates lack of understanding music.Accuracy in singing is very very important, as demonstrated by Greats like K L Saigal, Rafi, Lata, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh and some others.
Sonu Nigam, Ahmed Rushdi and many others undoubtedly tried to copy the Great Rafi Sahab but due to their being not that accurate as Rafi, could not technically match Rafi.
Sonu- because of being out of sur many times; and specially for taking murky in a cheap style, not in rich style of Rafi.
Ahmed Rushdi – good voice, good singing but lack of raw material like Rafi. Also accuracy of sur in question sometimes.
Mahendra Kapur- Nearest to Rafi; but lacking in raw material: Voice.
In fact, no one could come even near to Rafi. Mainly , the ada was missing in all, the presentation, emotions- without sacrificing accuracy.
Anwar- Could have been far ahead of Sonu Nigam, if he was not arrogant.
Rafi class singers are: Mehdi Hassan & Lata.
dear sir, play back singer anwar saab
i am kishorgiri have to write about anwar saab who could really sing a song in voice of Mohammed rafi but why didn’t anwar saab follow and keep standard voice quality in his new song i have been download a song yoh zahar zindgi ka piye jaa rahaa hu me! i didn’t like quality of voice if i were instead of anwar i would try to sing a song like Mohammed rafi’s voice but bed luck i dont have similar voice of anwar if i would have i would sing a song free of charges with any musician and i would try to keep Mohammed rafi alive for long time until universe exist why did anwar changes singing style what did anwar has got to return i think we have burial Mohammed rafi for ever Mohammed rafi will never meet me again i have lost him forever
Sonu Nigam is Rafi saab clone. The two greatest singers/vocalists of all times.
As per my understanding of rafi voice, singers who were closer to Rafi Saab were Debasis Dasgupta earlier and Anil Bajpayi (lister him in youtube and comment). But there are lot of other singers making Rafi Saab as their idol and are very close to his voice.They remain unknown due to not marketed properly and are not able to come to limelight.
I read this article and I can frankly say that Mr. Abhishek , the write of this article, has no understanding of music and voice. he lacks the knowledge of music badly. His comments on singers are very very immature.
One point which I dislike the most is about his comments about 80′s music. I challange Mr. Abhishek to have open debate about 80′s music. How can a decade be a poor decade in music which was the decade ofthe great Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo.
May god give Mr Abhishek some wisdom and knowledge about the music.
dear abhisek ji as per as i know sailendra singh does not come from rafi school..his voice was slightly inspired by mukes ji..nitin mukesh has metioned this many times..sailendra was also fan of rafi but it does not mean that he was from rafi school..bhupendra was also inspired by rafi..even yesudas was also inspired by mukes voice…it is very easy to say that singers from rafi group hv great range of singing calliber…mahendra kapoor..mohd aziz..shabbir and sonu can sing any type of song…but sailendra and kishor group cannot…pls dont cosider sailendra as rafi follower..
dear ali ji….welcom urs comment…but one think i say that after getting success abhijet and sanu denies of copyings kishor da..this is dihonour of legends…once i asked to sonu nigam that who is the best rafi clone today…he metioned shabbir..anwar..aziz..and his father agam..with great respect to all..i was very pleasant to hearing this…but on stage he didnot sing a single song of rafi sahab…i was very disappoint..u cnt imagin what will they do after sucess..i hv met aziz sahab …he lookes very zentle lndeed..i hv loved his voice from very begening..he sung maximam no. of rafi sahab with great emotion…i hv seen recoding of debashish of rafi numbers….he is very close to rafi sahab…aziz sahab has also accepted him as best copy sunger….
Sir santosh shukla as u said that sabbir was sweet but eating the word that i agree and the same did by greatest mohd rafi in many songs if i am not wrong..
all these great singer said that they never be compare himself with mohd rafi because they are nothing to be compare with mohd rafi as Sabbir said when i listen mohd rafi song 50 time each time i learn some thing new..Aziz on programm in Dubai he said please compare me with mohd rafi because i am notthing if u compare me with mohd rafi…….
But when they said to kummar sanu that you copy Kishore da the was I am not coping Kishore da also when Kishore da was new he also copy other as lata ji did…
That is God gift to mohd Rafi because Gov’t not able to give any award to mohd rafi as Bharat Ratna but God award is to Mohd rafi he will be the number one singer for ever if u want to be a good singer you should copy him because that is God gift……..
mahendra kapoor had better range than other rafi.s..fans with stronge voice and certainly better than kishor da too..anwar was natural but not verstile…mohd aziz had excellient vocal quality with great emotion..song like ek andher lakh itale and title song of lal duptta malmal ka…he looked real shagird of great rafi…mohd aziz was much better to udit who has flat and emotinless voice…as per as copying to rafi sahab debashish dasgupta is real clone to rafi..in high pitch songs debadhish looks closer to leged…but as perfection sonu niggam never mistakes..and still everbest….
it is intresting to comment on rafi s followers. 1st ws mahendra kapoor. he looks very near to rafi sahab in * aap aaye to khayale dile nashad aaya* in film gumrah..and in many songs sung in early 60. with great range and powerfull voice..he was better than kishor da..anwar was good but not verstile.sabbir was sweet but eating words…mohd aziz was rangefull singer with exellient emotional and better to udit narayanas flat voice..title song of lal dupatt malmal ka…vipin was much soft…debashish dasgupta is very near to rafi in high picth songs like bazi kisi ne pyar ki & chal ud ja ……but sonu nigam is best on basis of sur and verstility…even his style is also similar to rafi da………
Gone those days !
Now one has to rock on stage with performance !
By the way who are these – Muna aziz and Shabbir ?
janab mohtaram doston rafi sahab to kamaal ke the hi unhi ki badaulat hazaaron unke jaisa banne ki koshish karte rahe hain aur aage bhi ye hota rahega but rafi sahab hamesha se ek mestro hi maane jayenge meri nazar mein in cloned singers ki fehrist mein ek ladke ka naam aur judna chahiye kyonki wo bhi rafi sahab ki aawaaz aur andaaz ke kafi kareeb hai wo hain janab aslam khan from dehradun gazab ki aawaaz hai kuch links de raha hoon sunna chahein to suniyega aur fir jawab bhi likiyega…..regards
http://www.esnips.com/doc/69ea7999-6106-427c-bdb7-2957e57170a9/main-zindgi-ka-saath
http://www.esnips.com/doc/8dd54971-2d15-4c93-8174-a01c0a1283a6/ghamein-hasti-se-bas
http://www.esnips.com/doc/c785358b-081e-435b-a3bd-f83caccae7e9/main-kab-gata-dedicate-to-lovely-bro-jhonny
http://www.esnips.com/doc/004bcf3c-ef22-45c3-a220-f3f59c9bfe2f/aanchal-mein-saja-lena-kaliyaan
Mr.Writer i think u dnt hav got fair enough knowledge to comment about both Aziz and Shabbir.They were the huge stars of their time and u knw time wilts everything jus nw as both Udit and Sanu wilted.Every song sang by Mohd.Aziz was a hit and even r today same to Shabbir kumar sahab.The pitch where Shabbir starts all Sonus,udits nd sanus wilt there.Even today one is in awe to hear a Munna(Aziz)song.So u better upgrade ur knowledge abt dm and dn nly comment.Its jus a bad habit of urs to comment without knwing thngs clearly.
First, there is misinformation here.
Anwar did not pocket any songs from Rafi saab. In fact he was a student of Rafi saab who encouraged and recommended his work to many producers.
In 1977 Rafi saab had made strong come back and was the number one signer he had already given Laila Majnu, Hum Kisi se Kum nahin, and many top hits of the years from 1976 to 1980 continuously.
Anwar rose on the scene after Rafi saab passed away and he was the default choice to complete the songs left incomplete by the master.
He was by training and voice the best of th elot and Sonu Nigam is nowhere close. Nigam came up only because he was a T-Series protege and then an Annu Malik loyalist.
Almost all songs sung by Sonu 9composed by Anu Malik, Shankar Ehsann etc.) are plagiarized versions of original songs.
Anwar sang to original compositions, Nigam sang Karaoke versions of Ataullah and other copied songs, no originality.
plz don`t forget to add todays leading singers like Javed Ali and sukhwindra sing to add in this list………Ar rehman is been heard mentioning that he use to search many singers keeping spuprimacy of rafi sahab in mind,,,and these singers are the outcome of his search,,,,but Md rafi according to him is a dream made of excellence compared to whose voice all leading male singers of are just avarege…
Dear All,
Debashish das gupta is very close to Rafi saab as per the voice is concern.
Ayaz:
What do u mean by that comment. Can’t follow. Plz elaborate.
I think udit Narayan starts his new school. rafi ji school & Kishore ji School totaly different school. his new style singer & Great style. But Rafiji very telented singer as Kishore ji and next great singer udit ji
There is no one like Mhod. Rafi on this earh. He will still alive like sun, moon & stars. His songs can change any kind of mood. I really miss him because I personally wanted to see him or touch him. My tears says my love towards the one & only Rafi Saheb.
The real Rafi saab singer is the cute little but great, classically trained 19 year old Hamid Khan Tareen, who is that identical young Rafi saheb’s voice, with a Bangalore back ground and getting popularity every where. Can contact on 09986003802 if you want to hear Hamid’s expression of Rafi Saab’s voice………
u r also missing Vipin Sachdeva….otherwise ur research is really very good
Want to watch a Rafi-clone singing a KK song?
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=uUjfYfjxuDs
k.j.jesudas is the best singer who got inspired by rafi.
Good analytic work by Mr. Abhishek Taparia.
I think Mahendra Kapoor & Sonu Nigam are rated well as both are really pupils of Rafi Sb.
Regards,
Imran
I fully agreed by post 21 of Kalyani. It’s true that Md. Aslam minimized singing Rafi Sahab’s songs and focusing new songs only. It’s also true that he started his carrier by Rafi Sahab’s songs around 2 decades ago. At that time, he was close to Rafi Sahabs style in some extent, but now, he is comletely away by this flavor. It’s also irritates audience when he insert his own styles/harakats in Farishta’s songs.
Another singer inspired by Rafisaab was vipin sachdeva who was not a big hit
He sung the song allo allo from Andaz Apna Apna in Rafisaab’s style with OP Nayyar style music for Amr Khan. he sung a few Rafi remakes also. One more was Bankim Phatak
Post 14 Dr Kwaja saab….
In your choice of Mohd Aslam you have errored as Aslam started his career with the songs of Rafi sahab and after getting name due to our farista has totaly neglected the icons songs. He recently said I want to be like Yesudas sir to butter keralites and get a further name.
Now a days he sings all the singer’s songs and not restricted to Rafi sahab’s songs which gave him bread, butter and fame.
I rate Srikant Narayan who like Rafi sahab is very modest and an excellent singer followed by Anil Vajpayee.
Between them they have captured the most of the Rafi lovers heart in the west and south india
Hi Mr. Abhishek Taparia,
I’d like to add another Bollywood Playback Singer among the list above that was inspired by Mohd Rafi which is the student of Mohd Rafi & Shanker Jaikishen who is Mehboob Chohan from England.
He has sang in many Bollywood Films like in his debut film “Sardaar” 1981, the song that Mehboob Chohan sang was pitcurised on Actor Amjad Khan “Tu Kahin Hai Ke Nahin”, he also sang a qawali song for the film “Faqeer Badshah” 1982 “Jis ne peeli sharaab uska khana kharaab”, also sang in the film “Ghar ek Mandir” 1983 starring Shashi Kapoor, Mithun in song “Bhaiyya Babhi Ko Salaam”, also sang in film “Tala Bandhi” 1984 in title song “Ye Kaisi Tala Bandhi Hai”, also in song “Abhi Abhi To Pyar Hua Hai” and many more.
You can check out his personal website http://www.MEHBOOBCHOHAN.co.uk where you can find personal information and his Bollywood background also you can take a look at his gallery where you will find pictures of Mehboob Chohan with Mohd Rafi and many other famous artists.
Also check out http://www.youtube.com/mehboobchohanfanclub to see his body of work & http://www.mohammedrafi.net where he is mentioned as student of Rafi Saab.
He recently paid tribute to Mohd Rafi in the Tribute To Mohd Rafi Concert at Birmingham Symphony Hall with the CBSO in 2006 and then in 2008 it was done by Sonu Nigam with the CBSO known as Rafi Resurrected under the same conductor and orchestra. You can see this concert in video on youtube, I’l give direct links below of songs sung by Mehboob in the Tribute to Rafi Concert with the CBSO on the following links:
A MUST WATCH FOR ALL RAFI FANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Evening in Paris:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me2Jx7AhtMc
Tareef Karoon Kya Uski:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWr7VazBKiY
Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hOEWmhRyaw
Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0YLqFAy26I
Barbad e Mohabbat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQtQEb5g-N4
Baharo Phool Bharsoa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lalz45COyJM
Thank You so much for reading.
Mahendra Kapoor was very good but I personally felt he was a bit laid back and did not really push him self. We know Mohd Rafi’s daily vocal exercise regime from 4 am. I doubt very much if Mahendra kapoor had that level of passion and dedication.
True anwar was the natural successor to Mohd Rafi & amongst the up coming singers of that era anwar was most favoured by Mohd Rafi he without a shadow of doubt possessed the best voice from the Rafi clone ilk, but was one of the most arrogant
Playback singers in hindi film industry. He was classically trained, believed none could teach him any thing, consequently LP gave him a very hard time during rehearsals. There were many songs LP wished to give to anwar but settled for a lesser quality singer Shabbir Kumar.
Manmohan Desai wanted anwar to sing for him and felt Shabbir Kumar was besura but again anwar was just hard work. It was indeed LP/RK that rejected him due to ridiculous 10,000 rupee demand made by anwar whilst filming Prem Rog. There were some political motives in this saga, financiers wanted suresh wadekar, hence anwar was told to sing for free, anwar literally stuck his v sign up at RK by making the monetary demand.
Greed for money and alcohol addiction got the better of him, hard lessons in life failed to teach him any lessons, he is still as arrogant as ever. Enumerable anecdotes exist for anwars failings but it is not worth the paper written on.
Mohd Aziz was an average singer; he lacked the sweetness and majestic voice like Udit Narayan. Mohd Aziz makes singing look really hard work; it is an exhausting experience just to watching him. He was the most humble of singers from eighties era, disciplined and above all, A GOOD STUDENT! Naushad Ali, LP, KA all took him under their wing.
Sonu Nigam, well he deserves a chapter dedicated soley to him, he is the one true Rafi protege
My top three are sonu nigam, udit, anwar but all these are nothing in mindless comparison of Mohd Rafi, they simply try to mask up the emptiness that Rafi has left us.
Dear all,
thanks for the love and appreciation. i regret on missing out on suresh wadkar in this article also some other singers like debashish dasgupta who used to sing for t-series banner and for mahes bhatt in the movies made in early 90s.
i dont know much abt yesudas n spb except tht both of them are big Rafisaab bhakts.
abt sonu nigam he is good no doubt n his singing is nice too but he surely needs to learn humility.
Dear Abhishek
Very good article, i think you have forgotten one more name which i would like to tell you. He has sung O HARAY DOPATTAY WALI, SEEDHI SAADI BHOOLI BHAALI, JANAM RUK JANA for Salman Khan. I do not remember the name of this singer, but i would share his words, that are:
“I know this is the time of Kishore Kumar, but i definitely know that time of Muhammad Rafi will come again.” He gave this statement in an interview.
I would like to add one more name. Jaspal Singh is a singer who sang songs like “Geet Gaata Chal”; “Sawan Ko Aane Do”; “Shyam Teri Bansi”; etc in the 70s and early 80s mainly under Rajshree Productions. He is strong a Rafi Bhakt.
There is another singer from Punjab “Balbir” who mainly sang folk songs in Punjabi films. He has contributed a few duets with Rafi in Hindi films like “Jaagte Raho” and “Hanste Zakham”. He is another Rafi Bhakt.
an unknown fact about a singer mentioned above: the singer came like a sharp arrow and was swiftly lost in the maze of time – for only one reason : pride and greed.
this singer was the natural clone to mohd rafi saaheb – but lost the contest. How?….. once l and p called this singer for a song rehearsal in the eighties. this singer demanded rs.10,000 as his fees. laxmikant pyarelal dropped him. the singer after a period of time went to l.p for a chance.
l and p said : we are collecting the amount for you , once its ready, we would beckon you.
i will not name the singer to safeguard his balance of market share and his singing career.
binu nair, mumbai… 9833 250 701
Janab Abhishek Taparia Saheb,
Excellant writing on a different and unique topic.
I would like to add two names , who really copy Rafi Sahab and to some extent they are successful. I personally heard them on several occasions here in USA.
1. Javid Reza from New Jersey or New York
2. Mohd. Aslam from Banglore. You can listen to him singing Rafi Sahab’s songs on “You Tube”. He sang in Bollywood for AR Rahman.
Post.4. I have one CD of Anwar Rafi’s private songs with lyrics by S.M.Sadiq.The title of this CD is”A tribute to Rafi”, released by Oriental Star Agencies Ltd., Brimingham, UK.
This is a collectors item for Rafi lovers. Another interesting thing to know that Mr. Masood Rana of Pakistan was with Rafi Sahab during Hajj in early part of Seventees. This is according to a reliable source.
With best regards to all Rafi lovers.
Long live Rafi Sahab,
Dr. Khaja Aliuddin
Vipin Sachdeva was a Mohammed rafi clone but did not sing the song ‘Kaali teri choti hai’ from bahaar aane tak. Mangal singh, a mohammed rafi saab follower sang this song.
There’s also Mohammed Aslam, whose voice also sounds like Mohammed rafi.
Suresh wadkar also belongs to the Mohammed rafi saab of singing, though he didnt copy his singing style.
Abhishekji thanks for the informative article. Mahendra kapoor was very inspired by rafi sahab as per his own admission several times during his life time. But he knew he could never attain the levels of his master and thus gave up to pick his own style of singing. He had a good range and scale no doubt, but that was all. he was successful in creating a niche for himself, particularly the patriotic numbers (rafi sahab sang several patriotic songs himself and matchlessly too). every singer has his/her own unique style and it would be better if they sing in their individual styles. no one can sing in someone else’ style and hence comparisons are needless. But the article was good in as much as it revived our fading memories of those singers mentioned in the article. Among the new age singers Udit narayan and sonu nigam mentioned by you, i have little knowledge about their singing styles.
S.P. Balasubramaniam (SPB) Most talented proven playback singer in India at present has openly mentions Rafi Saab as his guru in almost all his shows. And he is very talented. Only problem SPB has like Anwar was base was too much unlike Rafi Saab who had a perfect base sound (should I say perfect everything!).
Secondly, KJ Yesudas, One of the most talented, classically sound, very melodious voice after Rafi Saab has also consider the maestro as his guru and sings his numbers on stage though never copy.
Udit Narayan Did not copy for rafi ji style. but I agree other . rafi ji is a great singer in India but sonu did not reach to rafi ji always sing well but sonu not sung well. I think three different school in India 1st rafji 2nd Kishore ji 3rd Udit Narayan. due to he is toltaly different, his expereasion and suite in all indian actors especially khans
Kali teri choti hai paranda tera lani sing by Debashish .
vipn singh sing in Bewafa sanam be irada nazar milgaye tu & O hare duptewali
nice artical
Mr. Abhishek, Aap ne Rafi sahab ke pakistani Singers inspired by Rafisaab ka yahaan koi zikar nahin kya unke ek real shagird aaj bhi zinda hain
Muhammad Ifrahim ke naam se jane jate hain woh.
Singers inspired by Rafisaab in pakistan
1.Muhammad Ifrahim
2. Akhlaq Ahmed.
3.Masoud Rana.
4.Ahmed Rushdi.
5.Mujeeb Alaam.
and many more,,,,,,,,,,
when you hear the late rafi sab singing you feel that Oh! its that easy and simple to sing like him, but the when you try to sing then only you find that it is very difficult to sing like him. a case in point is sonu nigam sang in sony tv with british philharmonic artitst.rafi is the ultimate after he left the hindi fim music also faded away….
There was a singer called Vipin Sachdeva then it was that Singh who sang ‘ kaali teri choti hai paranda tera laal ni ‘
Dear Lovers Of Rafi Sahah,
What i may say about Rafi Sahab, he was not singing but some one is singing to him. After 20 years passed but no one singer is created just like Rafi Sahah. Such persons are created by GOD only for humen beings and for true lovers.
May GOD give him more rest and Love always.
My ever best wishes with Rafi Sahab
Kprem
Thanks a lot Mr. Abhishek for sharing such an informative article, I would like to add a few names from Pakistan who also tried to copy Mohd. Rafi in their singing style.
At the top; 1- Masood Rana who accepted himself from Rafi school and no doubt he tried his best.
2- Slaeem Raza
3- Ikhlaq Ahmed
4- Anwar Rafi
5- some how I feel Ahmed Rushdi also tried to copy Rafi sb in his singing style.
hey i don’t know who you are but i know that my sonu bhaiya is the best singer not just in the bollywood but in this world and he does not have any problem in his singing, okay? he can sing any kind of songs and even rafi ji’s songs with no problem and he did. so don’t ever say that he has any problem in his singing.
Abhishek Ji,
Many thanks for a nice wrtite-up. You can add to the list the legendary South Indian singer, S.P.Balasubrmanyam. SPB always keeps mentioning how strongly he was inspired by Rafi Saab. In fact, in his earlier singing days between 1969-75, SPB indeed used to imitate some of Rafi styles, such as the way Rafi Saab drags the words, here and there!
Venkat
dear abhishek ji thanks for a well research article with a different subject . You have covered almost all “shagird” of Rafi Saheb, out of which Mahendra Kapoor Ji is the first & real shagird of Rafi Saheb and Sanu Nigam is the last follower of Rafi Saheb. keep it up please.
with best regards
biman baruah