The Rafi-Kishore saga
The following article appeared in The Statesman,Calcutta, on Aug.7 th 2005. It will give more food for thought to the ongoing debate about the Rafi personality and magic - Mohan Flora .
Mohd. Rafi was the greatest playback singer, asserts Ranjan Das Gupta as he pays tribute on the melody kings 25th death anniversary. Rafi was a classically trained singer while Kishore was naturally endowed with excellent resonance. The latter was a versatile genius, singer, music director, actor, writer and director all rolled into one. Both were proficient singers but had separate individual styles.
In the 1950s Rafi literally ruled the roost. He was the most favoured singer for veteran composers like Naushad, S.D. Burman, Shanker Jaikishan, Madan Mohan while Kishore was preferred by S.D. Burman and Salil Choudhury who was playback mainly for Dev Anand and his own films. Rafi on the other hand could balance his melodious voice for diverse stars like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Guru Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor.
It is an astonishing fact that O.P. Nayar used Rafi to sing for Kishore Kumar the unforgettable tune Man Mora Bawra in Ragini in 1957. Shanker Jaikishan also had Rafi to sing Ajab Hai Dastan in Shararat in 1958. Says record museum owner Vinod Santhalia, It is simply amazing. Imagine Mohd. Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in films Kishore himself acted.
Shanker Jaikishan commented, No doubt Kishore Kumar is a good singer. He sang beautifully for me in Rangoli. But Ajab Hai Dastan was simply not Kishores cup of tea. The mukhdas and antaras required a singer of Rafis range and classical background.
Although Kishore Kumar felt bad about this, he could only marvel at Rafis brilliant rendering of the two songs. Rafi characteristically remarked, No one else except Kishore could sing Dukhi Man Mera in Funtoosh so well.
Salil Choudhury was not favourably inclined towards Rafi at one point of time, but even he was compelled to use Rafi for the unforgettable Tootey Huey Khuabo Nay in Madhumati and Koi Soney Ke Dil Wala in Maya and confess that Rafi was indeed peerless.
It is generally known that Rafi and Kishore went through a bad patch in their relationship. Yet it is also true that both liked and respected each other. S.D. Burman openly admitted to Kishore that the three solos in Guide by Rafi could not be matched by any singer. On Dev Anands special request, he composed the Kishore-Lata super hit duet Gata Rahe Mera Dil for Guide. Similarly, Rafis numbers in Teen Deviyan and the haunting duet with Lata Mangeshkar in Jewel Thief were far superior to the Kishore numbers in these films.
In the late 60s when R.D. Burman composed the melody for Tum Bin Jaaun Kahan in Pyar Ka Mausam, he experimented the same solo with both Rafi and Kishore. True, Kishore sang this number by melodiously incorporating his inimitable yodelling. But in the romantic number, Rafi scored over Kishore in melody.
The 60s was also considered Rafis decade though Kishore matured considerably as a singer during this period. The Jungle Mein Mangal number Woh Din Ke Baat Sharan Karo had both Rafi and Kishore together but is somehow not remembered that well. But Shanker Jaikishans Hanste Gate Jahan Se Guzar in Andaz by Rafi quite eclipsed Kishores entire Zindagi Ek Safar in 1971.
Madan Mohan also used both Rafi and Kishore in the song Yu Na Sharma for Parwana in 1972. Kishore sang the happy rendition for hero Navin Nischal. But there was Rafi again to do full justice to the Are Hansnewale, the melancholic aspect of the same song for Amitabh Bachchan.
In the 1970s the Kishore Kumar wave took the Hindi film music by storm and was backed by R.D. Burman. Some critics felt R.D was partial to Kishore and avoided using Rafi. The Rafi Kishore duet Yaadon Ki Barat from the film with the same title in 1973 turned out to be a superhit. But it cannot be categorised either as an exclusive Rafi or a Kishore gem for both sang in perfect harmony.
Subsequently, R.D. Burman opted for Rafi again after four years as no other singer could have rendered so skillfully Chand Mera Dil and Kya Hua in Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin; that too in a film with many Kishore Kumar superhits like Mil Gaya and Aa Meri Jaan.
When Rafi sang Darde Dil for Laxmikant Pyarelal in Karz in1980 based on a single note, he proved melody was indeed God-gifted to him, remembers upcoming singer Sujan Bose. Kishores Ay Mere Umar Ke and Ek Hasina Thi could not touch that level. The same can be said for Rajesh Roshan’s Yarana where Rafi’s Aare Re Aisa Tarana completely surpassed Kishore’s Sara Zamana and Tere Jaisa.
Mohd. Rafi left for his heavenly abode on 31 July, 25 years ago. Remembers author Nabaran Bhattacharya, The photo of a silent, sad and grief-struck Kishore in the newspapers portrayed very well that no one except him understood what an irreparable loss had taken place in Indian film music.
As Kishore himself said when Jagjit Singh criticised the Rafi gharana, How dare these so-called ghazal singers criticise an icon that Manna Dey, Mukesh and I dare not criticise. Rafi was unique.
March 5th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Congratulations! Great article. I am an avid fan of Rafi Sahab and believe every single word of this article. Can some body send me the songs featured in this article. Moreover I would appreciate if somebody can send me links to download Rafi Sahab’s songs especially rare songs. Please keep up the good work.
March 7th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
I got goose pimples just by reading this article. Kishoreji was a brilliant singer no doubt about that. Rafi saheb was the uncrowned king, simply incomparable. I must share this with all.
When you enter Kishoreji’s Bungalow in Bombay, the 1st thing which hits you is a huge portrait of Rafi saheb. Hows that ?
Ruhi Khan- Rafi Lovers Circle, Calcutta
March 7th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Fantastic article. I am an big fan of Rafi saheb and everything what is written in this article is correctly. Can somebody put some songs of Rafi saheb on this website for download? Especially love songs of Mohd.Rafi.
Thank you.
March 9th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Rafi jee and Kishore jee both were great and had different style. and it depends on the inndividual’choice wich style he likes more . according to that he compares these two greats. but Rafi jee certainly had far more range than any singer that i have ever heard and i rate him the best.
March 11th, 2006 at 3:57 am
Mohammed Rafi is no doubt the best singer ever and I think no one has been able to match his excellent God Gifted voice. Kishore Kumars voice again was good but even now you hear any of Rafi Saabs songs they sound so fresh and you can listen to them again and again One of my Fav RAFI-KISHORE song is from Dostana - Bane Chahe Dushman Zamana Hamara salamat rahe dostana hamara - Their duets were the best…I cannot go any day without hearing Rafis voice. Rafi saabs voice has touched millions and I can say that it will continue to touch music lovers whatever their age may be.
March 19th, 2006 at 8:33 am
No question that Rafi saab was one of the best singers Indian Film Industry ever had. Even Mr. Bachchan (Big B) said him self that “… Khuda bhi vo aavaz bana na bhul gaya…” on Rafi Saab’s dath. I love M. Rafi and his songs, his voice - he was truly just imparrell. Yet, Kishore Kumar was just simply the Genious. Lata Mangeshkar said once “… I call Kishore Kumar, a sampuran kalakar… Indian Version of Dany Kay… His voice was next to God.. He was truly a MASTER…” I love Kishore Kumar’s songs - I love Kishore Kumar - Each and every songs of his is like… its next to GOD.
March 19th, 2006 at 11:29 am
the article written on Rasi sahib is much amazing, this should be noted that india has produced so many singers that can never be forgotten, it will be a great injustice to rank one singer on other, if we think that it was not only Rafi sahib, who brought fame to indian music, but all singers of his time which we can name like Mukesh jee, hemant kumar,Talat mahmood, manadey,Kishore kumar shortly all have played thier best part in popularizing indian music worldwide.
March 28th, 2006 at 12:41 am
Kishore was a great singer but Mohd Rafi is the only singer all said about him good things as Actor or singer or music D or ect….
Manny day(singer) said once that Mohd Rafi is the best male singer and we other fighting 4 no two.
I can say that Mohd Rafi is No 1 and before one it is Zero and after one it is two.
March 29th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Hi friends,
Great article but not everthing in it, there are some songs should be sing by K K but it (songs)singed by Mohd Rafi from Laxmikant Pyarelal , RD, madan mohan.
K K is a great singer but to be honest that no one can be better than Mohd Rafi,Mohd Rafi I think he have got 100% vote and no one can get more than 100%
March 30th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
it was very sad to learn that jagjit critised The Mohd. Rafi. how dare he do that?
March 31st, 2006 at 8:33 pm
I liked the Article.I regard Rafi’s, Kishore’s and Mukesh’s voice as God’s voices.They should not be compared among themselves.Its simply foolishness to do so.
The only thing I could not tolerate in this article was Jagjit singh’s criticism on Rafi.I think he is not even comparable to the dirt of Rafi sahab’s feet and so for him to criticize Rafi is nothing but height of unashamedness.(Nirlajjata ki parakaashtha)
His(Jagjit Singh) all Ghazals will simply fail to excel in front of one single Ghazal of Rafi Sahab “Tumhari Zulf ke saaye me shaam kar lunga”. Not to speak of other Ghazals of Rafi sahab.
April 1st, 2006 at 12:19 am
OH CMON! it wud b unfair to compare rafi ji n kishore da…they both r the gr8est music legends… our music industry is incomplete widout both of em… they both had different styles…bt two things in common..THEY BOTH WERE PERFECTIONISTS…N THEY BOTH ROCK!!! *~*lEt D mUsIc pLaY*~*
April 2nd, 2006 at 12:08 am
well, i am total BHAKTA of rafi sahab. i love him and his voice.
but kishore kumar is also not far behind. There is slight marigin between them. Margin of excelance.
i recon kishore was total artist and rafi was total singer.
we know rahul dravid is very good batsman but we love sachin.
we know kishore kumare was very good singer but we love rafi sahab.
April 4th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
Yes that is true as well Manish.
Kishore Kumar was a good singer but for me Rafi saab was the ultimate.
This is the first time I have heard of Jagjit Singh critising Raf saab. Not very professional is he I mean what did he say. Sorry dont tell me as anything bad heard or said against Rafi saab is a sin.
He was the best
Khalid Rashid
April 4th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
Yes that is true as well Manish.
Kishore Kumar saab was a good singer but for me Rafi saab was the ultimate.
This is the first time I have heard of Jagjit Singh critising Rafi saab. Not very professional is he I mean what did he say. Sorry dont tell me as anything bad heard or said against Rafi saab is a sin.
He was the best
Khalid Rashid
April 4th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
It’s very surprised to know that Jagjit Singh criticized Rafi Saab, when Ghazals singers like Gulam Ali, Mehndi Hasan, Begum Akhtar, etc always appluaded Rafi Saab for his greatness.
I heard that Jagjit Singh criticized India in one of his concerts held in Pakistan, not sure to what extend it is true.
April 5th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Dear friends,
I think it must be a mistake about Jagjit Singh criticising Rafi gharaana because he himself
has paid rich tribute to Rafi sab in the Legends cassette and CDs of Rafi sab where all his living colleagues like Lata di,Manna da,Naushad sab pay homage n tribute.
PLEASE LET US BE AWARE THAT NO ONE CAN POiNT AGAINST THE BADSHAH OF LEGENDS AND FARISTA LIKE RAFI SAB. HE IS DEMI GOD NOT ONLY TO SONU NIGAM,UDIT NARAYAN,S.P BALU, YESUDASJI, AND MANY OF RAFI CRAZY FANS LIKE US.
If we get an opportunity the same can be clarified with Jagjit Singh especially Mumbaikars can do this as he is based there.
Thanks to this unique website for airing our views freely,
P.Narayanan
Bangalore 09886779557.
April 6th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
A very good informative article for someone like me ………who was not much aware about Rafi Saab even though i am his fan. Thanks a lot Sir for increasing my knowledge about a great legend like Mohd. Rafi.
Harshita.
April 8th, 2006 at 3:52 am
No one will ever be like Mohd Rafi. He was and is the greatest singer of all times. Kishore Kumar was simply not in the same league. In my opinion the seventees was an era of loud music and a lot of Raa Raa Raa. Kishore did well with this of music, as it did not require the range that Rafi had. Compared to Lata, Mohd Rafi was also superior. Songs such as “Ehsaan Tera Hoga” for Junglee, “Jab Pyar kisi say hotahai” from the same film, “Mere Mehboob” title songs, sung by both Lata and Rafi, the version by Rafi was a bigger hit. Will Lata fans agree?
April 9th, 2006 at 1:09 am
Nice article,its really annoying when people compare RAFI SAHAB and KISHORE DA.When someone compares them it brings grin on my face,it simply shows how much that person knows about music.No doubts that RAFI SAHAB is the only KOHINOOR this world has ever got.I would say that RAFI SAHAB sang songs of all genres.Even THE BEATLES song that RAFI SAHAB sang was better then them.”I wanna hold your hand-The Beatles, RAFI SAHAB-dekho ab to kisko nahin hai khabar (janwar 1965)”
JAAN PEHCHAN HO JEENA AASAN HO-Gumnaam is an open challenge not only to all Indian singers but also to all english singers.This song is used in the english movie GHOSTWORLD,they just praised RAFI SAHAB.
As long as people love melody RAFI SAHAB will not be forgotten.
April 9th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
There is not a day that goes by without thinking about Mr. Rafi. I don’t know where to find that voice but I believe in reincarnation and I think that someone somewhere in the remote villages far from the city lights that we will find him there. A raw talent waiting to be discovered.
I would like to pay a tribute to Mr. Rafi by organizing and finding finance to produce a documentry on him.
If you feel the same as I do then do something! This void is killing me.
April 10th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Dear Sanjay Gupta,
It gives us pleasure to all Rafi Sahabs fans that u are planning to organise and produce documentary film of the greatest in indian film industry Rafi Sahab the Badshah of melody.
I would also like to join you in this noble endeavour and for this you may pl note down my mob numb 09886779557 and email id bangaloreconsultancy@hotmail.com.
In fact I got in touch with Rasheed Khan mob numb o9869030908 who is based in Mumbai who with his friends are organising special magazine feature on our beloved Rafi Sahab during the 26 th anniversary in July06. He also informed me that some one from the Film Institute Pune are trying to make doc film soon.You may get in touch with Rasheed Khan for more details.
Also all Rafians should send email to Sahara,Sony and Zee channel to telecast special programme on Rafi Sahab on 31st July and 24th Dec by calling on the current leading singers like Sonu,Udit,Shaan, Abhijit,K,K,Kumar Ganjanwala, to name a few and their female co singers to pay tribute to legend of legends Rafi Sahab. Only viewers can put the right pressure to these channels.
In Dec05 Aaj Tak had aired very unique programme on Rafi Sahab and taken interview with a sindhi fan based in Ahmedabad by name Talreja I think who has converted one part of his house as a monument to Rafi Sahab which was simply amazing.
We should come together on a common platform to bring joy to all the music lovers living today by HONORING RAFI SAHAB AND BY GIVIGN AWARDS TO THE BEST TALENT IN RAFI SAHABS NAME.
P.Narayanan Bangalore . Requesting all Bangaloreans to come together for a common cause Rafi Sahabs legacy to continue forever……………………
April 11th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
Both Kishore and Rafi were unmatchable in their own arena. Therefore we are not the right person to judge Who’s the best.
so just enjoy good song.
April 12th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
The beauty of a rainbow is due to the combination of all its colors, we may prefer one color or other at different times. We have had a lot of highly talented singers, great musicians and a wide range of lyricists and everyone contributed to the wealth of Indian film music.
I hear most singers including Mukesh, Kishore, Lata, Talat and even Kundan Lal Saigal. I love them all, but the only voice that touches my soul, the only voice that mesmerises me irrespective of the type the song, is that of that of Mohammad Rafi. You need the ears to understand this. And every individual is entitled to his preference.
Very few can do justice while singing Rafi songs. Try ‘Jaane Kahaan gayee,
Dil Mera Legayee’ OR ‘Barbaade Mohabbat Ki Dua Saath Liyw Ja’.
There actually is no reason to compare, just enjoy the rainbow.
DPT
April 13th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Thank you for that wonderful comment Tripathy saab.
Khalid Rashid
April 13th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Tujhe Nagmo Ki jaa Ehle Nazar Yu hi Nahin Kehte
Tere geeto ko dil ka hamsafar yuhi nahin kehte
Dukhi the laakh phir bhi mutmaeen (satisfied) the dard ke maare
Teri Awaaz ke shabnam se dhul jaate hain gham saare
tere taano mein husn-e-zindagi leta tha humrahi
tujhe allah na bakhsha tha andaaz-e-masihayi
tu hi tha pyar ka ek saaz nafrat ki is duniya mein
are ganimat thi teri awaaz nafrat ki is duniya mein
how true are those lines from naushad saab who paid a great tribute to the legendary singer. i remember once when someone asked manna-da if he had to rate top 10 singers in the film industry to which he replied “pehle das to rafi saab ke liye hain ginti to 11 se shuru hoti hain (somewhat of this kinds)” . i think that speak enough about rafi saab being number uno after which any kind of debate is irrational.
regards
Imran
April 14th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
i’m a very young guy when Rafi sahab died i was born that time……but in so called society, i dont like any of singer except Mohd Rafi. and i’m listing his song all most every day. thanks
April 15th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Before going to work,Listen a Rafi Sahib song every morning ,your day will be very fresh.
I can not help listening his song every day. Kishore Kumar Ji has his own style. But as far as singing range, voice pitch is concerned, Rafi sahib can never be compared with any one.If you have to compare with Rafi sahib with some one that is only NOOR JEHAN. Both are equally blessed.Both have full command of singing in ‘OUNCHAY SUR’.
Rafi jee May your soul rest in eternal peace.
Zulfiqar Ali Gill(M.B.A. Marketing)
Lahore Pakisstan.
April 18th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Hi dear friends. I dont have much to say about Mohammed Rafi’s great golden voice that was given to him by the ALMIGHTY ALLAH. I feel sorry for those people in the Indian film industry who ignored him by giving him less awards then other singers. Frankly speaking, his each and every song was an award winning song. He has even given playbacks to Kishore. He could sing any type of song without any difficulty. Its in the year 1980, when the indian film industry lost its GOLDEN voice. I know people can spend days talking about him. There is no doubt that he was a great singer of all times without going for training.
April 18th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
hello
friends iam vry much happy to read all this mails
about rafi saab who’s song line’s “mujhko mere bad zamana dhoondega”is getting truly,rafi saab hamare dil mai the ,hain ,aur rahenge inshallah
adnansajid
hyderabad india
April 20th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Dear friends I think we are wrong 2 compare RAFI SAHAB and KISHORE DA or M Rafi with any other singer becaue I think Mohd Rafi sahab is great because he was and will be greatest singer not becaue of a Music director or film star but we all know that who is hand back of Kishora da or 2 make him play back singer,there ia S D, RD,that time Super Star Rajesh Khanna and all time bigest super star Amithba the big B,Also himself as a great actor(kishore) and film maker.
someone said that music born on 1950’s, was young on 1960’s became old 1970’s and died on 1980’s.Do u know WHY?I think becaue of Mohd Rafi sahab becaues when Mohd became 2 music it mean born of the music(1950’s) and when most of song singed by Mohd rafi Sahab it mean that music was young(1960’s),it became old because Mohd rafi didn’t sing much(1970’s) and died when Mohd rafi body went away from us and Mohd Rafi sahab voice with us untill there are human on the earth.
Please don’t compare Mohd Rafi 2 any singer becaue as singer like Manny day said no Male singer can be mohd rafi,Lata ji said like Mohd rafi born once one earth,Asha ji said that No one can win Mohd Rafi and many more.
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:41 pm
hi friends,
I dont no why jagjit critisized mohd rafi and what he said about him, maybe he wants to tell the people that he can sing ghazals better than rafi, but i tell you his best ghazals was for mirza ghalib and mohd rafi had already sang these ghazals in a better way in non-filmi ghazals. when rafi sang ghazals of mirza ghalib he was not comparing others,but others will come to compare rafi, I will say sorry, rafi is not comparable as our friend ALI BALUCH said. rafi is no.1 if you are worse than rafi you will be no.2 or 3,but if you wants to be better you will be zero.
Now I think same story is going with jagjit, before I liked him but now he is zero to me
April 25th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Yes, I do agree with this article. Mohammad Rafi is the ultimate singer and was and always will be the best playback singer and all around singer of all time. I think Kishore Kumar’s talents aren’t emphasized enough. Although no one can and in my opinion will ever be able to sing as amazingly, effeciently, and with as much emotion as Rafi, BUT I don’t think anyone can sing, direct, produce, act, and write (and much more) ALL IN ONE. Kishore Kumar has done that. In my opinion Rafi was and always be the greatest singer in Bollywood and Kishore Kumar was and probably will be the most talented person in bollywood. Both Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi are uncomparable in their own way. May they rest in peace….
April 26th, 2006 at 5:59 am
hi everyone,
this is a very nice article. i’m a fan of kishore kumar but also love rafi and manna dey. i feel each person has his own preference for a particular singer.
i’ve no doubt that rafi is technically a superior singer to kishore kumar, but most people who make the comparision forget that rafi undertook classical training, while kishore kumar had no formal training at all. so, it’s unfair to compare on that aspect. if u want to compare based on classical prowess, then manna dey is clearly superior to rafi or lata or asha. lata and asha, both mentioned how they were nervous when they had to sing classical songs with manna da bcos he was perfect.
there is a famous saying, “You judge yourself based on what you are capable of doing, while others judge you based on what you’ve done”. this is very true with respect to kishore kumar and rafi. kishore kumar had the potential but no results (bcos of lack of training) while rafi had the results. so, we should judge kishore kumar based on his potential, and not just his results.
so, the true comparision would’ve been possible only if both went through the same training. if kishore kumar had taken classical training for music like rafi or lata, then who knows how he would’ve turned out. sadly, it’s not possible now.
April 26th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
dear shankar,
as you said that Mohd rafi well classical training,dear Shanker u r wrong because there are many other singer they sing every day but they can’t,If u go for remix dear shanker u will see that mohd Rafi Sound is more great but when u go 4 Kishore da remix sound like better as before as i think,mohd rafi was is and will be Magic and no one can copy that Magic as I think,Go and see what Manny day,Lata and Asha said about Mohd rafi sahab.Asha said once no one can win Mohd rafi sahab.
dear shankar if u said that Kishore da is the best Actor i will be with u yes is one of the best Actor.Sorry dear if u mind
April 27th, 2006 at 5:00 am
dear ali,
i’m sorry if u’ve misunderstood my post. i’m not claiming that kishore or manna dey are better than rafi saab. i said it’s unfair to compare on basis of classical knowledge bcos kishore da had 0 classical training. it’s his talent that without any training he can sing so well, and he can compose some really beautiful songs. if u listen to kishore da’s music for films like jhumroo, door gagan ki chaon mein, or door ka rahi, u’ll be amazed.
also, i said classical training is not the only criteria bcos rafi saab is surely more versatile than manna dey, mukesh etc. but if u take only classical songs then manna dey is surely superior to rafi saab or anybody else.
rafi saab - most versatile and probably greatest singer
manna dey - better than anyone for classical songs
kishore da - probably most naturally talented and a genius.
April 27th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Hi Shankar,
Rafi was at a totally different level than Kishore, Mukesh and probably even Lata. And Kishore’s lack of classical training is not an excuse at all — even Kishore’s voice wasn’t really ideal for playback singing, and he was actually shunned by all the leading MDs during the golden era of singing. It’s only when the non-golden era started that KK got a break as a singer, though he did over-achieve given his limited singing talent. Just listen to KK’s songs and they pale so badly in comparison to Rafi’s — KK’s songs are too elementary, I liked them when I was a teen, but I can’t appreciate them as much anymore. Even if Kishore had classical training , he wouldn’t have been a singer of Rafi’s caliber — Rafi was naturally blessed, and was simply the best in almost all aspects of singing.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:26 am
dear ravi,
you are bringing up an aspect of singing that is hard to define. “voice quality” is a vague concept. i’ve read so many articles on KK, and the only reason why MD’s refused him is because of his lack of classical training.
going by your points, even manna dey shouldn’t have got any songs to sing since his voice was not as good as rafi’s. but what beautiful songs manna dey got to sing, during the so-called golden era - songs like “laaga chunari mein daag”, “kaun aaya mere man ke dware”, “ae mere pyare watan”, etc. And this is bcos of his classical prowess.
also, what u call non-golden era of music is defined as the golden-era by some others. it’s a matter of taste. if you think KK over-achieved given his limited singing talent, u r vastly underestimating his potential, and u don’t know how difficult it is to sing like him.
i remember in the TV program “sa re ga ma pa”, Ismail Darbar (who was the judge in that episode) asked one of the participants to sing a KK song, and the guy sang “Meri soni, meri tamanna …” from Yaadon ki baarat. This guy was classically trained, and technically probably superior to KK; and yet when he finished that song, it was obvious he was nowhere near KK. Ismail Darbar remarked that when the participant was singing the song, KK’s voice was actually ringing in his mind, and the participant couldn’t match up to it.
in another episode, s.janaki was the judge and in the judge’s choice round, she asked the participant to sing “chingari koi bhadke” or “kuch to log kahenge”. the guy sang “chingari koi bhadke”, and it was pathetic compared to KK’s version. if u think KK didn’t have potential, i would ask u to listen to some of his rarer songs before making that statement. songs like “sachai chup nahin sakti …”. at the end of the line “… vaada tera vaada”, he twists that last “vaada” so well that it’s very hard to duplicate unless u r classically trained.
if rafi’s voice was the only suitable voice i think singers like yesudas, manna dey, SPB, bhupinder etc., wouldn’t have cut it. but they did, and that’s only bcos they were classically trained.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:44 am
hi,
for a layman who listens to music, the technical aspects of the singer are not obvious. the most redeeming quality, for the layman, is the ability of the singer to touch the heart, to bring out emotions. and in this aspect, KK is as good as any other singer, probably superior.
when u r very happy or when u r very sad, u want to listen to KK. his ability to evoke pathos (without extra effort) is unmatched. songs like “woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi”, “teri duniya se hoke majboor chala”, “zindagi ke safar mein”, “badi sooni sooni hai” cannot be matched by any other singer. and neither can anyone bring out the energy he brings out in songs. no other singer can sing “mein hoon jhumroo”.
and of course, even the most classically trained singer cannot yodel like KK. u can dismiss that fact but it stands.
April 28th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Hi Shankar,
You are right — a lot comes down to your personal taste. You mentioned yesudas, manna dey, SPB, bhupinder, and all 4 of these very accomplished singers consider Rafi to be so good that they think it is blasphemous to compare him with anyone. The biggest proof of Rafi’s genius is to hear what Manna Dey has to say about Rafi, and Manna has seen them all including KK himself. Manna has said that Rafi is so much better than anyone else that he held positions 1 to 10 in terms of greatness in the field of playback singing. As far as Kishore is concerned, Kishore was not superior than Rafi in any aspect of singing howsoever much the Indian media promotes Kishore. KK is pretty good in this own right and I like him quite a bit, but please listen to all Rafi’s songs and compare them with KK’s and then you will know how big the difference in quality is. And yeah, I have heard the rarest of KK songs, and they are good songs. At one time, I had almost 5000 of his Hindi songs.
April 28th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
As mr Ravi said a lot comes down 2 your personal taste.i don’t know about music but what about the people like Lata,Asha,Manny Day,sb,Aziz,Anwer,O P N,Madan Mohan Shanker Jai k,LP and many more,
Asha B said once that is she became great because of O P Nayar(MD) and O P Nayer said He is because Mohd rafi sahab.L from LP said that it is easy make song 4 Mohd rafi, Lata and Asha because they can do it as how we made it but other singer they can’t,Shamma K said that he became a good actor because of Mohd Rafi.If we go to 1970’s we will see that all song in the film singed by K K and there is one from Mohd rafi (some fims).In Tv programm on Zee I saw Amit kummar(son of KK)tried 2 sing a Mohd rafi but he singed it so bad the people on the stage said sing it again and he didn’t.
Who can sing ghazal, geet, qawalli, naat,bhajan, pop n rock, desh bhakti and any more else Mohd Rafi jest give me one name dear Shanker,
April 28th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
checked all the comments, reading some of them brought tears of joy, read some ignorant imbeciles too who were clearly biased against Rafi saahab.
Look you just cant compare a pop-singer with a guru of all guru’s. KK was a pop singer(POPular singer) no doubt he had a good voice. he sang them well because he was given easy songs, and dont forget we had master composers then. Kishore was lucky he sang in those days, give him todays composers and he will sound like any of todays singers. only his rich voice will keep him above our Udits and ‘whatevertheirnames’ . todays singers are a dime a dozen.
Listening to Kishore’s songs, you are also listening to the lyrics, the music, the composition. all those things put together made him popular. Rafi sahab could sing equally amazingly without any accompanyments, or very few. when He sang you would be listening to RAFI SAHAB.
I have only read in history books about Tansen and his wonders. I have actually felt the magic , experienced the emotions, known calmness , peace in my soul, felt the rush in my blood, aroused my romanticism. felt extremely devout, went on a trip back to childhood , fantasyland. etc etc. all thanks to Rafi sahabs Voice, his amazing talent.
the bollywood bigwigs then in th 70’s have done a great injustice to music afficianadoes by playing politics and not giving those songs to Rafi sahab, which they let Kishore and others sing. we would have had that many more masterpieces. its a great loss.
I appeal to all Rafi sahab’s Fans to protest everytime you see the T.V. channels / media ignoring Rafi sahab, this has gone on for too long. if Amitabh B. so much as sneezes its big news. a nobody like John Abraham is bitten by a mosquito , thats news. the Ingrates do not even care to mention Rafi Sahab’s anniversary’s anywhere in the media.
I feel strongly about such issues.
Shahu..
there be more later.
April 29th, 2006 at 2:33 am
I’m reading through the debates and I can’t help thinking how Rafi-saab or KK would have reacted to some of the statements. Dear Rafi fans — out of respect for the man who epitomized humility, let’s not put down other singers. Dear KK fans — out of respect for the singer who himself acknowledged Rafi-saab as his superior, let’s not pitch the two singers against each other. I’m sure we can all agree that, between the two, they have left behind a treasure of music without which we would all have been much poorer. Which Rafi fan is willing to pretend that KK’s soulful rendition of ‘zindagi ka safar’ doesn’t touch their heart? Which KK fan is foolish enough to challenge that Rafi did not do justice to light romantic tunes such as ‘maine poochha chaaNd se’?
I say let’s unite the two camps and attack the likes of Abhijeet and Kumar Sanu
April 30th, 2006 at 11:11 am
As a singer KK is not comparable with Rafi. Rafi is far ahead of others as singer even ahead of Manna Dey (admitted by Manna Dey in numerous occasions). KK was ahead of Rafi in terms of popularity in seventies and eighties. Needless to mention that singing quality and popularity are not comparable.
May 1st, 2006 at 2:52 am
I M ONLY 20 OF AGE I LIKE BOTH RAFI AND K K. BUT WE WII HAVE TO AGREE ON A REALITY THAT RAFI IS AHEAD OF KISHORE DA. THE BAIJU BAWRA SONG ‘O DUNIYA K RAKHWALE ‘ IS A BIGGEST EXAMPLE OF RAFI EXCELLENCY, WHICH IS A CHALLANGE FOR ALL THE PRESENT SINGERS AND WAS ALSO CHALLANGED FOR KISHORE AT THAT TIME. ITS RAFI MASTERY TO SING ‘O DUNIYA K RAKHWALE’
May 1st, 2006 at 11:41 am
Dear Fans,
Let us avoid unnecessary controversy in comparing Rafi Sab with Kishoreda. To me the never dying lovers of music like others Rafi Sab is the Badshah of Legends whose voice can make anyheart sing with joy,sorrow,compassion,courage,patriotism,lullaby,story telling, etc.
Instead of comparing LET US ALL VOW TO GET RAFI SAB THE LIMELIGHT HE DESERVES SO RICHLY AND WHICH WILL PLEASE HIS LOVING FANS.It is futile to sometimes compare two heros from the time of mythology like Arjun or Karan, in cricket it was Sunil Gavaskar or Vishwanath, or today Sahcin or Rahul, in music Shankar Jaikishan or S.D.Burman etc.
Instead let us leave what ohters have to say their opinion as some of them would not have the good fortune to hear Rafi Sahabs lilting Suhani Raat dhal chuki, Chaudavin ka chand ho,Pukarta chala hoon mein, Man re tu kahe na dheer dahre, Madhubein mein Radika, Dhin dhal jaaye,Chahoonga mein tujhe, Is bhari duniyan mein, Saathi na koi majhil, Ehsaan tera hoga mujh ko, Sukh mein sab saathi, Thujko ko pukaare ek bhar, Deevan mujhsa nahin etc and many more lilting evergreen songs only a true lover of music can enjoy.
We are thankful to god to have made us enjoy good music thru the golden voice of Rafi Sahab. I do not know but on 24 th Dec AAJ TAK gave a live coverage in the prime news time of Rafi sab with interview with a great fan of Rafi Sahab from Ahmedabad who has converted his house as temple as a tribute to Rafi sab. In the same news interview with the current rage Sonu Nigam who considers Rafi Sahab as a demi-god from whose songs he has learned.Another famous singer Udit Narayan himself calls as a product of Mohd Rafi school of music.
Hence I can only request all music lovers to refrain from comparing to our demi-god Rafi sab to anyone in future.
After the postage stamp on Mohd Rafi we should put pressure on the Information ministry, authorities of Dada Saheb Phalke award trustee, various T.V. channels to initiate programme on Rafi Sab at the earliest.
For anyone who can contact me my mail id is ushanani1@hotmail.com and mob num 09886779557.
With best wishes,
Rajan
May 1st, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Thanks Rajan,
I think awards are not made for greatest Mohd rafi because he is and he will be AWARD for all music lover . Mohd rafi is award of God for all Music lover.
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Nonsense. This article is heavility biased towards Rafi Saheb.
Though I have great respect for Rafi Saheb, Kishore Kumar sang superbly in 70’s, mostly because of two reasons.
1. R.D. composed songs that were specially suited to KK
2. Other directors also followed similar pattern of Music.
Rafi, if would have sung these songs would not have sounded better than KK (in most of them). But surely, he would have sung them better.
I still agree that RD created a bias against Rafi. He composed songs which were well suited to KK, but didn’t do so for Rafi… or he gave him somewhat slow songs (chand mera dil).. He kept Rafi and KK together in songs where KK could overpower him.
If you carefully notice their duets, KK sings them with much greater amplitude (and no melody really) to suppress Rafi’s voice. (Tujhpe kurbaan meri jaan, or yaadon ki baarat or whatever).. Still see how rafi puts in a beautiful peace in the song “Yaadon ki baarat”
RD even tried giving a few Rafi style songs to KK, but with not much success. I always feel he “wanted” to prove KK better than Rafi. Else why he didn’t give songs like for Teesri Manzil to Rafi…
There were other factors too… Only exceptional music director pair surviving in 70’s was RD. I consider LP to be a bit average during that time. With the SJ pair going off (in 72), there was no one left exceptional.
Hats off to Madan Mohan and LP, who got Rafi back!
Just one more thing, music after late 90’s has again become complicated.. we need Rafi desperately..
And one more, KK was a good singer, but well.. not as good as Rafi.
And one more, this so called modern voice is a stupid offshoot of KK’s voice… because we don’t have any singers with a beautiful voice like rafi, and that’s a good bypass to survive. (well.. i’d support Udit narayan to a small extent)
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:19 pm
Piyare Doston: Mausiqui Field ek us bohat bare Chaman ki tarha hai jisme sare Mausiqar, Gulokar aur Musicians apne apne rangon aur kushboo se fiza of mehkate rahe hain aur mehkarahe hain. Chaliey un phoolon he sey poochhtay hain keh aapka kiya khayal hai apne aapke bare main. Nazar daaltey hain unkay un statements per jo kay unhonnay khud jagah jagah per diey hain. Phir yeh kehna Rafi sahib ke liey ghalat nah hoga keh “Chaman key phool bhi tujh ko gulab kehte hain. Hum he nahin yeh sab he lajab kehte hain.” Lets go bhaiyon and take a walk in that Chaman and enjoy it as much as we can. Raha sawal Jagjitji ke Rafi saheb ko criticize karneka. Mera sirf ek sawal hai Jagjitji se. What have you been smoking, dude? Bahut se shubkamnaon ke sath, Amrika se , Quddus Abdul.
May 2nd, 2006 at 10:24 pm
The reason why Lata Mangeshkar is so fond of KK is because he always considered her senior (and even charged 1 Re less than her fees always)…
And she was not in good terms with Rafi over some stupid issues… and as long as Rafi was there, she was never considered No 1.
May 3rd, 2006 at 12:43 am
In my eyes, both Kishore-da and Rafi sahab were superb singers. Kishore da’s yoddling is immortal and Rafi’s sahabs, bhajans, ghazals, geets, romantic songs, sad songs, background songs, high -pitched songs and duets are inimmitable. Kishore-da himself used to call him (Rafi Sahab) his “guru”. According to our legend music director Ravi saab once mentioned to me that Rafi sahab came to his house extremely upset. The reason was that media guys were asking such stupid questions that, is there any song where you couldn’t sing and Kishore-da managed to render the same song. Then Ravi saab said there is not a single song but there are a dozen songs where Kishore-da could not sing and Rafi sahab had to render the same song with ease. eg. Laxmi-Pyare’s Nafrat ki duniya ko chordkar from Haathi mere Saathi..Please do ask Pyare-lal-ji who is still alive. Rafi sahab sang that song in 10 minutes. Kishore-da requested the composers to lower the music scale. O chinnappa devar wanted to have a blast of this “pilot” song in his movie. Every singer has his/hers limitations. Rafi sahab could not do justice to yoddling. Kishore-da had a gift.
In my eyes a person is NOT an artist or an art-lover who criticizes other artists. That simply shows his family background. Jagjit and Abhijeet are dead against Adnan Sami. But the public loves Adnan’s voice , his way of singing. I think Adnan has given more hits than Abhijeet. Jagjit Singh will criticize Rafi sahab because Jagjit is not gifted was a high pitched voice. Naturally, that ill feeling will always remain in his heart. To me Jagjit is a very good ghazal singer. he has only ONE style. He cannot give variations to a song like Rafi Sahab or Kishore-Da. There is absolutely no comparison. Jagjit is only and only restricted to ghazal singing. He better remain floating in his “similar-identical tunes”.
Some people compare Begum Akhtar-jee to Lata-jee. Dont you think this is so absurd. Every fruit or every flower has its own individuality, its flavour, its taste, its colour. Being baised is not going to resolve anything. It is insanity to compare even Asha-Lata. Alka sang thousands of filmi songs, she was bragging that very soon, she will be the only singer with the highest number sof songs to her credit. One news reporter immediatly asked her a question…Mam, can you tell us out of those thousands of songs you have already sang, how many are “IMMORTAL”. Sh
May 3rd, 2006 at 12:59 am
cont’d… she fumbled at that question… she could not come up with one song. Dont you think it is utter waste, not to have one “AMAR” song. !!!!!! I blame the music directors of today… who are and eventually will kill the playback singing. This will give rise to private albums, like Hollywood. Nowadays, these ignorant singers of today, say (on television) Aap mera gaana dekhiya NOT SUNIYE. So what are we watching not the song but some almost nude girls. actually we are not listening we are watching nudity. Is there any singer, who can render just one song without the help of nude girls. answer is NO I repeat (a big) NO.
This message is to all music lovers…..
Very soon the next generation will forget what was the actual meaning of Raagas was ??? !! Our rich music heritage is in the hands of incompetant, in-experienced music directors of today. It is a shame and a disgrace. Please stop comparing the dead legends, at present please raise your voice and be concerned to keep our heritage safe.
Baba Sahab
May 3rd, 2006 at 9:24 pm
I would like to add to Chaman Bagga that another factor of KK’s success was Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh Khanna dominated the film world in seventies. He gave condition to the Producers/Music Directors that the songs in his leap must be sung by KK. Rajesh Khanna’s condition was unfair to the Music Director as well as other male singers. To me Music Director should have the liberty to choose the singer for his song as he knows better who can sing his song well.
May 4th, 2006 at 1:24 am
Emadul…you make a good point regarding Rajesh Khanna influencing MDs to have Kishore Kumar sing his songs. It was just a different era with RD Burman & Rajesh Khanna calling the shots, and KK got extremely lucky because he had a loud(rough-on-the-ear) voice with a limited range, although he was still better than today’s singers!! It’s just wrong to compare a singer like him with a rare singer like Rafi. And I don’t count yodelling as part of singing, and it sounds childish many a times. Besides, even Johnny Lever can yodel as well as KK and Johnny is not even a singer, so that confirms the point that yodelling is no big deal, and KK fans need to get over that rather childish gimmick.
Chaman….you also make a good point how KK used to consciously try to sing in greater amplitude whenever he was singing with Rafi just because he wanted to overpower the Great Rafi….and KK often sounded really cheap and rough when doing that. Actually, even though KK was a good singer, he sounds like he is shouting in many songs instead of singing, and this is also because he was quite incapable of singing the high surs. I quite like Kishore as a singer, but I just don’t get why people are always trying to compare him to Rafi….I know people always like to compare and it makes sense in some cases like a Tendulkar & Lara comparison. It’s just that the difference between Rafi & the rest of our great male playback singers is so huge, so vast, that anybody who is rational and is steeped in music would compare Rafi with KK or anybody else.
May 4th, 2006 at 1:43 am
Sorry, the last sentence of my previous post was supposed to read: “It’s just that the difference between Rafi & the rest of our great male playback singers is so huge, so vast, that anybody who is rational and is steeped in music would ever want to compare Rafi with KK or anybody else.”
May 4th, 2006 at 2:35 am
HI I M 18 YEARS OLD I LIKE MANY SINGERS LIKE KISHORE DA,MUHAMMAD RAFI,KUMAR SANU,ETC.BUT SIR MUHAMMAD RAFI IS MY BEST SINGER.HIS SONG ‘O DUNIYA K RAKHWALE’ AND ‘TU GANGA KI MAUJ MAIN JAMNA KA DHARA’ IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HIS EXELLENCY I LIKE IT SONG VERY MUCH.SIR MUHAMMAD IS BETTER THAN KISHORE KUMAR.MUHAMMAD RAFI IS A GREATEST MALE SINGER SO NOBODY LIKE HIM.EVERYBODY ENJOY HIS SONGS.HIS SONGS ARE CHALLANGED OF ALL THE NEW SINGERS. THANKS YOU
May 4th, 2006 at 4:28 am
Ok, I will have it perfect this time(Sorry about reposting….I wish this site allowed us to edit our comments):-) : “It’s just that the difference between Rafi & the rest of our great male playback singers is so huge, so vast, that it’s incomprehensible why anybody who is rational and understands music would ever want to compare Rafi with KK or anybody else.”
)
May 4th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Hi friends,
I think there is no way 2 compara Mohd rafi sahab 2 any other siner even the great Lata.
Please try 2 compara KK with Talat or Manny Day or any other singer because there is one SUN for us on the earth as Mohd Rafi and there are many stars on the sky but when Sun come out we will not see the stars.
May 5th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Hi Dear friends,
We r human and we can have got mistakes but I think we should not have mistake like this 2 compara The Only one greatest Mohd Rafi to anyone.
I think if we want 2 compara Mohd Rafi we should compara him with Mohd Rafi because there are and there will be no one else 2 compara.
If we speak about Kishore da I think we was a good singer and a great actor,
Today we lost great MD Mr Naushad as we lost before,it is a big lost of Music
May 6th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
just now i read abt naushad saab’s death. may Allah bless him.
Mohd Rafi was, and will always be the greatest playback singer of hindi films. i am from a very small country called Maldives. u may not belive it, but the fact is that ppl here loves rafi’s songs more thna their own local songs. we simnply adore rafi’s songs and his voice. May Allah bless him
May 6th, 2006 at 1:34 pm
the article was simply amazing, and i am very happy to get the opporttunity to read this article, coz i am a huge fan of rafi saab…..but did jagjit singh really critisice rafi?…….if so, shame on him….how can he do that…he is simply nobody comapred to rafi, or kishoreda
May 7th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
Dear Chamman Bagga,
From what u have mentioned inspite of the fact I do not want any controversy why R.D.B took Rafi sahabs youthful voice in Tum bin jahun kahan from the film Pyar ka Mausam picturised on Shashi Kapoor and Kishore da s voice for the older Bharat Bhushan?. Also if you carefully listen to the Yaadon ki baraat title song by both the singers Rafi sab sounded more youthful and romantic.
Similarly in many movies L.P used Rafi sabs voice for the youthful romantic hero like Rishi and the co-singer Shailendra singh was used for the older hero.
This amply proves the point that Rafi sabs voice till his unfortunate demise suited for the romantic hero. Regarding Teesri Manzil Rafi sab has sung all the songs composed by Rafi sab which my frined Chaman Dagga has mentioned in his note erronously.
I PAY HOMAGE TO ANOTHER MUSICAL LEGEND NAUSHAD ALI SAB WHO PASSED AWAY RECENTLY AND WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE MUTUAL SUCCESS OF THE BEST COMBINATION OF RAFI N NAUSHAD MAGIC AND GAVE US MANY IMMORTAL VINTAGE TUNES.
P.Narayanan Bangalore
May 8th, 2006 at 10:14 am
i have read all the articles and i found them ridiculously biased in favour of rafi……..i just want to ask one question from all rafi fans that whether rafi could have sung the song ‘chala jata hoon’ …. there is nothing extra ordinary about rafi’s voice… even sonu nigam is better than him… i strongly believe that one can come at par with rafi by constant practice….but kishore is always born …. at his times also kishore was ahead of his times…thats why kishore is still popular…..rafi was a normal singer who was appreciated for his benevolent behaviour than for his singing….. his pathetic songs like ‘gulabi aankhen’ and ‘darde dil’ say all about the the “quality” of his voice… kishores voice is just out of this world and by no stretch of imagination it can be said inferior to rafis voice…
May 8th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Dear Abhitosh,
K K was a good singer but Mohd Rafi will be the greattest ever born in Bollywood it is not my words,If u go to the people who know the Music.like singer Manna Day,Lata,Asha and many more ,Do u know that RD burman and S D burman best singer was Mohd Rafi?
Please try 2 be honest with yourself dear Abhitosh.
Sonu can sing as K K best as he sing Mohd Rafi songs.
Mohd Rafi made R kummar,Raj kummar,Shamma Kapoor and many more,If u go with Rajesh Khanna he have best of Mohd Rafi .
May 8th, 2006 at 10:52 pm
Hi Abhitosh,
All you are doing here is displaying your low taste and lack of any music sense. Rafi could sing “Chala Jaata Hoon” in his sleep and much better than KK. Kishore had a bad, loud, and cheap voice and had a “constipated” style of singing. Further, it just shows your taste that you mention a childish song like “Chala Jaata Hoon” — why don’t you mention some real songs like “Madhuban men Radhika”, “O Duniya ke rakhwale”, or even zanier and lighter songs like “Aa Aa re Aaja from Teesri Manzil” or “Badan pe Sitare”. KK had very li’l talent as a singer, and couldn’t have even attempted any of these songs. Kishore Kumar had no range, and was not versatile at all, besides carrying an unfit-for-singing voice. With his loud and crass voice he would make most of his fast numbers sound rather cheap and rickshaw-walla like!
The biggest proof of Rafi’s genius is to hear what Manna Dey has to say about Rafi, and Manna has seen all the Toms, Kishore Kumars and Harrys himself. Manna has said that Rafi is so much better than anyone else that he held positions 1 to 10 in terms of greatness in the field of playback singing!!!! In fact, I met Manna at one of his concerts, and he told me backstage that people in the music circles didn’t even count KK as a singer, and it’s just a sign of degradation of Indian music that a person like KK has become popular. He also jokingly said that he couldn’t say that in media since he was a Bengali himself, and people in Kolkata won’t be able to digest the truth!!
-Manoj
May 9th, 2006 at 6:33 am
well, well, when rafi fans claim rafi to be the most versatile singer, i’ll agree. but if u say rafi is a better classical singer than manna dey, no way. ask lata, asha, anybody. nobody beats manna dey in a classical song. that’s a well-known fact.
so, by ur logic, SPB is a greater singer than M.Balamurali Krishna ? after all, SPB is so versatile while BMK can only sing classical songs ? substitute SPB for rafi, BMK for manna dey, and u’ll see my point.
reg. those who feel KK’s voice to be rough, loud, it’s a matter of taste. i found rafi’s voice unbearable when he sang “kya hua tera vada …” or “chaand mera dil, chandni ho tum …”. people only talk about rafi’s high-pitch songs. since when have only high-pitch songs considered difficult ? nobody sings low-pitch songs like KK. just listen to how low a pitch he can go in the song “pyar humen kis mod pe le aaya … ” from “satte pe satta”.
for those who think yodelling is childish or easy, i suggest u to try it, and let me know.
the truth is rafi fans feel hurt that KK is more popular and loved, even though rafi saab is a more trained singer, technically.
it’s ok to love rafi saab but u don’t have to try to put down other great singers in order to do that.
May 9th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Both Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were equally great.
Mohd. Rafi had a classical background and, had a very soothing voice and was perfectionist. In perfection and difficult singing, Mohammed Rafi was the best.
Kishore Kumar on the other hand, was the greatest voice ever- the crown jewel, God’s own voice. Nobody can ever evoke emotions that kishore’s voice could. In thsi respect he was the best, unbeatable.
Both of them are Great sons of India we will always be proud of=
May 10th, 2006 at 12:03 am
Hi Shankar,
First of all, it is actually Rafi who is not only more respected by people who know music, but also more popular overall than any other Bollywood singer ever. Maybe you don’t know it but Rafi is the most played and most requested artist on radio channels, more than KK, and even more than Lata. Besides, Rafi fans abound all over the world— he is well known even in places like the Carribeans!
KK might be more popular in India where the media wants to promote him and most of the remixes are those westernized RDB tunes, and teenagers who have li’l understanding and grasp of music love those remixes and KK. But even then, who cares about popularity. Shahrukh Khan is more popular today than Dilip Kumar & Amitabh Bachchan, when anybody who understands movies and acting knows that Shahrukh is not even a patch on those two legends.
May 10th, 2006 at 12:25 am
dear shankar ,
ji karta hai marun tumen kankar,who told u kk is more popular than rafi? most of the ppl in this world likes rafi than kk,and why u ppl repeating the same sentence every time that manna day is no.1 in classical songs,yes i agree that but rafi was not behind.rafi is only one man but every body wants to compare there favorite singers with him.and for u the legend nausad said,
kehta hai koi dil gaya dilbar chala gaya
sahil pukarta hai samandar chala gaya
lekin jo baat sach hai vo kehta nahin koi
duniya se mosiki ka pimbar chala gaya
god bless him
May 10th, 2006 at 12:51 am
sorry there is one thing more shankar bhai, from ur articale i dont understand that u want to compare kk with rafi or manna day with rafi or let me tell u something make coktail i mean make both of them one guy and mohd rafi will be mohd rafi. ab shambu ko bambu kab maroge,i mean i am waiting for ur next articale. and with respect for manna day who i like as a gre8 human being and telling the reality.
sorry manna day saab
May 10th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Rafi was a great singer. Rafi cherished more in romantic and melancholy type songs. His fun songs like “Bade Miya deewane aise na bano” are praise worthy too. But then Rafi lacked versatility. He was no doubt a better singer than Kishore when it came to classical elements (Raaga, Sur, melody etc). Kishore on the other hand was a complete versatile singer. If you compare Kishore’s songs like “Dukhi Man Mere”, “Kaise kahe hum” from Sharmilee, “Dil aaj shair hain” from Gambler to “Ina meena dika”, “Ek chatur Naar”,”Phoolon ke rang se”, you get to see his versatility. I agree some of Kishore’s songs are loud but any given day I would prefer hearing to Kishore just because his songs had more energy than Rafi’s. And people who watched movies like Half-Ticket, Jhumroo,Chalti kaa naam gaadi will simple begin to love Kishore. He is full of zest, energy and is a real likeable person. A man like Rafi will be born every 100 years. A Man like Kishore will be born every 500 years. Again I have nothing against the Rafi fans. I agree Rafi was a better singer but then singing is not everything, is it now?
May 10th, 2006 at 9:28 am
In reply to Shankar and Abhitosh.
Songs sang by Rafi and picturized on Rajesh Khanna were a result of incapability of kishore to sing them. Example - “Ekna To Yaad Hai”, “Yeh Jo Chilman Hai”, “Ann Milo Sajnaa”, etc.
Manna Dey himself has acknowledged that Rafi was not basically a classical singer, but had the capability to sing any type of classical song. Rafi was trained by renowed Ustads and Pandits.
I have been listening to Rafi for last 23 years. I have listened to Kishore also. Rafi has sang for maximum number of music composers. It is not the question of high pitch only, but also the control of the voice. Songs “O Duniya a Rakhwale”, “Mann Tadpat Hari”, “Madhubhan Mein Radhika”, “Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho”, etc. speak of voice modulation with great control.
Coming to Kishore, he survived because of S D Burman(Dada), because in the 1950s and 60s only Dada had the right musical notes for his voice. Without Dada Kishore could have been wiped out long back. Kishore sang remarkable numbers under the Burmans & LP.
Kishore needs a very good tune to excel. In case of Rafi what ever the tune may be his voice will do magic. Rafi could sing for any actor. That is not the case with kishore at all. These were the major differences between the two.
If Kishore was such a great singer, then majority songs should have been sang by him after Rafi death in 1980. In the 80s music composers felt the need to Rafi so much that even a singer like Mahendra Kapoor was also not considered, though he could match Rafi’s pitch very well. Singers like Anwar, Shabir Kumar and Munna Aziz got break through. Just imagine new comers competing with Kishore Kumar. One can imagine where Kishore stands.
Media has tried to promote that Kishore Kumar over Rafi in the 70s. But after Rafi’s death his absence has proved how great a singer he was.
May 10th, 2006 at 10:53 am
It is obvious that most of the views above are of people who are into Hindi film music and have been fans of the two great singers-Rafi and Kishore- for a long long time.There is no doubt that that in spite of talented singers like Udit, Kumar Sanu, Shaan,Sukhwinder and Sonu(who has spoilt his voice in trying to be original) none can ever shine like the two combos.However, I want to share something which happened just a few days back. My younger brother, who is from Canada, became addicted to listening to a CD (Rafi-Kishore duets) whille driving to work or taking his children to school. The CD was a compilation of duets from Akalmand, Jungle mein mangal,Aap ke diwane,Zakhmee,Andaaz,Badaltey Rishtey,Doosra Admi etc.,which I had selected from Hamaracd and other sources.Except for Andaaz, all other films had either the duo or Asha,Lata or others for company. My niece,studying in Grade eight, became puzzled and asked him about his new fad. My brother said that he liked the songs because they made him nostalgic about his school and college days when these two singers were the rage. Suddenly,out of nuwhere, my brother asked her which of the two singers did she like more. My niece, fed on rap, hip-hop, bhangra and the kajra-re dance fest, bent her head, pretended to listen more intently to songs which she was forced to hear all week and said, ” It’s Rafi!”. On being asked why, she said it was because he sounded more pleasing and he showed more feelings and emotion in his voice. Kishore, on the other hand, seemed to be trying too hard and was loud. That was a blow to me as I love them both and that was why I had spent so much time and money to collect their duets.My niece next took the CD to her music class and made her class of mostly desis listen to a few songs. Their verdict-Rafi all the way. One of her class mates later told her that her brother was very much into Rafi after seeing the hollywood film Ghostbusters(2001). I have also discovered that Rafi is a great search item in the internet among many foreigners specially after the Jaan Pehchaan Ho in Ghostbuster.My brother complains that he has requests from desi parents to burn them the Rafi-Kishore CD. My contention is that both had their own style and both were masters in their style. Rafi was king and the only one between 1952 to 1970 when the best composers in different genres ruled. By the time Kishore matured there were only two maestros left in the field-SD/RD and LP. As such his range remained limited. Even though it was RD who favored and supported Kishore during the early surge of Kishore’s reign upto 1977(because as records show it became a shared reign with Rafi till the latters death in 1980) it was LP who gave some of the best melodies to Kishore and helped him broaden his range. Take away RD,s trendy rythms and western interludes and you have a very limited range. Also,RD’s sheer repetitiveness caused him to be upstaged by LP and the latter never looked back.In fact, connoisseurs of Hindi film music will understand how LP used Kishore as a weapon against RD before sidelining him in the eighties.By then they had extracted the best they could from Kishore and in the process defy the myth that Kishore was a singer of only limited range. Rafi, on the other always had LP by his side and the moment they saw RD go down by 1975 they started churning hit after hit with Rafi starting with the Dharmendra led Pratigya and the ManMohan Desai films.Rafi was back in favor with RD too and had many films with him after Hum Kisise Kum Nahin. While all these battles were being fought , Rafi and Kishore used to sit down together and share dinners and anecdotes together-according to Kishore’s son Amit Kumar. Sometime before his death, Rafi,Kishore and Manna Dey recorded two songs for Kishore Kumar’s film Chalti Ka Naam Zindagi and Rafi charged only a token one Rupee.That was their camaraderie. We should try to emulate them and try to get together to get our music back on course. Hearing the fast food type music of the present day composers and the “here today gone tomorrow” longetivity of the songs makes me feel that music even during the Udit Narayan-Kumar Sanu era was good.Long live Rafi, Long live Kishore and long live their bhakts.
May 10th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
Dearest Rafi fans,
Mohan Flora has said it nicely in his inimitable style and I feel our friendsAshutosh and Shankar got the answer. Let us continue to enjoy the evergreen everlasting melodies of Rafi Sab which only connousseirs of music can relish immensely. These liked not only by great singers, actors, professionals, but also cabbie from India to New York.
But still I cant resist one question to totally biased Ashutosh . Can Kishore da sing the lowest pitch of song Nav Kalpana Nav roopse shobha bade sansaar ki from the film Mrug Trishna in which dream girl Hema Malini dances to this song? This was composed by Shombu sen father of Dilip-Sameer sen. I feel this is the lowest pitch song rendered in hindi film music and Rafi sab has done full justice to it.
Iam not talking about other great classics of Baiju Bawraa, Kohinoor, Deedar, Uran Khatola,etc which no indian singer could have rendered.
Infact like Rafi Sab I am great fan Of Lata di but even she could not overtake Rafi Sab in the S-J compositions like Ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar, Tum mujhe bula na paoge, Oh mere shane khuba etc and Madanjis Chirag compositon Tere Ankehon ke siva is duniya mein rakha kya hain.
WE KNOW AND GOD KNOWS THAT RAFI SAB IS POPULAR NOT ONLY IN INDIA BUT ALSO IN U.S BRAZIL NETERLANDS FIJI MALAYSIA MALDIVES SRILANKA MIDDLE EAST AND ENTIRE GLOBE.
P.NARAYANAN BANGALORE 09886779557
May 11th, 2006 at 1:04 am
Dear KK fans,
I can’t understand how we compara Mohd rafi with K K.Please ask 2 the people who worked with Mohd Rafi and K K like Lata,Asha,Manny day,Shammi Kapoor,P from LP,big B,Amit kummar son of KK,Rajesh Khanna and many more
Dear Jaydeep Kundu as u said that A Man like Kishore will be born every 500 years i think maybe u r right in 5 year but u r wrong about Mohd Rafi I think there will never be on the earth other Mohd Rafi.
I think if we speak about best five singer there will no K K name I think
Sorry K K fans but really i don’t understand
May 11th, 2006 at 2:15 am
hello rafi is a great singer he is a man who sing very very difficult songs like ‘gham uthane ke liye’of film mere hazoor.I also want to be a singer like rafi so u can give me one chance to sing songs of rafi.please contact me.My email address: salmansinger2007@yahoo.com THANKS YOU
May 11th, 2006 at 7:45 am
Mr Ali Baluch,
There are many great singers in this planet. Rafi was a great singer, no doubt and one of the best, maybe better than Kishore. But the reason I said a man like Kishore will be born every 500 years was because Kishore was not only a singer but also a musician, a writer, an actor, a comedian, a director and a producer. And he was good at most of them. Look at Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey. They are all in the same league as Rafi and better singers than Kishore. But then all of them were only singers (Note Hemant Kumar was a musician too). I hope you get the point by now. I have been ranting too much. I’ll stop now.
May 11th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Hi Jaydeep,
Everytime you write on this forum, you dig yourself a bigger hole!!:-)) We all know that Kishore Kumar was an alright actor, producer, director etc. but it was very clear from the discussions over here that we were talking only from a singing perspective, and which part of that was so unclear to you???? What’s next….are you going to compare Sachin Tendulkar with Rafi and then later clarify that you were referring to Sachin’s cricketing talents and not his singing abilities.
Plus, one would rather be the GREATEST in one field like Rafi was in the field of singing rather than being average-to-good in several fields.
And by the way, if you understand music you will know that none of Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, and KK are in the same league as Rafi as singers. I am a singer myself and understand Hindi film music quite a bit, and also hang around with musically literate people and they all believe that Rafi has no peers, and that he is miles ahead of the rest of the pack. Everybody has their own favorites for different reasons, but everybody universally acknowledges that Rafi is the greatest in pretty much all aspects of singing.
May 12th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Dear Jaydeep Kundu,
As u said there There are many great singers in this planet but there is and there will be one greatest and he is and will be Mohd Rafi these are not my words.
Yes u r right that KK was all in one,I think we r human and we can’t do many think together if we do it ,i think we will come bad in what we was good in,KK was one of the best actor.
Mohd Rafi I can do what KK done as I think because Mohd Rafi was an actor in one or two films and also give music for some songs(no films).
Mohd rafi don’t like bollywood also put his family away from bollywood.
dear Jaydeep Kundu we are speaking about singer not all in one,it is not mean that the song became famous that he or she is great singer if like that I think the Big B is the best singer because all songs he singed are famous also Amer Khan singed a song it became so famous.
I don’t know about music but about the Name like Naushad,Lata,Manny day,Asha,madan mohan and many more
May 12th, 2006 at 6:41 am
Mr Manoj:
But again not to digress from the point, I prefer listening to Kishore more than Rafi because I like Kishore’s voice. Doesnt make Kishore a better singer. People will always have different opinions on what they like to hear but its just stupid to say that Kishore’s voice is harsh or bad or things that some people have said in the previous posts. If you think Rafi is a better singer, so be it but do not belittle yourself by belittling a legend.
Thanks for you kind comment. FYI I was answering Mr Ali Baluch who I think was trying to say that a man like KK can be born every 5 years. I do NOT wish to compare KK with SRT or SRK. That is not my point here. And btw you might be a singer and a great one but as you said everybody has his own choice. If you like Rafi fine, but what soothes your ear might not soothe mine. If you ever listened to Hemant Kumar’s bengali songs (rabindra sangeet) you might think Rafi is not even close to Hemants league but then that is my opinion and I will not force it on anyone. Maybe you will then say we are comparing who can sing hindi songs better
The statement you made that “everybody universally acknowledges that Rafi is the greatest in pretty much all aspects of singing” is a very bold statement and foolish. You might want to rephrase that as: “everybody I know acknowledges that Rafi is the greatest in pretty much all aspects of bollywood singing”. I wouldnt use the term “universal” in any statement I make unless its a fact and nothing is a fact unless its agreed upon by everybody.
May 12th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Hi Jaydeep,
You should really quit writing because as I mentioned in my previous post, you seem to have a habit of putting your foot in your mouth everytime you try to speak. It’s laughable to even think of Hemant Kumar as a better singer than Rafi, and I am from Bengal and have heard most of Hemant Da’s Bengali songs. And a singer is a singer is a singer, no matter what the language is!!! Hemant Da was a pretty good singer but had too many weaknesses and limitations, especially when compared to somebody as gifted as Rafi….just ask another Bengali Manna Dey and he will tell you everything you need to know about Rafi being the greatest ever. Manna Dey is/was a master singer, and knows everything about Rafi, KK, Hemant Kumar and the rest. I can understand if you are some teenager or something who is into RDB/KK, but if you are an adult then please don’t show your musical ignorance and bad taste anymore
)
May 12th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Dear jaydeep sorry if u mind that I said ever 5 year like k k born but when we speak about playback singer there is one King(mohd Rafi) and one queen(Lata).
Some said that some songs which singed by KK Mohd Rafi can’t sing that songs!!!!!!! and some songs singed by Mohd Rafi K K can’t sing that,I think they are wrong because If we go to Shammi kapoor songs I thing 95% singed by Mohd Rafi and few by Manny day if we go for Rajesh khanna or big B as I thing they have there greatest songs with Mohd rafi,Rajesh Khanna was at the top when he used Mohd rafi voice or go K K as actor K K has his best songs with Mohd Rafi(as I thinK),Mohd rafi jest singed few songs for K K but I think that are great songs.
dear Jaydeep Kundu I like my child more than any one in world it not mean that they are best in world.
we are speaking about Mohd rafi and K K as a singer and we should answer on that jest,we should be honest on that,really I can’t understand how some one can said that KK or any other singeris better than Mohd rafi!!!!! as a singer,As I think Mohd Rafi is live of Music and body without live it is nothings as we see now days,
I think K K was a great actor we should speak about him as actor not compare him with Mohd Rafi if we compare k k with Mohd rafi as singer as I think and many more who know about music they said that Mohd Rafi is best ever born in Bollwood,P from LP said once that it is easy 2 make songs form Mohd Rafi,Lata and Asha because how we make it they will sing it but other singer we should make songs for there voice 2 sing it.
Dear Jaydeep Kundu or Kk fans please jest give me one name who said that he came famous because of K K,about Mohd rafi there are big names in bollywood they said like LP,O P Nayer,Shammi K and many more.
Sorry KK fans if u don’t like what I said.
May 12th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
A short note, particularly on National Awards; when Aradhana wave hit Bollywood, the National Award for the best male playback singer that year went to the bag of SD Burman himself for his song “Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana”. Mohd Rafi was honoured with National Award twice, first for “Jinhen Naaz Hai Hind Par” (Pyaasa) and then for “Kya Hua Tera Vaada” (Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin).
Nair
May 12th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Being a Rafi fan, it took me several years to appreciate KK. This was only possible when I stopped comparing KK with Rafi. This goes by theory with other singers as well.
Rafi was the greatest, but I appreciate KK was his fighting spirit. The song from Imtehaan sang by KK “Ruk Jana Nahi Tu Kabhi Haar Ke” is one of my favouraites.
May 12th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Like I wrote earlier that Rafi had a vast range and had sung songs composed by a much greater number of composers than Kishore. There should be no doubt as to who is the better singer-Rafi is. Manna Dey says that Rafi is no. 1 to no. 10. Rafi has sung different kinds of songs to showcase his mastery. Kishore is limited to a certain kind of songs just as RD was. As for popularity, minus the Rajesh Khanna era and it was Rafi always. This doesn,t mean that I don’t like Kishore.I like him as much as Rafi but I also accept the facts. I listen to both Rafi and Kishore and enjoy the fare dished out by them equally.But I also know that Rafi Saab is the better and more accomplished singer.As far as Rafi’s versatility and popularity goes, here is this note- Come Republic Day and Independence Day and whose voice do we hear blaring out from functions all over the country-Rafi. During his time Rafi was the most popular singer of Bengali Puja songs in the sixties.Even in the late seventies he had the best selling Bengali song,” Pakhitar booke aman teer mero na,” and as everyone knows, he breathed his last after rehearsing for a Bengali Puja song for a crew which had set up studio in his house as Rafi was feeling not too well. Go to any temple along the Ganges or anywhere else and you are sure to hear his bhajans.His bhajans bring peace and calm compared to others.Rafi was an integral part of Punjabi films. His first ever song was for a Punjabi film Gul Baloch.The 50’s,60’s and 70’s had Rafi singing for all Punjabi films.He is the pioneer of Bhangra songs.Even in Hindi films, he had popular Bhangra songs starting from Raj Kapoor’s Jagte Raho.As for Punjabi devotionals, the shabads he has sung have become classics and you can hear them in Sikh homes and Gurdwaras everyday.What to write about Muslim socials and devotionals. He brought his own grace to them.During his heydays and not so heydays, he recorded for a lot of Telegu,Tamil,Kannada and Malayalam songs which were popular. There are so many other languages in which he has sung- not to forget Marathi,Gujrati and Sindhi. And what about his Christian devotionals? Just hear them.He has also cut a few records in English=including the songs ” the she I love is a beautiful dream come true” and “all through we hail from”=- and they were so popular and brought a smile to hear him give his own masti touch. I could go on and on but I have to go.Rafi is the Emperor and Kishore is King of playback singing. Bye.
May 13th, 2006 at 1:12 am
Manoj:
Dont get personal dude. Its a forum. You write what you feel is right. If you like somebody fine but dont make judgemental remarks. I am not going to ask you or anybody who is best. I decide who is best. I dont know which world you live in but I believe in democracy.
You said “Manna Dey is/was a master singer, and knows everything about Rafi, KK, Hemant Kumar and the rest”. You speak as if you know these people personally and who is Manna Dey to decide who is best. Take a break.
Just because teenagers love RDB/KK doesnt imply these guys are not good. It just goes to show that RDB/KK had a wider audience than Naushad/Rafi etc etc. Its about being popular. You compose the hardest song in the world, make the greatest singer sing it, and if it does not get popular, whats the point.
May 13th, 2006 at 4:28 am
Jaydeep…nobody is getting personal here except you. The point is that if you want to show your love for KK & Hemant Da, you should share that in a forum that talks about those singers and I am sure you will get like-minded people, (mostly people who have li’l understanding and experience in the field of music) to agree with you and appreciate your comments.
Anyways, if you gauge somebody’s worth by looking at the teenage population, you would conclude that ShahRukh Khan is greater than Amitabh & Dilip Kumar because in most polls, SRK comes up the winner amongst the teens. It just goes to show how incorrect and incongruous your reasonings are. Anyways, you should know that the greatness of Rafi lies in the fact that not only is he hailed the greatest by most of the masters in the field of Bollywood music, but that he is immensly popular amongst the people all over the world. Even after 25+ years of this death, he is still the most heard and requested Bollywood singer on the radio all over the world, even more than Lata!!!
May 13th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
The teenagers today are crazy after Himesh Reshammiya, Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam, These three have this to say:
Himesh Reshammiya: I take inspiration from LP’s music and am trying to tread in their path.
Udit Narayan:Rafi is my idol and I am proud to belong to the Rafi school of singing.
Sonu Nigam:Rafi is God! - as told to Kathmandu Express.
What do you infer from the above? That Rafi rules in the heart and mind of people teenagers today are crazy after? Please draw your own conclusions.
May 14th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Rafi and Kishore both are greatest singers. Let us respect the
contribution of these two singers to the world of music. No doubt both are gifted and are not replaceable.
May 14th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Manoj:
What we are having here is a debate. If you look at the topic of this discussion, it says “Rafi-Kishore saga”. So I dont think I can find a better place to put forth my comments. So I am not going anywhere
But I guess I have said what I wanted to say.
Later folks.
May 14th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
dear jaydeep,
are u sure that u knows about music,sorry but how u said (naushad compose the hardest song in the world, make the greatest singer sing it, and if it does not get popular), the most popular song in all bollywood is O DUNIYA KE RAKWALE,SUHANI RAAT DACHUKI,MADUBAN MERA DEKHA NACHE RE,and many more in AAN,DEEDAR,MOTHER INDIA, KOHINOOR,GANGA JUMNA,RAM aur SHAM,BAIJU BAWRA,PALKI,MERE HUZOORetc.I dont think RDB/KK have abetter list than this.naushad never asked Kishore Kumar to sing for him because he always want the perfect work.RDB/Rafi make great work toghther.Itell u that after death of Rafi RDB also loose him .I belive he needed Rafi in sharabi to sing MANZILAN APNI JAGA HAIN because KK didt make fair on this song and got awarded.
May 15th, 2006 at 5:37 pm
Though the debate is who is the greatest - Rafi or Kishore,
a mention must be made of two other geniuses Shri Yesudas and Dr. Bala Murali Krishna from South of India, the contribution from these veterans to the Music is very great.
Any comments please?.
May 15th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Hi C. Rajendran,
It’s not even a debate as to who is the greatest — anybody who understands music, has a good taste, and is unbiased —- knows that it is Rafi and only Rafi because his body of work just towers over everyone’s else. I am just proud that India gave birth to such a rare talent!!!
And yes, I do have very high respect for Shri Yesudas and Dr. Bala Murali Krishna!!
Ravi
May 16th, 2006 at 5:46 am
As I said before, KK can never come close to matching Rafi’s talents. Rafi can sing with ease any of Kishore’s songs, but can you imagine Kishore trying to sing ” Oh duniya ke Rakhwale”, Madhuban me Radika, Or “Mere Mehboob tujhe” Even RD who clearly was biased towards KK had to chose Rafi for the sing Kya Huwa Tera Wada”. Anyone cares to guess why? Because Kishore would have failed miserably trying to go from the high to the low notes. KK prospered in an era of loud music, where beat and tempo meant so much more than the talents of the singer. Be real KK fans, MOHD Rafi is the KING, and this is confirmed by one of our greats Manna Dey.
May 16th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Hi Ashutosh n J.Kundu,
This is to inform u that as true Rafi Sahabs fan I would like to gift both of u with 2 classic masterpieces of evergreen songs sung by THE GREATEST MELODY KING OF OUR TIMES RAFI SAHAB. The songs are taken from 1950s 1960s with some great compositions by Naushad sab, Burman da, Shankar-Jaikishenji, Lakshmikant Pyarelalji,O.P.Nayyar sab etc. Kindly listen to them in silence and if both of u are not won by this mangnificent voice and then GOD save our few listeners like u.
In fact I used to scold some of our friends who told that in Ashique Kumar Shanu was better than Kishore da and Abhijeet singing better than Kishore in Yes Boss. Pl note that imitators cannot bebetter than original. This is the reason poor Mahendra kapporji or Suman Kalyanpur could not come into lime light like Rafi sahab or Lata di.
About 4 years we had done survey on film music amongst music lovers and lo Rafi sahab n Lata di were voted 75% followed by S.P.Balasubramaniam and Yesudas.
Ashutosh n J.Kundu pl email to me at ushanani1@hotmail.com with full address n tel numbers to get free casettes.
Usha Coimbatore
May 19th, 2006 at 1:13 am
Sorry K K fans,
K K was a great singer only for Indains as I thinks.IF u ask 2 any Pakistani how is the man from India all Pakistani like him?I think they will say Mohd rafi.
I think the best male singer is clear like the Sun and that is Mohd rafi as many who know about music said.
I don’t understant that why people compare Mohd rafi with K k because as I think(sorry kk fans)KK only be 10% of Mohd Rafi maybe less but not more.
really sorry K K fans.
please try 2 compare K K with other singer not with the King of Bollywood Mohd Rafi.
Please be honest ony 1% when u compare Mohd Rafi with K K,as I think if u will be honest 1% to compare mohd rafi and KK then u will say Mohd rafi
May 19th, 2006 at 6:39 am
LG Usha says:
“About 4 years we had done survey on film music amongst music lovers and lo Rafi sahab n Lata di were voted 75% followed by S.P.Balasubramaniam and Yesudas.”
So SPB and Yesudas are better than KK now. Please!!!
SPB is a great singer no doubt but I think its better he sings in Telegu and other south indian languages.
May 19th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Asif Majeed wrote:
“Because Kishore would have failed miserably trying to go from the high to the low notes’
I guess you havent heard to ->
“Koi humdum Naa raha” from Jhumroo
“Dil aaj shair hain” from Gambler
Hear to them and come back to me.
I agree there are many songs that only Rafi could have sung. But please not “Kya hua Tera waada”!!. Anyone could have sung that song.
May 19th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Dear kundu
As u said that SPB and Yesudas are better than KK now and many other singer are better than K K but not because of vote ,dear Kundu u have 2 agree that no way 2 compare Mohd Rafi 2 any singer around the world,As Ravi(MD) said that there are no song which singed by KK and Mohd Rafi can’t sing it but there are many songs which KK can’t sing it but Mohd Rafi singed,also LP ,Madan Mohan,S jai K and O P Nayer they all said that Ravi said that Mohd Rafi can sing any song by best way no singer can do as Mohd Rafi.
Dear Kundu jest be honest with yourself and say If “Kya hua tera waada”was singed by KK,Do u think that it was look same as Mohd Rafi singed it or better?I saw a programm at Zee Tv a look time go,Maybe u remmber it the programm was Amit kummar and his brother sons KK and Amit kummar tried to singed a song of Mohd Rafi and Lata , Amit kummar singed it but so bad way I don’t know about the music but the singing way was so bad also the people at stage said singing it again and amit kummar said that he will sing it othere time but he never.
Dear kk fans please be honest when we comare Mohd Rafi with any singer,As I think and many other there no male singer can be compare with Mohd Rafi,there is only one name in Bollywood we can jest compare her with Mohd Rafi and she is Lata,Jest compare not better than Mohd Rafi.
A man sing for all people and a man sing for money dear KK fans u have to answer it who sings for all and how sing 4 money.
May 19th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Well said, Ali!! Kishore is alright in his own right, but is next to nothing as a singer when compared to an unbelievably gifted singer like Rafi!! The Rafi fans don’t even care about comparing Rafi to anyone else because they know for a fact that Rafi is so much greater than the rest. On the other hand, the KK fans are always trying to compare him to Rafi because they have a complex. They know that even though KK was a successful singer, he is nowhere close to Rafi when it comes to versatility, range, quality of voice, expressionism, and sheer “class”!!!
May 19th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Hi,
This is my first comment in this forum. I am big fan of KISHORE and RAFI.
Nobody can beat them. Someone in this forum trying to compare Udit with Kishore, i have doubt in his music sense. Where is Udit now? hardly he is singing. Nowadaya playback singing life is less. What happen after Kishore dies, Kumar Sanu rules for 5 years, he is out and same thing happend to Udit. And same will happen to SOnu Nigam who is hot nowadays.
U people should understand that these 2 legends sustain and remained on the top till they die.
There are few songs which KISHORE sung and i am sure nobody, even Rafi can sing as good as KK sings.
for e.g
1. Pyaar hamei kis mod pe le aaya (from low to high)
2. pag ghungharoo bandh and many more.
AND Same with Rafi, there are many songs which KK could not sing.
), They should not deny proven things. for e,g. if they don’t like KK, fine but they should not say anything against him.
Friends, there should not be comparison.
I have advice for Rafi fans (excluding me
Even i strongly believe, trained singer can easily sing all the songs sung by Rafi, of course not 100% but no trained singer can sing Kishore songs. It is proved, if you can watch all musical reality shows.
For e.g. Karunya from Indian Idial try to sing “Ruk jaana nahi”, it was so cheap that i chnaged the channel but he sing well “Dukh ke sabh saathi”
So friends, don’t fight. Both are great and they are not comparable.
May 19th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
mushkile sangeet vo muskara kar jelta
perta ragon ko lehron mein suron se khelta,
May 19th, 2006 at 9:13 pm
The general statement that “teenagers like KK” is too naive. There is no authentication for that. The fact is that a considerable majority of them are Rafi fans. Another point is regardng the rendition by KK of the rafi song “Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare” as a tribute to Rafi in a live concert. It was not even a million miles near Rafi’s original rendition. However, the statements made by KK before that rendition show how much respect he had for Rafi.
Nair
May 20th, 2006 at 4:18 am
Mr Ali Baluch:
What I said was this:
“So SPB and Yesudas are better than KK now. Please!!!”
Did you notice the “Please!!!”? That gives a whole different meaning to the statement.
Anyways If you havent understood me by now, I will reiterate my opinion again. I think Rafi is a better singer than KK any given day when it comes to classical elements but KK is overall a more versatile,spontaneous and popular singer. SPB and Yesudas are great singers but not in the same league as Rafi or KK. I hope you get my point now.
May 20th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
Hi All,
I have seen all comments and quite disappointed by reading it.
I am great fan of KISHORE DA and RAFI Saheb. There should not be any comparison. Those who are comparing they are wasting their time and insulting these 2 LEGENDS.
I feel whatever songs KISHORE sang RAFI can’t do justice to them and vice versa.
Rafi fan will not digest it but since i am greatest RAFI fan so i can say this.
KK songs:
1. TUNE ABHI DEKHA NAHI
2. MAIn SHAAYAR BADNAAM
3. EK Ritu aaye ek ritu jaaye
Rafi songs
1. Sukh ke sbh saathi
2. Dil ki awaaz bhi sun
3. Tu ganga ki mouj me
Both are uncomparable and unmatch.
Since i am great fan of KISHORE DA and RAFI Saheb, i can’t digest Yesudass and SPB are better than KISHORE pls. consult physician. You can put Yesudass and sPB in same league of SURESH WADEKAR, SHALENDRA SINGH, JASPAL SINGH.
So pls. for God sake, don’t insult these 2 LEGENDS.
May 21st, 2006 at 12:24 am
Zamana jab talak ghata rahe ga
Rafi har waqt yaad aata rahe ga
May 21st, 2006 at 11:52 am
“Utha Surahi Yeh, Seesha Woh Jaam Le Saaki,
Aur Uske Saath Khuda Ka Bhi Naam Le Saaki,
Utha Surahi ……….
Phir Iske Baad Hame, Trishnagi Rahe Na Rahe,.
Kuch Aur Der Murabbat Se Kaam Le Saaki,
Kuch Aur Der………
Phir Iske Baad Jo Hoga Woh Dekha Jaayega,
Abhi Toh Peene Peelane Se Kaam Le Saaki, Abhi Toh Peene……and so on”
The above is a portion of Rafi singing in his inimitable”peeyakar” style in a non filmi album. The effect on the people listening to the song is electric.Whether they understand or not the meaning of the lyrics but the alcohol consumption is threefold/fourfold with encores. I don’t play this song in my parties anymore. I have the CD of songs and wouldn’t mind passing on to the bhakts! Jai Rafi!
May 21st, 2006 at 2:52 pm
I have seen all the comments and quite disappointed by reading them.
I am great fan of KISHORE DA and RAFI Saheb. There should not be any
comparison. Those who are comparing them, they are wasting their time and insulting 2 LEGENDS.
I feel whatever songs KISHORE sang RAFI can’t do justice to them and vice
versa.
Rafi fan will not digest it but since i am greatest RAFI fan so i can say
this.
KK songs:
1. TUNE ABHI DEKHA NAHI
2. MAIn SHAAYAR BADNAAM
3. EK Ritu aaye ek ritu jaaye
Rafi songs
1. Sukh ke sbh saathi
2. Dil ki awaaz bhi sun
3. Tu ganga ki mouj me
Both are uncomparable and unmatch.
Since i am great fan of KISHORE DA and RAFI Saheb, i can&