I am passionate about the old Hindi film songs especially from the golden era. I listen to and appreciate all singers, music directors and lyricists mostly from the 50’s to 70’s not only from Hindi films but also from my mother tongue, Tamil.

However, like many, I do have my personal favourites and from the title of this article one can understand who it is! However I also appreciate the rich baritone of Kishore, the velvety soft tone of Talat, the intense pathos in Mukesh, the classical mastery of Manna Dey, the extraordinary pitch of Mahendra Kapoor, the divine voice of Lata, the melodious voice of actress-singer Suraiya, the earthy Shamshad Begum, the versatile Geeta Dutt, the ever-youthful voice of Suman Kalyanpur , the husky voice of Asha etc…the list is endless . But Rafi is someone I cannot live without…he is sheer oxygen and a lifeline!.

Music is highly personal and so this article is about how I perceive some songs of Rafi that are somewhat out of the ordinary and this is the main theme of this article. I feel privileged to launch this blog and this article on the birth anniversary of the legend Mohammad Rafi saheb.

If you ask me what is extraordinary or out of the ordinary in the songs that I am going to write about, it is again difficult to exactly define. Music is not a science to get bound by definitions/formulae. We can safely consider these as not of the regular, conventional Hindi film song style.

One common feature I can say is that they are mostly with very less emphasis on orchestration and it is Rafi and Rafi all through the song. Typical to Rafi’s style they are intensely emotional and he takes these songs to great heights with his rendition. A majority of these songs are quite long in terms of duration (more than the typical 3 minute for an average film song). Of course, two songs in the list are even just shorter than the  average 3 minute duration , and so , can qualify to be out of the ordinary!!

Let us see what these songs are:                                 

#1 Jinhe naaz hai hind par who kahan hai. Film –Pyasaa, Music-S D Burman, Lyrics-Sahir.

A very hard hitting song to the extent that many will get put off with the whip lashes on society made by Sahir through his words. But for an ardent lover of Hindi film music this is a masterpiece in playback singing where the singer goes totally into the soul of the song. Right from the starting yeh kuche…hmm ghar dilkashi ke, to the end where he keeps asking “ kahan hai” the pathos and angst of the protagonist is made alive by Rafi. Throughout the song he keeps asking “ kahan hai , kahan hai”….sometimes with curiosity, sometimes with desperation.

The modulation in each and every line can only be appreciated when you listen to the song alone, preferably in the dead of the night. There is almost nil orchestration with some strings, an occasional tabla, few violins towards the end. Rafi was known for the hatasha ki hansi ( laugh of despair) and in between, he makes this in the lines, yahan peer bhi aa chuke , jawan bhi, tan-o-mand bete bhi abba miya bhi. Sometimes I wonder-is Rafi an actor??? A person whom we have very rarely heard talking and if at all he talks, he talks in a whisper, transforms into a different personality before the microphone.

#2 Yeh mehlon, yeh thakhton, yeh tajon ki duniya.  Film –Pyasaa, Music-S D Burman, Lyrics-Sahir.

Same film, and almost similar theme, hitting hard at the selfish society, but this is sung in the film at the time when the hero realises his own friends have usurped his poetry and are conducting a memorial thinking he is dead. He starts off with melancholy, rather in a drowsy manner with the first lines , and then starts “waking up” with yeh daulat ke bhooke , riwazon ki duniya. All through  the song , if one listens keenly, we can feel the frustration of the hero when he keeps asking “ to kya hai”. A very subtle variation that Rafi brings out is at the end of the song when he emphasizes   the word ‘ agar’ in the line “ yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai” whereas   in the entire song earlier the agar would be coupled with the last syllable ‘ya’ in duniya and made into duniya-agar as a joint word. These small nuances make Rafi the master in playback singing.

#3 Mein yeah sochkar uske dar se utha tha….  Film –Haqeeqat, Music-Madan Mohan, Lyrics-Kaifi Aazmi.

Unlike the first two songs mentioned before, this is a very short one-just about 3 minutes and a unique composition by the master of melody Madan Mohan. There is no typical mukhda-antara with interludes ..it is just a seamless duet between Rafi and the violin (anecdotes say it was played by Pyarelal, but I am not an authority on this). The shift from the soft beginning to the last “ magar usne roka , na usne manaya” shows the amazing modulation in the velvety voice of Rafi.

#4 Mere Mehboob Tujhe , meri mohabbat ki kasam…Film –Mere Mehbob, Music –Naushad, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni.

A full 7 minute song with six antaraas and just around 5 instruments only !! But what a romantic epic song?! A quintessential Naushad composition with only a very brief interlude of santoor ( Naushad used to say that in majority of his songs the interlude is just to enable the singer to take some breath!!). People in those times may not have known about catch phrases like Keep It Simple Stupid… but Naushad followed it to perfection while composing this song. Though Rafi was adept in almost all genres of playback singing, when it comes to romance, it is sheer nectar all along.

If you can keenly hear the “tiredness” in thak gaye hain mere majboor tamanna ke kadam, that typical way of Rafi’s Nigahon ka in do gadi apni nigahon ka sahara, “ trouble” in teri furqat ne pareshaan kiya hai  , you can appreciate why Rafi was considered as an “ actor”, acting out the song , sometimes even better than the actor on screen!!

#5 Carvaan guzar gaya , gubaar dekhte rahe…Film-Nayee Umar ki nayee fasal, Music-Roshan, Lyrics –Gopal Das Neeraj.

Epic is the only word that can describe this great poetry by Neeraj—a poem written by him that was later on taken for the film. Knowing the immense power of the poetry, Roshan kept the orchestration and tune to the bare minimum and Rafi infused so much of life into each and every word. There are four stanzas with some 290 words in the entire song. This could be one of the most voluminous songs in Hindi films. Rafi must have been eager to bring in his typical style and so at the end of the song, he does that  “ caaraaavaan ” in his typical nonchalant manner. This is one of the few songs where the lyrics can be mentioned as the essence of the song…who can forget the last lines of each of the four antaraas:

”  Umr ke chadaw ka, uthaar dekhte rahe”

“ Saans ki sharaab ka, khumaar dekhte rahe”

“Odhkar kafan padhe , majaar dekhte rahe”

“Paalki liye hue , kahaar dekhte rahe

#6 Dekhi zamane ki yaari, Bichde sabhi baari baari..Film: Kagaz Ke Phool, Music S D Burman, Lyrics-Kafi Aazmi

If the combination of Guru Dutt-SDB-Sahir-Rafi created the angst-ridden two songs of Pyasaa already mentioned in the beginning of this article, this one is has all the three players, with Kaifi Aazmi replacing Sahir. This an almost 8 minute song, picturized splendidly by the combination of Guru Dutt & cameraman V K Murthy over different stages in the film. And what a soulful rendition by Rafi- with a bare minimum orchestra and a superb use of chorus in the interludes. He starts with just a whisper with the lines “dekhi zamane ki yaari, then goes on to bring out the anguish at the end “ ud jaa ud jaa pyase bhanware” . In between, what a superb stretch in the word…’saaaaari’ in the line pal bhar ki khushiyaan hai saari. I find it so difficult to explain/ write about the way in which Rafi sahib had rendered this song so beautifully. One has to just close the eyes and get immersed in the song to appreciate.

#7. Saawan ke mahine mein ek aag si seene mein..Film: Sharaabi (Year 1964), Music –Madan Mohan, Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan

The song meanders at a leisurely pace, giving ample scope for Rafi to soak into the song with the intoxication he excels (isn’t it an irony that the teetotaller Rafi must have sung the maximum number of ‘sharabhi’ songs!!). The song starts off with the following lines with whistling sound of wind and sets the tone :

Chand ki chaal bhi hai behaki hui

Raat ki ankh bhi sharaabhi hai

Saari khudrat nashe mein hai jab choor

Are maine pi li to kya kharaabi hai

If you watch the scene it is just as if Dev Anand himself is singing –Rafi moulds his voice so perfectly and adds that intoxication in right mixture. The three antaraas that follow are quite peppy and contrasting in pace to the beginning of the song… a very unconventional composition by Madan Mohan.

#. 8 Teri tasveer bhi tujh jaise haseen hai lekin..Film: Kinare Kinare, Music –Jaidev, Lyrics: Nyay Sharma

This film, directed by Chetan Anand and also starring him, along with Dev Anand & Meenakumari had many songs but is noteworthy for Jaidev using four leading male playback singers in four different solos. Manna Dey’s –Chale jaa rahen hai, mohabbat ke maare kinare kinare; Talat-Dekhi Lee teri khudayee, bas mera dil bhar gaya; Mukesh-Jab gam-e-ishq satata hai tu hans le ta hoon & Rafi-Teri tasveer bhi tujh jaise haseen. All four are great songs. However, coming to our topic, this is again a masterpiece of Jaidev where he uses just a flute and santoor as main instruments with a violin going hand-in-hand with Rafi.   Almost nil interlude music, a complete cessation of music in the last lines:

Kya mere dil ki tadap ka tujhe ahsas bhi hai
kya mere dil ki tadap ka tujhe ahsas bhi hai
warna fir meri hi wahshat me sula de mujhko

Rafi brings so much of velvety softness in the rendition keeping in mind the scene that is picturized –the character looking at his lover’s photo and singing. To the best of my knowledge, after Hum Dono’s great songs with Rafi, Jaidev had this as his next one. I couldn’t think of any major songs he had composed for Rafi after this. But sometimes quality compensates to a very great extent on the quantity!!

#. 9 Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon, na kisi ke dil ka karaar hoon..Film: Lal Quila , Music –S.N Tripathi, Lyrics: (Bahadur Shah Zafar? /Muztar Khairabadi?)

First, before talking about the song, a disclaimer—reason why I have mentioned two names against lyricist is that there remains some controversy whether it was written by the last Mughal emperor or another poet Muztar Khairabadi—his son was Jan Nissar Akhtar-another famous shayar in Hindi films. As I am not an authority at all on this, let us leave it at that and come to the song.

This is quite a famous song and used to be played in Vividh Bharati earlier but now-a-days not heard much. Expressing the anguish and helplessness of the last Mughal emperor this is a unique song with no orchestration at all, with just a flute and one instrument that I am unable to recognize (sorry for this!!) . It is just Rafi and Rafi all along. How poignantly he brings out the feeling in each and every word, phrase with the just about required expressions. No extra harkats or any of the typical punch that Rafi gives –just his golden voice…that should sum up this song. S.N Tripathi was known more for his compositions in mythological and historical movies with a strong classical base. This was an out of the ordinary composition by him that perfectly fitted the poetry.

#. 10 Sadqe heer tujhpe hum fakir sadqe .Film: Mear Nam Joker ( Deleted in the movie) , Music –Shankar-Jaikishan , Lyrics: Prem Dhawan

A hidden gem mainly because it was deleted in the movie (no idea why…may be the film was as such quite long  but what would  just a two and a half minute epic song add to the length??). I heard this song for the first time around ten years back only, thanks to You Tube. A very rare combination of Prem Dhawan writing in a S-J composition. This could be the only one. And what a defining heer. Unlike a typical S-J composition , this is without any prelude , interlude orchestration etc. Just before the last lines, the signature violins and piano of S-J come to life just to give that lift to Rafi’s high notes.

de de dil hamaara hamein waapas
jogi le kar yehi pukaar aaye
aur maangen jo kuchh to maut maangen
ae ae ae ae
ter dar pe hain aakhri baaar aaye
jogi le kar yehi pukaaar aaye

That ‘aakhri baaaaar aaye” is the apt climax to this great song with Rafi adding so much of desperation to that “baaaaar”.

Before Mera Naam Joker, in all songs of the RK banner  right from Barsaat to Sangam there used to be at least one Rafi song. Just on a sombre, purely personal guess I end this article …may be because this superb song was just like that deleted, Rafi   aakhri baar aaye …in a RK film. I don’t think Rafi ever sang in a RK film subsequently to the best of my knowledge.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The songs mentioned are from the popular , public domain and  have been mentioned   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.