Did Sonu Nigam reach the level of excellence of Rafi?
This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is considered the most powerful playback singer in bollywood films at the moment. The greatest debate that haunts most of the music lovers of the country is that whether Sonu Nigam had reached the level of excellence that Rafi had reached in the 50s and 60s.
The greatest achievement of a singer lies in his acceptability before diverse range of composers and lyricists. As Rafi was classically trained and could adapt any type of song ranging from qawallies to ghazals to soft romantic numbers to westernized rock and roll compositions his demand before the musical community was immense.
He is probably the only singer in the 50s and 60s who had sung with compositions of all the leading composers including Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, Ghulam Mohammad, Vasant Desai, C. Ramchandran, S D Burman, LP, KA, RD Burman, and others and lyricists including Shailendra, Shakeel Badayani, Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi, Raja Mehendi Ali Khan, Rajender Krishnan, etc. Excepting Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar, no other singer were in close diameter of Rafi in the 50s and 60s, as due to lack of classical orientation some of the singers of specifically composer’s singers.
Talat Aziz, Sonu Nigam at Caravan-E-Ghazal Concert
Sonu Nigam had sung songs composed by AR Rehman, Anu Malik, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Vishal Shekar, Pritam, Shantonu Maitra and many other composers of the present age. In singing difficult and dynamic songs his name had appeared before Udit Narayan, Sukhwinder Singh, or others, including “sathiya sathiya” composed by AR Rehman, “sandese ate hai” composed by Anu Malik, “piyu bole” composed by Shantonu Moitra, “tumko bhula na payega” composed by Sajid Wajid, “ek din kahin” composed by Nusat Fateh Ali Khan, to name a few. But there is strong competition in bollywood music at the moment and Sonu Nigam is not the uncrowned king considering the challenge posed forward by Javed Ali, Atif Aslam and many new singers.
If compared with Rafi, probably the factor where Rafi remains unparallel, were the remote compositions that he had sung with. If Naushad’s “woh duniya ke rakhwale” was pure classically oriented, then SJ’s “aasman se aya farishta” had French background embedded in them, if Roshan’s “jo wada kiya ho” had royal andaz, Madan Mohan’s “tumhari zulfon ki” had ghazal andaz. Besides Rafi had given expression to Salil Choudhury’ s tunes based on east-west blend of music, Jaidev’s urbanized folk songs, SD Burman’s rural folk songs. There is no similarity of “madhuban me radhika nache re” with “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche” or “dil jo na keh saka”. The list can go on. The other factor where Rafi had an edge includes the standard of Indian film music reached its zenith in the 50s and 60s which is difficult to attain.
Sonu Nigam is big asset for bollywood music at the moment and has a long way to go. But those who understand music will invariably agree Rafi’s empty space had remained absolutely unfilled. Rafi-lovers only try to fulfill their thirst by hearing the singing style of Sonu Nigam which is to a big extent modeled in Rafi’s style. Sonu Nigam himself also agrees that Rafi was unparallel and will always remained the uncrowned king of bollywood music.
Viewers expect the singers of the present age to listen to Rafi’s song and improve their own level of singing to whatever extent they can.
Souvik Chatterji, the author of this article
Dear Karan it is jest copy and Paste
SANJAY ARORA Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
REF : 594,WHAT IS THERE AFTER THE 5 NOS.OF RDB & KK.HERE IS ALIST OF RDB KK COMBINE PLEASE MENTION ANY ONE GEM FROM THIS LIST.
1. SAA BHI KABHI BAHU THI
2 BADA KABUTAR
3 CHHALIA
4 DO PHOOL
5 DOUBLE CROSS
6 HEERA PANNA
7 HIFAZAT
8 JAISE KO TAISA
9 JHEEL KE US PAAR
10 JOSHILA
11 MR.ROMEO
12 NAFRAT
13 5 DUSHMAN
14 RAJA RANI
15 RICKSHWALA
16 SHAREEF BADMASH
17 DIL DIWANA
18 DOOSRI SITA
19 GOONJ
20 IMAAN
21 ISHK ISHK ISHK
22 MADHOSH
23 MANORANJAN
24 SHAITAAN
25 TRIMURTI
26 ZAHREELA INSAAN
27 DEEWAR
28 KALA SONA
29 DHARAM KARAM
30 KHEL KHEL MEIN
31 RAAJA
32 WARRANT
33 BALIKA BADHU
34 KHALIFA
35 MAH CHOR
36 CHALA MURARAI HERO BAN NE
37 CHALTA PURZA
38 CHANDI SONA
39 KARAM
40 CHOR HO TO AISA
41 HEERA LAL PANNA LAL
42 NAYA DAUR
43 BHALA MANUSH
44 SALAAM MEMSAAB
45 AANCHAL
46 BULUNDI
47 ALIBABA AUR CHAILIS CHOR
48 DHAN DAULAT
49 GUNEHGAAR
50 QATIL KAUN
51 PHIR WOHI RAAT
52 TAKKAR
53 BIWI O BIWI
54 DAULAT
55 DHUAN
56 GEHRA ZAKHAM
57 GHUNGROO KI AWAAZ
58 JAIL YATRA
59 KACHCHE HEERE
60 MANGALSUTRA
61 RAKSHA
62 SATTE PE SATTA
63 AAMNE SAAMNE
64 ADHURA AADMI
65 ASHAANTI
66 BMISAAL
67 DARD KA RISHTA
68 GANGA MERI MAA
69 SWAMI DADA
70 YEH TO KAMAL HO GAYA
71 AAN AUR SHAAN
72 BINDIYA CHAMKEGI
73 BOXER
74 FARISHTA
75 KAUN KAISE
76 MAHAAN
77 MAIN AWARA HOON
78 MAZDOOR
79 PUKAR
80 RANG BIRANGI
81 ROMANCE
82 SHUBHKAAMNA
83 ANAND AUR ANAND
84 ANDHAR BAHAR
85 AWAAZ
86 BHEEMA
87 DUNIYA
88 HUM DONO
89 HUM HAIN LAJAWAB
90 JAGIR
91 JHUTA SACH
92 KARISHMA
93 YEH DESH
94 ZAMEEN AASMAAN
95 AAR PAAR
96 ALAG ALAG
97 AWARA BAAP
98 BOND 303
99 EK SE BHALE DO
100 HUM NAUJAWAN
101 LAVA
102 RAHI BADAL GAYE
103 RAM TERE KITNE NAAM
104 OONCHE LOG
105 SHIVA KA INSAAF
106 ANOKHA RISHTA
107 JEEVA
108 PALYA KHAN
109 SHATRU
110 APNE APNE
111 BELAGAAM
112 DACAIT
113 HIFAZAT
114 INAAM DUS HAZAAR
115 ITIHAAS
116 MARDON WALI BAAT
117 AAG SE KHELENGE
118 DOST
119 BAHURANI
120 JOSHILAY
121 JURRAT
122 CHOR PE MOR
123 DUSHMAN
SOME MORE MOVIES I COULD NOT ADD.PROBLEM IS BARING MAXIMUM 25 SONGS OF RDB & KK THERE IS NOTHING AND ATLEAST ANOTHER 100 MOVIES OF RDB I AM NOT ADDING AS IT NOTHING BUT WASTAGE OF SPACE.
MY REQUEST TO RDB KK FANS .PLEASE UPDATE FROM THE ABOVE LIST & COMPARE THE ABOVE MENTIONED MOVIES WITH SJ,OPN,NAUSHAD SAAB & MADAN MOHAN SAAB AND THEN YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IS THE POSTION OF RDB.
karan:
as hp says we do not even need to think twice before replying to you, has had quite a poor exposure to old hfm, unlike some of us who know what sonu nigam and himesh are.
i once bought sonu nigam’s 100 song tribute to rafi and deewana mujsha nahin is one of them.. will upload it soon along with the u tube link to rafisaab’s version and let everyone on this site decide what sonu’s “rafi percentage” actually is.
H.P:
actually kalyanji anandji have composed quite a few gems in the 60’s and in b grade 70’s movies… i guess as far as killing the soul of hfm in 70s/80’s is concerned, they just made commercial stuff like lp.. no difference.. even lp made horse sh%% in the 80’s, na?
oh yes sonu’s “na jaa kahin ab na jaa” was pathetic. it sounded like he had a cold. and such a thin voice! i see this is what the future of music is, with all the young talent keeping sonu as an idol.
Firstly it is rubbish to say that india cannt produce any singer like rafi,kishore etc. india has got a huge amount of talent but they need to come out..people should not forget that manna dey and talat mehmud both were great singers but could not get so much fame as rafi and kishore does..those who are successful today are due to various chances which were offered to them..and secodly rafi is undoubtedly the best singer of india till today…but my freinds why anyone is not seeing that he had sung almost 28000 songs so no need to say that he got plenty of chances to show his versitality…in my opinion if sonu can sing those no of songs he may reach the position of rafi saab..my list of top singers of alltime will be.
1.Rafi sahab
2.Kishore da
3.Sonu nigam
4.Manna day
5.Mukesh ji
6.Udit narayan
7.Yesudas and Kl sehgal
8.Kumar Sanu
9.Talat mehmud
10.Pancham da..
Dear KARAN ,
sorry to say that you look so young when RD burman 3rd in your list of music director!!!!!!!!!!!!!?where is SD buram,Madan mohan,LP,GREAT SJ,Anil Biswas Ji was the best music Director in 1940″s,Naushad in 1950’s ,in 1960’s there was many SD,Madan Mohan,Ravi,OPN,LP but I think SJ was at the top and after that 1970’s was LP,
I will try to get you list of RD 123 films and I want you to give me only 20 hit songs from this list,wait for the list!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we hope that we get other Mohd Rafi as we hope to touch the sky
God made one Mohd Rafi and we was unfair with mohd Rafi so God stop to make other Mohd rafi
top 10 female singers
1 lata
2 asha bhosle
3 alka yagnik
4 kavita krishnamurty and
4 shreya goswal
5 shamshad begum
6 khurshid
7 kannan devi
8 anuradha pudwal
9 geeta dutt
10 mubarak begum
also there are other good singers like suman kalyanpur,shrada,saira banu etc.from my point of view these are the 10 best female singers bollywood has ever produced
Ref. post 140 & 141
Dear Mr. Karan,
Yes, I can guess your mental age, it may not be more than 8 – 10 years.
Dear friend, its my humbly request that please share your personal views in your circle who may be spending their time on any “nukkad”. Please don’t pollute to this great site.
Please do checkup of your ears by any ENT surgeon and get treated. After the treatment, you may be able to differentiate between guru and chela’s voice.
Regards,
Imtiyaz A.Sharif
sundeep pahwa ji,,here is song on my side,,,,”ham bekhudi me Rafi ko pukarte chale gaye””,,but songs ends here,,,as after Rafi Saab,,nothing else remains to accomplish,,,,,,Agar rafi hi khuda hai to kuda ko chhod Kaafir`on ki baat bhi kyun karey`n…..”
Nayway,,best wishes to u,,,and love to Rafi saab n everyone who love this divine voice!!!
Reply to post 140
“but why can’t we produce another rafi sahab? i guess in another 2-3 years there will be surely singers like rafi sahab,kishore da etc”
Rafisaab was born with a gifted voice besides he also worked very hard. Forget about thinking 100 times, I don’t have to think twice – there will not be another Rafisaab….There are atleast five singers to match kishoreda. There is a difference between a voice (mere hudam mere dost title song) and noise (khaike paan banaras wala). By the way sonu has a sweet voice but sounds faminine. Please try to find a clip from saregama–sonu tries to sing meri awaz suno and mere humdam mere dost…very sad
By the way you never heard of shanker jaikishan, LP etc…Please listen to these mds. Also Alka and kumar sanu were brought by kalyanjibhia who literally killed the soul of music in late 70’s and 80’s.
There will never be another rafisaab
139 comments, have we all lost track pl all
true rafi fans can we end this whole disc with
theese lines
hum bekhudi mein rafi
ko pukarte chale gaye
ae khuda is duniya mein
kyon kaffiron ko utarte
chale gaye
inhe maaf karna isi khwaish
]se hum duniya ko kis ke
sahare rafi ke gaane gaate
chale gaye sundeep pahwa new delhi
friends, just now i heard deewana mujh sa nahin from sonu nigam. i was confused for 2 minutes whether it was rafi sahab or sonu nigam. then when i heard the 2nd antra i realized that it was rafi sahab. that is why sonu nigam is the 2nd best bollywood singer after rafi sahab .so everybody listen to sonu ji singing and then comment. today he can sing 69.5 % of rafi sahab
i am annoyed by reading all the views. dear sid,you are 19 years old .can you guess my age?
abhijeet was an extremely great singer. yesudas sang many songs in tamil language i guess. but as far as BOLLYWOOD is concerned abhijeet is better than yesudas.
himesh has a fluent voice quality .does nedumagandan know all over the world he has 2300034 fans. why are they fans? are they mad? because his voice and his music are the growing age of youth.
as far as bappi lahiri is concerned he is the 4th best music director after naushad ,op nayyar and rd burman. the way he gave music was extraordinary music. shaan (1980) was actually given music by bappi da not rd burman .only 1 or 2 songs were composed by rd burman.
you know why legendary alka yagnik,kumar sanu, udit narayan,kavita krishnamurty,abhijeet,etc emerged as singers?
because bappi da gave them their first break as singers.
rafi sahab is the best singer i agree. but why can’t we produce another rafi sahab? i guess in another 2-3 years there will be surely singers like raFI sahab,kishore da etc
as far as sonu nigam is concerned he is the best singer at present. he has a sweet romantic voice . but rafi sahab had a voice which no one can match.
i give some advice to today’s music directors to put some efforts to produce a singer who can at least match 23.7 % asha ji,45% of lata mangeshkar,56% of rafi sahab,80% of kishore da.
also today’s music directors should use the music instrument SAROD for wshich jaidev ji was famous.in the song ABHI NA JAO CHODKAR he used that instrument.
so at last i believe that today’s music directors are much talented and they can produce legendary singers.
one more thing to all the readers while posting your comment think 100 times and then post a reply for this article
thank you
i think the substance of souvik ji’s topic is fine, but the title is misleading hence it stirred up a lot of controversy 🙁
@ sandeep ji:
Yes I was born in 1990 and will turn 20 next year.
I am a very open minded person when it comes to music especially and try to be as unbiased as possible. I liked the stuff that was being made in the 90’s but it really deteriorated in the 2000’s with commercial music being made and hardly enough melodies.
I became a rafian when i heard pukarta chala hoon main, abhi na jao chodkar and most of all tere mere sapne(one of the 3 guide gems, which as p haldar said, proved that there was no male singer to come even close to rafi saahab) these songs are most special to me.
I am amazed that this man rafi saab sang o duniya ke rakhwaale and then jaan pehchaan ho then john jaani kanardhan.
i love singers like kishore,lata,asha and quite like mukesh ji,yesu ji,etc
i would love to spread the legacy of the golden era gems 🙂
karan first of all let me make it clear i am not a person who blindly says old is gold. I am very open minded abt music.. i can enjoy desi girl and suhaani raat dhal chuki.. as long as its good fine.
“i believe. himesh can sing in 5 differnt voice like that my heart told me”
aah . your HEART told you.. that is not a good explanation at all.
btw plz do listen to jab deep jale aana 🙂 it is a lovely soulful song by yesudas.
abhijeet doesnt really suit srk as well as udit narayan.. it is too soft for shahrukh.
himesh reshammiya is a good md but the best is shankar mahadevan imo 🙂
vishal shekhar, rahman,ismail darbar are better as well.
sonu was ok in love in nepal imo
anyway as u said sonu can cover more genres of songs than kishore da. fine probably due to the classical training.
but plz consider some more points:
1. while sonu can score a 7 or 8 in all genres, kk can score a 9 and 10 in all genres he sings.
2.while sonu’s voice lacks thickness and uses a lot of nasality to increase the strength of his voice, kk’s voice is rich and raw. pplus kk’s singing is so sophisticated and suits the type of songs to a tee.. hear sonu’s version of deewana mujhsa nahin and he cries throughout a happy song.
3.sonu relies on technical assistance unlike kishore.
thanks and if i was rude b4 it was coz i was in a bad mood
Sir karan
not only 5 years but you have 500000000 years to get some one like Mohd Rafi!!!!?
we never said that Mohd rafi is better music director than Naushand or SJ or madan Mohan or RD or SD or KK but when music director like O P N said I am because of mohd Rafi that mean how great is mohd Rafi.
We never said that Mohd Rafi is better actor than Dilip Kummar or Raj Kappor or KK or Dev anand but Superstar of his time shammi Kapoor said I am because of mohd Rafi that mean how M Rafi is great
Really I don’t understant why Mohd Rafi in the top of your list because Mohd rafi was only a singer and one who only sang two songs he is in your list….
From 1 to 10 is only Mohd Rafi
yesudas is no doubt a great singer. but abhijeet can sing in n number of voices. himesh reshamiya today can sing in 5 different voices. he is a very great talented music director. you cannot compare old music director and new music director.
in 1940’s khemchand prakash,pankaj mullick ,anil bishwas, were no 1 music directors
.in 1950’s naushad ,op nayyar,sd burman were no 1 music directors. shankar jaikishan was a good music director but i would rate him after these three.
also husanlal-bhagtram,chitalkar,shyam sundar hansraj behl were good music directors,
in 1960’s ,it was dominated by shankar jaikishan in the starting but laximakant pyarelal,madan mohan,roshan dominated till 1966. but after teesri manzil the master PANCHAM DA(rd burman) took over the place.
rd burman and laxmikant pyarelal dominated the entire 70’s but in 1975 the legendry music director bappi da took over. bappi da was a great great music director. he was extremely talented. he gave many many hit films till the end of 1980’s.His great films were NAMAK HALAL, SHARABI,CHALTE CHALTE, INQUILAB ,HIMMATWALA,MERE AWAAZ SUNO AND DOMINATED the entire 80’s.
in the 90’s anu malik ,nadeem shravan took over. they produced great films like BAAZIGAR,BORDER,DDLJ, RAJA HINDUSTANI,ETC.but after that gave the best music director in bollywood ar rehman . HE GAVE SUCH A HIT FILMS that all the music directors are surprised .see his films RANGEELA,DIL SE,BOMBAY,JASANE TU YA JAANE NA, DELHI 6,AND THERE ARE INNUMERABLE GOLDEN FILMS. he is a great music director.
but today music has been changed. today ‘s music directors are far far more talented. HIMESH RESHAMIYA,SHANKAR EHSAAN LOY,PREETAM ARE EXTREMELY GREAT GREAT MUSIC DIRECTORS.
SO DO NOT COMPARE OLD AND NEW MUSIC DIRECTORS. in the old time they were great music directors but in today’s era music has completely changed and accept it
.
Karan Nigam seems to be a kid who is not exposed to music from golden era. Those singers of 50’s and 60’s were real singers and today’s singers are products of software technology. You can’t judge current singers from their recorded songs, or channel telecast and even stage programme, because every where they manipulate with technology.. Today anybody can become a singer even if he has not heared a song. Why, Himesh , Rahul Mahajan can also outsource a singer for him with the wealth he had aquired. He is like Alice in wonderland. He doesn’t know what to do with the money left by his late father. Today every channel is wying with each other to promote him eying on a share of his crores.
Ref. post 131
First of all, I would like to clear that the music of film “Shaan” was composed by R. D. Burman, and not by Bappi Lahiri (the dubba composer).
I can say a lot about this subject (comparison between Himesh & KJY) but it’s totally waste to say any thing infront of the person who has no caliber to differentiate between donkey & horse.
Imtiyaz A. Sharif
Post 117….
PLEASE ASK ABJIT ABOUT YESUDAS SIR ( DAS CHETTAN ) TO NEAR ONES.
mr. abjit will give you the right answer and more info about legends like yesudas, kishore , k.l.saighal and mohd rafi saaheb.
rajesh tandon
MY FRIEND SID,
from my point of view himesh reshamiya can sing high pitch song and low pitch song very very nicely. he is a good music director. see how well he composes his songs. he is a very very great actor. his new film(RADIO) is going to be a silver jubilee. ,i believe. himesh can sing in 5 differnt voice like that my heart told me
bappi da is a great music director. he has given great great music to many many films(like CHALTE CHALTE, SHAAN, SHARABI, NAMAK HALAL, ETC) ALSO he is a great great singer.
sonu nigam is bollywood ‘s 2nd best singer. also he is a great actor.
shankar mahadevan is a great singer. AS A MUSIC DIRECTOR he rocks. shankar ehsaan loy are a great great music director . one song of this trio is greater than all songs of bollywood(“kajra re”). listen to this song.
ar rehman is an oscar winner. CAN YOU BELIEVE? also he is a great great singer.
today in music directors you should also have A good voice quality. in today ‘s music directors himesh reshamiya is the best . shankar mahadevan is the 2nd best.
ABHIJEET is king khan ‘s voice. he has sung 143 songs for king khan. he has also sung for govinda in comedy style(in totally different voice). yesudas can sing all the songs in just one voice. but yesudas sings with feeling. but today you need different voice quality not feeling .so abhijeet is little better than yesudas.
if you compare udit narayan and yesudas udit narayan is far better.even udit narayan can sing in many many voices.
even shaan is a good singer.
yes of all bollywood singers rafi sahab is the best. but today there are maNY many reality shows where there are many youth talents coming forward. so do not be in the past and accept the present
thank you
hi sid i am surprised that i 19 yrs old giving
a comment that there will be no more rafi and kishore
in todays time. how true it is, are you really of this age
if true then i must ask you to carry the baton of taking
the legacy of the golden era of film music forward
lets forget the personal enmity (if any) between
all the singers mds because this era will always
remain for ever immaterial of all karans around
sundeep pahwa new delhi
sandeep and shiva,
agree wholly with you.
a falthoo answer by you. abhijeet better than yesudas?
and who on god’s green earth told you that himesh reshammiya can sing in 5 different voices.
And kishore kumar may not have been able to sing classical numbers but playback singing has many more elements to it. kishore kumar was best in the natural ones, manna dey in classical and rafi in both. sonu nigam is a wannabe rafi, how dare you rate him above kishore! and himesh and abhijeet better than yesudas ?! i am sorry, usually i respect ppl’s personal opinions but yours are just plain illogical!
and your comment on having other kishores and rafi’s is the dumbest one of all, as none of these jokers have the talent or dedication of the all time greats.
i am not living in the past, rather I am living in reality. i am 19 years old and have grown up with probably the same music as you. so i suggest you give up ur philosophy that there will be kishore kumar or rafisaab even these days.
and while kk was a terrific singer, a good actor, a good md, an amazing comedian and a wonderful lyricist, himesh is a good composer, a c grade singer, a c grade actor, director,you name it. so don’t try comparing them.
thanks and i hope that next time before replying please consult a shrink!
sid
Post 117…
Some of the singers u have mentioned in the list are more good at bray (ing) than any class singing.
i wont blame u. the listening standards have been falling from the seventies onwards.
mr.himesh reshamiya tops in this and his name will come first for any class music offering – but from the end of the liiiisssstttt only.
and, u will perhaps not understand why songs of fifties, sixties and some from seventies are still on the lips of music lovers. listen to them too…
binus
To the administrator of this site: Can you give any genuine reason for allowing a post like #120?; in what way is it relevant to Rafi sahab?
At this rate there may some “genius” who shall say that any present day “so called reality show singer” to be even better than the legends like Saigal, Rafi, Kishore, Manna Dey, Mukesh , Talat etc.
I am taking a temporary break from this site as it is too difficult to read such trash……goodbye …
i am pained to write this comment on karans
post no 117 pl if you have incl singers like
anand bakshi bappi lahiri mehmood in your all time list
of bollywood singers i dont know how to react
maybe some one will tell you the history of hindi
film songs have you ever heard of pankaj mullick
ashok kumar kc dey as singers if not you have no
right to name a list sorry for being harsh , you
were very curious to have a comment regds sundeep
dear post 123,
the song from the film mom ki gudiya was sung by rafi sahab ,lata and anand bhakshi. you please listen to that song and then comment. best singers
1 rafi sahab
2 sonu ji
3.kishore da
4 manna da
5.hemant kumar
6talat mahmood
7 mukesh
8 himesh reshamiya
9 kl saigal
10 shaan
11 abhijeet
12 udit narayan
13 bappi da
14 yesudas
15 kumar sanu
16 shankar mahadevan
17 mahendra kapoor
18 mohammed aziz
19. rahul mahajan(film is coming in 2010 january)
20. anand bhakshi
21. c ramchandra
22.bupendra singh
23 daler mehndi
24 mehmood
25 amit kumar
26 surendranath
27 pankaj udhas
28 k balasubramanian
29 keshto mukerjee
30 other singers
himesh reshamiya and kishore da are complete artist. they can act,give music,sing,write lyrics. hemant kumar cannot act. talat mahmood is a great actor better than many actors(like suniel shetty) sonu is a very very great actor(hit film like jaani dushmn) sonu is a complete artist if he is a music director he will soon give music. rahul mahajan is also a great dancer and singer.
please comment
ref post 120 anand bakshi sang a duet with lata
for CHARAS aaja teri yaad aai sundeep pahwa
by the way song mentioned in mom ki gudiya was
also sung by anand bakshi and lata only there was
no rafi saheb
i would appeal to all music lovers not to respond
to any post (117) where kl saigal is placed behind
sonu……. even rafi lata kishore have acknoledged
along with mds the impt of kls in bringing film songs
popularity to the mases let us all continue enjoying
vintage music for generations to come instead of
wasting time on songs of today which vanish in days
and commenting on it sundeep pahwa new delhi
i want sid to comment on my previous article. so dear sid please please comment
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
dear sid,
i think your mental status is gone. sonu nigam ji is the second (2nd) best singer india has ever produced after rafi sahab. sonu can sing 69% of rafi sahab today. himesh reshamiya can sing in 5 different voices. yesudas can sing all the songs in just one voice. sonu nigam is not a clasically trained singer but he can sing all types of song. kisshore da is not a clasically trained singer but he cannot sing classical songs . even in many songs sonu can sing in female voice. so i would rate sonu little ahead than kishore da. you don ‘t know anand bhakshi has sung 2 songs one was “BHAGON ME BAHAR HAI” which he sang with rafi sahab and lata ji. from the film “MOM KI GUDIYA”(1974) .the other song i am not getting. abhijeet has a very very sweet voice . so he is better than yesudas. mahendra kapoor imitated rafi sahab and tried to sing many many songs in rafi sahab’s voice and failed. HIMESH RESHAMIYA is the 7th best singer in india after rafi sahab, sonu,kishore da, manna dey,talat mahmood,hemant da and mukesh. himesh reshamiya like kishore da is a complete artist. he is a actor,singer,music director and in his next film he is going to direct and write lyrics. so today bollywood has changed. so do not be in the past. today there are many many reality shows where we can get many youth artist. who can sing old and new songs very well. so i think after 5 years or so we can also produce legends like rafi sahab,msonu nigam,kishore da,manna da,etc.
please comment
haha @ karan!
Rafi being the best we all know.
But:
1.abhijeet,himesh and sanu better than yesudas? 😮
2.Sonu better than kishore? plz elaborate i would love to hear this one.
3.anand bakshi is a singer? i didnt know? weird thought he only did lyrics.
Note: apart from question 3, all questions are sarcastic 😛
and you putting himesh in the top 8 singers in india questions not only the list, but your mental status.
take care(really, plz take care)
sid
in my previous article there is a small correction singer no 19 is AMIT KUMAR NOT ANOOP KUMAR
THANK YOU
i agree with shivam. sonu ji is today s no 1 singer. rafi sahab is the best singer no doubt but sonu is 2nd best singer ever bollywood has produced. he is the youth voice today. he is imitating rafi sahab no doubt but in many many songs he is singing in his own voice. so don t slam sonu . he also has a god gifted voice. in this generation music has spoilt so hat can sonu do? he is better than yesudas, udit narayan,abhijjeet,shaan, mahendra kapoor,mohammed aziz, kumar sanu,pankaj udhas. here are the list of best singers.
1.rafi sahab
2.sonu nigam
3.,manna dey
4.kishore da
5.talat mahmood,kl saigal
6.hemant da
7.mukesh
8.himesh reshamiya
9.udit narayan
10.abhijeet
11.shaan,bupendra singh
12.yesudas
13.mahendra kapoor,sd burman
14.bappi da
15.rd burman
16.c ramchandra
17.pankaj udhas,shankar mahadevan
18.mohammed aziz
19.anop kumar
20.mehmood
21.anand bakshi
if there are any more singers other than these please tell
Rafi saab “is” a youth icon & sonu ji also a youth icon. Only, Rafi Saab’s magic have been coming from yesteryears & sonu is of current era. In music industry, they are like father & son. So, son is continuing the same magic. Every son wants to be like his father. Rafi saab is matchless but it would be unfair to degrade sonu ji(like so many posts are said). Rafi is unparallel, & sonu also stepping towards the same track. Those who are being harsh against sonu nigam, “shame on you”, only sonu is one,who is to be crowned after rafi saab. Look forward, don’t stick to the past.
Sir karan nigam,
As said by Sudhir sir that from 1 to 10 for mohd rafi and same said by the greatest playback singer who is 5th in your list,how it comes that abhijeet,Shaan,kumar Sanu before yeshudas in your list and Bappi da as singer in your list!!!!!!!!!!???what about RD as singer why not in your list!!!?also you forgot all mohd Rafi clones as Mohd Aziz,Anwar an shabeer kummar!!!!!!!???
himesh reshamiya is 7th in your list!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and in same list mahendra kapoor
12th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
offourse Sonu ji is great singer but not no 2 as singer as in your list,please understant there are two singer in world not be compare as male mohd rafi and female Lata ji who i don’t like her but that is true
Talat Mahmoud ji said about mohd Rafi that mohd Rafi voice is gift of God but mohd Rafi made it gift to God
dear Karan..post no.113…your assumption is erroneous. Sonu Nigam is not the stock playback singer for even a single star of the current generation. Therefore it is obvious that he has NOT contributed in any way towards their success. Same for the music directors….no one is banking on him. The measure of Greatness of a singer may be the number of GREAT songs..that he has sung…Although this may be because of the ‘chalu’ type of music that is the trend these days…but the ‘Great’ Sonu ji has not sung anything of substance..till date! In fact he has been upstaged at his own game of sounding western and hip by singers like KK, Shaan, Javed Ali, Kunal ganjawala etc…Regarding your list…..keep slot No. 1-10 for Rafi Saheb….and then have some consideration for those who have been singing excellently for donkey years…without their songs having faded away. Sonu at No.2!!! I want to laugh….but i think i will shed a tear for all those you have relegated to the backseat…
i am impressed by reading all the views. sonu ji and rafi sahab both are great. sonu surely cannot be compared to rafi sahab but sonu ji too is a great singer. rafi sahab had sung to the top heros of that generation like dilip,dev,shammi,rajaendra,etc. but sonu ji is singing for the top heros of today like badshash khan, aamir,akshay,salman,shahid,etc. because sonu is gerat great singer of today. best singers
1. rafi sahab
2.sonu
3.kishore da
4. talat ji
5. manna da
6.mukesh ji
7.himesh reshamiya
8.hemant kumar
9.kl saigal sahab
10.udit narayan
11.abhijeet
12.mahendra kapoor
13.shaan
14.kumar sanu
15.yeshudas
16.pankaj udhas
17.bappi da
18.cv ramchandra
19.shankar mahadevan
etc.
please comment
Prakash ji….. DUPLICATES WILL REMAIN AS DUPLICATES ONLY….
Post 111 :::: Very true is your statement on DUPLICATES & ORIGINAL… U MUST BE KNOWING THAT EVEN TANSEN HAD A GURU…. his name being guru haridas.
once when emperor akbar asked tansen why you can’t sing as GOOD as your guru haridas, mia tansen paused, took a deep breath and said :
“your lordship ! between guru haridas and me there is a vast difference. I sing for my king whereas my guru sings for the “lord of the universe”….He is a musician of a much higher court.
emperor akbar on hearing a profound truth pensively walked away.
binu nair, mumbai, rafi foundation…….
kumarsanu or kamal awasthi or sonu nagim can never be reached to their gurus.
wo saadhana,wo jamana,wo taraz,pahele to unko mil nahi sakti,aur duplicate to duplicate hota hai.
original rafi,kk,mukesh ban nahi sakte.
jaise ki raj dev dilp koi nahi ban sakta.
This article is total waste…. Better ask this question to Sonu Niigam and he’ll say true….
Mr. Souvik Chatterji! Shame on you!! Although this is not the first time you have tried to put Sonu Nigam on a pedestal in front of Rafi Saheb. Sonu stands nowhere in comparision. Your article is ridiculous.
Adaab Rafi ! to all….
Let s forgive Mr Souvik for reacting immaturely in one of the comments and knowing him thru this amazing website he is a big fan of SJ and even a bigger bakt of Rafi saab…
As far as my views are concerned Sonu Nigam cannot be compared with his idol n icon Guruji at all. For that he may have to put in may be another 25 years of playaback singing career to come closer to his Guru. Also the magic of golden evergreen songs of yesteryears are lost now as some one commented that it is all in the software….
But I frankly admit that Sonu is the only Shishya who propagates his Gurujis song all over the world and to the younsters who are fed unfortunately crap by all the tv channels except zee n doordarshan…
So thru him only young ppl of 14-20 know the greatness of Rafi sahab and we should all give due credit to this talented artiste….
I also wish to thank the leading journo of Times of India Meena Iyer who recently wrote about Sonu’s impressive performance in US titled Mohammed to Michael . In this show Sonu sang all the hits songs of Rafi saab where MJ’s close relatives were also humming with him…and in the 2nd part paid tribute to MJ…
Narayan
Baar Baar Rafi Fan Club
Bangalore
Adaab Rafi ! to all….
Let s forgive Mr Souvik for reacting immaturely in one of the comments and knowing him thru this amazing website he is a big fan of SJ and even a bigger bakt of Rafi saab…
As far as my views are concerned Sonu Nigam cannot be compared with his idol n icon Guruji at all. For that he may have to put in may be another 25 years of playaback singing career to come closer to his Guru. Also the magic of golden evergreen songs of yesteryears are lost now as some one commented that it is all in the software….
But I frankly admit that Sonu is the only Shishya who propagates his Gurujis song all over the world and to the younsters who are fed unfortunately crap by all the tv channels except zee n doordarshan…
So thru him only young ppl of 14-20 know the greatness of Rafi sahab and we should all give due credit to this talented artiste….
I also wish to thank the leading jorno of Times of India Meena Iyer who recently wrote about Sonu’s impressive performance in US titled Mohammed to Michael . In this show Sonu sang all the hits songs of Rafi saab where MJ’s close relatives were also humming with him…and in the 2nd part paid tribute to MJ…
Narayan
Baar Baar Rafi Fan Club
Bangalore
Hi Everybody and fellow Rafians,
When Lata herself cannot reach the levels of Rafi Saab where is the question of Sonu Nigam doing it. Rafi Saab is diamond and rest are stones (some of them are little precious I do agree). Today’s singers are just stones with no use to anybody.. Nobody involves complex tunes nowadays and its just boring to hear songs. Souvik’s way of response to us the rafians, could have been avoided actually but lets ignore it… Let him come out with a better article next time.
rgds..KM
The bottom line is does Sonu Nigam help carry legacy forward. The answer is absolutely. Therefore let us not degrade Sonu by saying he is no match for Rafi. Sonu knows very well that Rafi was the greatest singer ever born. What is the point of undermining Sonu. Mr. Chatterji in no way implied that Sonu was better than Rafi. Why all this arguement? Let’s give Mr. Chatterji a break. He did not mean any insult to any Rafi fans. He is like the rest of us, a devoted Rafi fan. Everyone knows that. Let’s look at his total record and not just at a few words in this article that may sound hurtful (not meant however). Sometimes we all get frustrated, and please accept that as part of human nature. No one is perfect.
Hi M rafi fans
today is 27 Ramzaan in most of islamic country and it is the same day when you lost king of the kings mohd rafi and last year also we lost his first clone m kapoor.
Dear Rafians,
I am happy to comment hee after a long time due to some business.But I am always very much thankfull to Binu Nair jeee who has gathered Rafians on a platform.Hts off to Binu Jee.
As far as Comparison of Sonu with Rafi sb is concerned, it is like the difference between east and west.But Sonu is only singer who has told the world how to adore his Guru. KK has strong followers, but no one of them adore KK as much as Sonu is doin for the Great Maestro.Wembley concert, 100 songs of Rafi sb, and all other plate form through which he openly admit that he is follower of Rafi sb.He is a tru follower from any angle. He idealizes Rafi sb, thats why is is the best from the current lot of singers.I will say that any singer who follows Rafi sb, will be the best of the lot.
Being a devotee of Rafi, every singer do his best to match RAFI SB sublime,and ultimately he becomes well prepare.Same is the case with sonu.
It will be fake to compare Sonu wd Rafi, but salutes to Sonu that he is always paying tributes of The Maestro.
Dear souvik,
I do not know who asked you to write an article like this. You could have kept quiet or just written some other beautiful article like how you were doing earlier. Your article, according to me is not comparing Rafi saab with Sonu Nigam directly but posing a question whether Sonu is reaching that impossible point. The subject matter basically is wrong. English is a borrowed language and slight difference/mistake in its usage triggers a lot of issues among people. Music of yesterday and today are totally different and any singer for that matter should not be compared to Rafi Saab. Those days, people wanted quality as they had time and never went behind money . Today, the life is very faster and quality is dead. So are the human beings. I hope you will think on this subject and come out with a better article on Rafi saab next time. Hope to see that soon.
Rafi saab is never comparable to anybody on earth.
rgds..KM
Asif ji,,,,there is nothing wrong with article,,,,,,but debate is on sauvik ji`s impulsive comments for critisizing other Rafi lovers,,,,,,saying Rafians wre sleepingly appriciating others,,,and Rafian critisize other singer……