All Great Mds' Preference For Rafi Saab!, Some Widely-reported Stories On This Options

[venkat]

Friends,

That all great MDs during the Platinum-era of HFM from 1947 to 1972 had a distinct preference for Rafi Saab is crystal-clear, well-known and needs no debate, as the historical facts and statistics speak for themselves.

But, there were some instances of extreme display of this tendency by some of the great MDs of olden days.

In this thread, let us narrate and discuss some of such instances.

To start with, I recall one radio interview that I heard very long back, which gave me the following information.

In early, mid and late fifties, it was fashionable to listen to Talat Mehmood songs and somewhat over-rate him. Many Industry bigwigs, such as Anil Biswas, Bimal Roy, etc., too were not immune to this tendency.

So, when Bimal Roy was making Sujata (1959), he had advised S.D.Burman to use Talat Mehmood for the great SDB composition, "Jalte Hain Jis Ke Liye".

But, S.D.Burman was far from enamoured by Talat Mehmood's style of singing. He wanted to utilise only Rafi Saab for this sublime composition and tried to reason out with Bimal Roy. But, as Bimal Roy wouldn't listen, he had to finally use Talat Mehmood.

But, what is really amusing was that during the rehearsals and recording, S.D.Burman made no secret of his displeasure to poor Talat Ji. He even used to say, "Yeh Boda Achha Composition Hoy. Is Ko Khorab Mot Koro".

Such was SDB's bullishness on Rafi Saab.

More later.

Venkat

PS. It is a different matter that the song, "Jalte Hain Jis Ke liye", from Sujata happened to have been sung by Talat Mehmood extremely well and it is a great favorite of mine. But, the above was just to illustrate great MDs' stubborn preference for Rafi Saab.

This post has been edited by venkat: Sep 27 2008, 04:12 PM

[venkat]

There are many MDs who used Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in some Films.

1. Naushad in Film:Andaz (1949) in Rafi-Lata duet, "Yun To Aapas Mein Bigadte Hain, Khafa Hote Hain", and three Rafi-Suraiya duets in Film:Dastaan(1950), including the famous "Tarari Arari Tarari"

2. Lesser-known Music Director, Krishna Dayal, in Film:Baawra(1950), in solo, "Sahil Jo Dubo De Kashthi Ko"

3. Madan Mohan in Film:Dhun (1953) in solo, "Gori Ki Ankhiyan---Nazar Mila Le O Dilruba"

4.S.Mohinder in Film:Paapi (1953) in two solos and one famous Rafi-Asha duet, "Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, Mujh Ko Teri Justaju"

5. Ghulam Mohammed in Film:Amber (1952) in three Rafi-Lata duets, including the famous and peppy "Ham Tum Yeh Bahar, Dekho Rang Laaya Pyaar, Barsaat Ke Maheene Mein"

6.O.P.Nayyar in Film:Do Ustaad (1959) in one solo ("Worli Ka Naakaa") and five lovely Rafi-Asha duets, including "Ruk Ruk Ruk Kahan Chali Deewani".

But, Shankar Jaikishan have one unique speciality to their credit.

They not only used Rafi Saab in their very first Film:Barsaat (1949), but are also the first MDs to have used Rafi Saab even for Raj Kapoor in the very same Film:Barsat (1949), in a solo, "Main Zindagi Mein Hardam Rota Hi Raha Hoon".

Shankar Jaikishan then went on to use Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in two more Films, Ek Dil Sau Afsaane(1963) and Mera Naam Joker (1970).

In Ek Dil Sau Afsane, it was an ever-green Rafi-Lata duet, "Tum Hi Tum Ho Mere jeewan Mein".

In Mera Naam Joker, it was the soul-stirring solo, "Sadke Heer Tujh Pe Ham Fakir". Now, knowledgeable music fans who know this song would admit that only Rafi Saab could ever render it so effectively, no matter who was actually Raj Kapoor's voice. Sure enough, Shankar Jaikishan and even Raj Kapoor knew it and that is why all Raj Kapoor rules were waived and Rafi Saab was chartered for this great song.

Why I mentioned SJ's use of Rafi Saab for even Raj Kapoor is because it shows SJ's utmost bullishness on Rafi Saab.

I will present the part II on SJ in my next post.

Venkat

This post has been edited by venkat: Oct 19 2008, 10:18 PM

[venkat]

There are many MDs who used Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in some Films.

1. Naushad in Film:Andaz (1949) in Rafi-Lata duet, "Yun To Aapas Mein Bigadte Hain, Khafa Hote Hain", and three Rafi-Suraiya duets in Film:Dastaan(1950), including the famous "Tarari Arari Tarari"

2. Lesser-known Music Director, Krishna Dayal, in Film:Baawra(1950), in solo, "Sahil Jo Dubo De Kashthi Ko"

3. Madan Mohan in Film:Dhun (1953) in solo, "Gori Ki Ankhiyan---Nazar Mila Le O Dilruba"

4.S.Mohinder in Film:Paapi (1953) in two solos and one famous Rafi-Asha duet, "Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, Mujh Ko Teri Justaju"

5. Ghulam Mohammed in Film:Amber (1952) in three Rafi-Lata duets, including the famous and peppy "Ham Tum Yeh Bahar, Dekho Rang Laaya Pyaar, Barsaat Ke Maheene Mein"

6.O.P.Nayyar in Film:Do Ustaad (1959) in one solo ("Worli Ka Naakaa") and five lovely Rafi-Asha duets, including "Ruk Ruk Ruk Kahan Chali Deewani".

But, Shankar Jaikishan have one unique speciality to their credit.

They not only used Rafi Saab in their very first Film:Barsaat (1949), but are also the first MDs to have used Rafi Saab even for Raj Kapoor in the very same Film:Barsat (1949), in a solo, "Main Zindagi Mein Hardam Rota Hi Raha Hoon".

Shankar Jaikishan then went on to use Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in two more Films, Ek Dil Sau Afsaane(1963) and Mera Naam Joker (1970).

In Ek Dil Sau Afsane, it was an ever-green Rafi-Lata duet, "Tum Hi Tum Ho Mere jeewan Mein".

In Mera Naam Joker, it was the soul-stirring solo, "Sadke Heer Tujh Pe Ham Fakir". Now, knowledgeable music fans who know this song would admit that only Rafi Saab could ever render it so effectively, no matter who was actually Raj Kapoor's voice. Sure enough, Shankar Jaikishan and even Raj Kapoor knew it and that is why all Raj Kapoor rules were waived and Rafi Saab was chartered for this great song.

Why I mentioned SJ's use of Rafi Saab for even Raj Kapoor is because it shows SJ's utmost bullishness on Rafi Saab.

I will present the part II on SJ in my next post.

Venkat

Part II on SJ:

Before we attempt to understand SJ's preference for Rafi Saab, we need to understand the career progression of SJ themselves.

SJ's career during the fifties was yet to take off. All that they had then were the captive RK films in addition to a handful of other Films, such as Pooja, Rajhat, Yahoodi, Seema, Basant Bahar, Halaku, Daag, Patita, etc. This was only to be expected as SJ during fifties was a regular for only RK, whereas the other two successful leading men of that time, Dilip and Dev used to have Naushad and S.D.Burman+others respectively as their regular MDs.

However, with Love Marriage(1959) ,Jab Pyar Kisse Se Hota Hai(1961) Asli Naqli(1962), etc., SJ have proved that their combo with Dev Anand could be a great hit too. Similarly, with the onset of sixties, newer leading men such as Shammi Kapoor (Junglee, College Girl, Dil Tera Deewana) and Rajendra Kumar (Sasural) have come into SJ fold.

Thus, it can be said that SJ's dominance in HFM was mainly a sixties phenomenon.

SJ' association with Rafi Saab dates back to SJ's association with Husnlal Bhagatram for whom they both were musicians/assistants for some time. And, HB themselves were committed Rafi-users for 90% of all their songs!

As we discussed earlier in another thread, SJ had made about 350 songs with Rafi Saab, of which about 225 (two thirds) were solos!! No other MD has such a large proportion of solos with Rafi Saab.

And most of these songs came in the sixties when Raj Kapoor Films were few and far between and when Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Jeetendra were ruling Filmdom.

SJ probably made more songs only with Lata Mangeshkar, as Lata was a regular for SJ even for RK films, besides, of course, the Jaikishan factor!!

SJ seems to have made less than 200 songs with Mukesh, less than 75 with Manna Dey and less than 25 with Talat Mehmood. (subject to correction).

Further, SJ is one of the three or four MDs who made Rafi Saab sing for Kishore Kumar too. That was in Film:Shararat (1959) for one famous and great solo, "Ajab Hai Dastaan Teri Yeh Zindagi" and for one Rafi-Lata duet too.

In my earlier post above, we discussed how SJ made Rafi Saab sing for even Raj Kapoor in three Films, namely Barsaat (1949), Ek Dil Sau Afsaane(1963) and Mera Naam Joker (1970). But, additionally, in all RK Films, Rafi Saab was given by SJ a song or two for other actors. Some of these, such as "Ramaiya Vastavaya" from Shri 420 and "Yeh Mera Prempatr Padh kar" from Sangam (1964), have joined the ranks of all-time greats.

While on the subject, we cannot forget the excellent rapport SJ and Rafi Saab had shared and also the tens of live musical concerts that these three participated in, all clad in spot-less dark suits!!

Shankar had once said in an interview, "Rafi Saab's voice had Atma in it! There will never be another singer like him".

Venkat

This post has been edited by venkat: Oct 20 2008, 11:13 AM

[venkat]

There are many MDs who used Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in some Films.

1. Naushad in Film:Andaz (1949) in Rafi-Lata duet, "Yun To Aapas Mein Bigadte Hain, Khafa Hote Hain", and three Rafi-Suraiya duets in Film:Dastaan(1950), including the famous "Tarari Arari Tarari"

2. Lesser-known Music Director, Krishna Dayal, in Film:Baawra(1950), in solo, "Sahil Jo Dubo De Kashthi Ko"

3. Madan Mohan in Film:Dhun (1953) in solo, "Gori Ki Ankhiyan---Nazar Mila Le O Dilruba"

4.S.Mohinder in Film:Paapi (1953) in two solos and one famous Rafi-Asha duet, "Meri Zindagi Hai Tu, Mujh Ko Teri Justaju"

5. Ghulam Mohammed in Film:Amber (1952) in three Rafi-Lata duets, including the famous and peppy "Ham Tum Yeh Bahar, Dekho Rang Laaya Pyaar, Barsaat Ke Maheene Mein"

6.O.P.Nayyar in Film:Do Ustaad (1959) in one solo ("Worli Ka Naakaa") and five lovely Rafi-Asha duets, including "Ruk Ruk Ruk Kahan Chali Deewani".

But, Shankar Jaikishan have one unique speciality to their credit.

They not only used Rafi Saab in their very first Film:Barsaat (1949), but are also the first MDs to have used Rafi Saab even for Raj Kapoor in the very same Film:Barsat (1949), in a solo, "Main Zindagi Mein Hardam Rota Hi Raha Hoon".

Shankar Jaikishan then went on to use Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor in two more Films, Ek Dil Sau Afsaane(1963) and Mera Naam Joker (1970).

In Ek Dil Sau Afsane, it was an ever-green Rafi-Lata duet, "Tum Hi Tum Ho Mere jeewan Mein".

In Mera Naam Joker, it was the soul-stirring solo, "Sadke Heer Tujh Pe Ham Fakir". Now, knowledgeable music fans who know this song would admit that only Rafi Saab could ever render it so effectively, no matter who was actually Raj Kapoor's voice. Sure enough, Shankar Jaikishan and even Raj Kapoor knew it and that is why all Raj Kapoor rules were waived and Rafi Saab was chartered for this great song.

Why I mentioned SJ's use of Rafi Saab for even Raj Kapoor is because it shows SJ's utmost bullishness on Rafi Saab.

I will present the part II on SJ in my next post.

Venkat

Part II on SJ:

Before we attempt to understand SJ's preference for Rafi Saab, we need to understand the career progression of SJ themselves.

SJ's career during the fifties was yet to take off. All that they had then were the captive RK films in addition to a handful of other Films, such as Pooja, Rajhat, Yahoodi, Seema, Basant Bahar, Halaku, Daag, Patita, etc. This was only to be expected as SJ during fifties was a regular for only RK, whereas the other two successful leading men of that time, Dilip and Dev used to have Naushad and S.D.Burman+others respectively as their regular MDs.

However, with Love Marriage(1959) ,Jab Pyar Kisse Se Hota Hai(1961) Asli Naqli(1962), etc., SJ have proved that their combo with Dev Anand could be a great hit too. Similarly, with the onset of sixties, newer leading men such as Shammi Kapoor (Junglee, College Girl, Dil Tera Deewana) and Rajendra Kumar (Sasural) have come into SJ fold.

Thus, it can be said that SJ's dominance in HFM was mainly a sixties phenomenon.

SJ' association with Rafi Saab dates back to SJ's association with Husnlal Bhagatram for whom they both were musicians/assistants for some time. And, HB themselves were committed Rafi-users for 90% of all their songs!

As we discussed earlier in another thread, SJ had made about 350 songs with Rafi Saab, of which about 225 (two thirds) were solos!! No other MD has such a large proportion of solos with Rafi Saab.

And most of these songs came in the sixties when Raj Kapoor Films were few and far between and when Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Jeetendra were ruling Filmdom.

SJ probably made more songs only with Lata Mangeshkar, as Lata was a regular for SJ even for RK films, besides, of course, the Jaikishan factor!!

SJ seems to have made less than 200 songs with Mukesh, less than 75 with Manna Dey and less than 25 with Talat Mehmood. (subject to correction).

Further, SJ is one of the three or four MDs who made Rafi Saab sing for Kishore Kumar too. That was in Film:Shararat (1959) for one famous and great solo, "Ajab Hai Dastaan Teri Yeh Zindagi" and for one Rafi-Lata duet too.

In my earlier post above, we discussed how SJ made Rafi Saab sing for even Raj Kapoor in three Films, namely Barsaat (1949), Ek Dil Sau Afsaane(1963) and Mera Naam Joker (1970). But, additionally, in all RK Films, Rafi Saab was given by SJ a song or two for other actors. Some of these, such as "Ramaiya Vastavaya" from Shri 420 and "Yeh Mera Prempatr Padh kar" from Sangam (1964), have joined the ranks of all-time greats.

While on the subject, we cannot forget the excellent rapport SJ and Rafi Saab had shared and also the tens of live musical concerts that these three participated in, all clad in spot-less dark suits!!

Shankar had once said in an interview, "Rafi Saab's voice had Atma in it! There will never be another singer like him".

Venkat

Here is the excerpt from a press interview with Shankar.




Even Manna Dey Ji goes out of his way many a time, in many an interview, to say the same thing as Shankar. I have heard Manna Dey say so candidly many times, "Ham Sab Bhi Gaate Thhe, Lekin Rafi Saab Ke Nazdik Nahin Aa Sakte Thhe!"


Venkat

This post has been edited by venkat: Oct 23 2008, 08:01 PM

[suhana_safar]

Here is the excerpt from a press interview with Shankar.




I have heard Manna Dey say so candidly many times, "Ham Sab Bhi Gaate Thhe, Lekin Rafi Saab Ke Nazdik Nahin Aa Sakte Thhe!"


Venkat

Mana Day is a exceptional singer and a amazing person who is so couaregous and unashamed to state the truth.

Hats off to him.

Cheers
SS

This post has been edited by suhana_safar: Oct 24 2008, 01:11 PM