TODAY is the 33rd anniversary of Mohammad Rafi’s death. His singing career in movies started in 1942 and lasted till his death on July 31, 1980. In her recent book, his daughter-in-law Yasmin Khalid Rafi, has authenticated those facts about the legendary singer which had so far remained as speculations among his fans.

Rafi was born on Dec 24, 1924, in Kotla Sultan Singh, a small village close to Amritsar. His mother was on a short visit to her relatives living in the village when he was born. The family lived permanently inside Bhati Gate, Lahore, and his father pursued a catering business. His elder brother Mohammad Din ran a hair-cutting saloon in Lahore and he would take young Rafi with him to his shop so that the boy could learn this skill.

However, Rafi’s heart was not in this trade. He would start singing, using anything in the shop that he could lay his hands on as a musical instrument.

Since Rafi was keen about singing for films produced in Mumbai, he sought permission from a reluctant father in 1942 to go to Mumbai to try his luck. As Rafi was a shy youth, his father sent with him his friend Hameed, who could get him introduced to the film world.

Hameed was educated and street-smart and helped Rafi in getting accommodation and settling down in Bombay. After the initial struggle Rafi managed to get a chance to sing a few lines in a chorus recorded by ace music composer Naushad Ali for the movie ‘Pehle Aap’ and the song was, ‘Hindustan ke hum hain, Hindustan hamaara’.

After sometime, Naushad once again provided him an opportunity to sing a line in another chorus led by K.L. Saigal for ‘Shahjehan’ and the lyrics were: ‘Roohi, Roohi, Roohi, mere sapno ki rani’. However, the real break came for Rafi when a hesitant composer, Feroz Nizami, gave him a chance to sing a duet with Noor Jehan for Jugnu, released in 1947. The song ‘Yahaan badla wafaa ka bewafaai ke siva kya hai’ was picturised on matinee idol Dilip Kumar and Noor Jehan. Both the film and the song turned out to be superhits and then there was no looking back for Rafi.

Rafi had a wide vocal range which was successfully exploited by Naushad for another musical hit, Baiju Bawra.

Rafi also worked with other renowned music directors, including S.D. Burman, Shankar-Jaikishen, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, O.P. Nayyar and Kalyanji-Anandji. He received six Filmfare awards for the best male playback singer; his first in 1960 and his last in 1977. He also received the Padma Shri in 1967.

PARVEZ RAHIM

Karachi