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Documentary on Mohammed Rafi showcases the singer’s life as a family man

Documentary on Mohammed Rafi showcases the singer’s life as a family man

‘Dastaan-e-Rafi’ looks at the celebrated vocalist’s life beyond his music.
01 Oct, 2016

The documentary Dastaan-e-Rafi took five years to make, so it is not surprising that the 120-minute film tells the story of the playback singer Mohammed Rafi through over 60 interviews and more than 60 hit songs.

Produced and co-directed by Rajni Acharya, the film includes reminiscences from members of Rafi’s family, including his daughters Yasmeen, Parveen and Nasreen, as well as from the actors Dilip Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Jeetendra and Shammi, Rishi and Randhir Kapoor. All of them testify to Rafi’s integrity, generosity with time and money, and act of charity towards the needy.

In an interview with Scroll.in, Acharya said that making the film was a lifelong dream and could have been done only once, like Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975).

When did you get the idea of making a documentary on Mohammed Rafi?

Sujata Dev wanted to write a book on Mohammed Rafi. She is a family friend. I suggested to her that we should work together on the project. She had to meet a lot of people to interview for the book. We had clear outlines that whatever we filmed would be a part of my documentary and whatever she wrote would be a part of her book. There was no interference in each other’s work.

There must have been a favourite Rafi song that inspired you to venture into direction.

'Khoya Khoya Chand' [Kala Bazar, 1960], whose rights I could not unfortunately get for my film. It was a song that reflected my youth and brought back memories of my time as a young man trying to charm the ladies.

The singer was an avid badminton player. Courtesy ‘Mohammed Rafi’ by Sujata Dev.
The singer was an avid badminton player. Courtesy ‘Mohammed Rafi’ by Sujata Dev.

How did you manage to line so many people to share their stories about Rafi?

When I was shooting the documentary, a lot of people wanted money in return for interviews, and we had to use our contacts to bypass the demand. We got what we wanted. We made no compromise on the quality even when people gave us a tough time. I think god assigned us to do this project.

Talking to his family was no problem. His friends and relatives were forthcoming.

Did you discover anything new about Rafi while filming?

More than the stories of his songs and his career as the greatest singer in the country, it was the humane stories we heard about how he helped people in times of crisis that shaped our film. The scripting was done after the shooting was completed. We came across a sensational bit of news about Rafi’s death, but we did not want to capitalise on it.

You also travelled to Pakistan to talk to musicians associated with him.

We went to Lahore to meet several singers who had worked with or were great admirers of his work. I met singer Shamshad Begum’s brother through whom I was able to meet other musicians. I was born in Karachi and I also have a lot of friends there, which made it easy for me to approach artists to talk about Rafi.

Rajni Acharya.
Rajni Acharya.


This article, originally published at Scroll.in, has been reproduced with permission.

Comments

Muhammad Amir Shehzad Oct 01, 2016 10:33am
Can anyone please give me the link of this documentary?
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Mohammad S. Khalid Oct 01, 2016 10:42am
Mohammad Rafi was the most versatile singer. He did so many musical wonders in association with Naushad, SD Burman, SJ, Madam Mohan, and Ravi; but he was at his best while singing with OP Nayyer.
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vasudevan Oct 01, 2016 11:30am
Mohammed Rafi- great talent, great voice. Singing was in his blood and he gave it all. A humble man too, I remember the short conversation we had in a Bombay studio. Master of Hindi film music in his time and we will never ever get those voices today- Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey, Rafi, Kishore, Hemant Kumar, Latha, Asha, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum...Great days they were
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Ram Oct 01, 2016 09:05pm
I grew up in India in Rafi's life time. I don't know the language, but there is none like Rafi as a singer. Divine melody, heavenly tunes, with that very special voice. Rafi Saab!!
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Krish Chennai Oct 01, 2016 11:04pm
During Partition, Rafi chose to remain in India, and his wife of that time moved to Pakistan. Rafi got married again, and became a true legend. With escalated tension of these days, this point may be worth noting.
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Khalid Oct 02, 2016 01:47am
I remember as a teenager in 1980 attending "Rafi's" concert at the Apollo in Manchester UK, I can only say that what he sounded like in the movies he sounded even better live on stage. I clearly remember the audience at on point asking Rafi sahib to "speak" inbetween the songs, because his "voice and resonance" sounded like it was a "record playing" we couldn't believe that on stage he sounded exactly the same as he did on record! He was "amazing" All his songs are still even today "evergreen"
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Reverseswing Oct 02, 2016 10:20am
@Mohammad S. Khalid No Sir, with all my apologies I do not agree with you. Mohammad Rafi Sahib was at his best under the Music Direction of legend Naushad Ali.
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Sympathiser Oct 02, 2016 12:06pm
One of the greatest singers of all times the planet earth has ever produced... I really find very difficult to express my gratitude and tribute to the greatest legend of our times as I lack in my words... Rafi saab you will be remembered as long as the moon and the sun exists... No body can replace this icon. I honestly say that not a day passed in my life without hearing his song.....
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Sympathiser Oct 02, 2016 12:10pm
@Mohammad S. Khalid Sir I sincerely agree with you... This is my opinion too... They were like magnet to each other may be because they share the native place... I leave it to you for guessing
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Zulfi Oct 02, 2016 12:42pm
The best of the best. Such a soulful voice. Some of his most memorable songs were acted in films by Shammi Kapoor. The two formed a great pairing. There will never be another singer like Mohammed Rafi, the greatest voice of the subcontinent
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Masood Oct 02, 2016 01:03pm
@Reverseswing ; Absolutely correct.
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