Four hit songs by Rafi, each of which had unique features
by J.V. Yakhmi
Mohammed Rafi, the most versatile male playback singer of Hindi films, has sung hundreds of captivating songs which regaled generations of listeners, and continue to do so. Among them are the following four songs, which not only touched high scales of popularity, but also had some unique features.
First in our list is: ‘Main ye sochkar uske dar se utha tha, …’. Written for the 1964 film Haqeeqat by Kaifi Azmi, it has possibly the shortest lyrics amongst Hindi film songs ever. Directed by Chetan Anand, the film had a story woven around the 1962 India-China war. The incomparable Madan Mohan added to the pathos of the lyrics by composing its music such that no lines repeated ever in it, except the last line ‘yehan tak ki us-se juda ho gaya main’. The rendition of the song is loaded with emotions by Rafi, like only he could. It is filmed on actor Sudhir playing a soldier, recalling his last meeting with his beloved, before he left home for the Indo-Chinese frontline. The song, tugging at heartstrings, makes the senior actor Sanjay come out of his trench to watch Sudhir singing it.
The second Rafi hit is the title song from the film Mere Mehboob (1963). While composing its music, Naushad kept just two instruments — tabla and Santoor. Lyrics by Shakeel, and the voice of Rafi, did the rest. The melody, based on Raag Jhinjhoti, is a seven minutes presentation with no break.
The only time any male singer ever overtook Rafi was Kishore Kumar in the song, ‘Tum bin jaoon kahan…’ for the 1969 film Pyar ka Mausam, which had music scored by R.D. Burman. Written by Majrooh, this song is sung both by Rafi as well as by Kishore Kumar, but separately. The Rafi song is picturized on Shashi Kapoor, first the happy version when he is cooing to his leading lady, Asha Parekh. Later, Rafi sings it for Shashi playing the piano in a sad mood. Kishore sings it for Bharat Bhushan, shown playing a guitar and singing for his son, with Nirupa Roy watching. Kishore could make his rendition emotion-filled and racy, by using yodeling, for which he had a unique talent, to score over Rafi, the legend.
The last and fourth song in our list is ‘Main Pyar ka Rahi hoon, teri zulf ke saaye mein’ from 1962 film ‘Ek Musafir Ek Hasina’. An S. Mukherjee production, directed by Raj Khosla, the film was a hit, as was this song. With lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, set to music by the inimitable O.P. Nayyar, this duet is sung by Rafi and Asha, and was picturized on the lead-pair, Joy Mukherjee and Sadhana. It’s unique because, this is the only Hindi film song ever recorded without the use of any percussion instruments, means no tabla, no dholak and no drums. It starts with guitar, shifts to flute and saxophone in between stanzas, with a set of violins playing. Why no percussion used? The percussionists were late and could not reach the recording studio in time. Being a stickler for discipline, O.P. Nayyar didn’t wait beyond the scheduled time, and ordered the doors shut when it was time for recording. The song was recorded using the available musicians.
