ONE of the three top male playback singers of Bollywood, Mohammad Rafi, left for his eternal abode on July 31, 1980. The other two, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh, were Rafi’s contemporaries, and are no longer in this world. The urge to sing in films brought Rafi from Lahore to Bombay in 1942 and soon his popularity achieved a level which he himself would not have visualised.

Rafi had a wide singing range, which he fully exploited. When he was at ease singing at higher pitch, he was equally comfortable at lower notes having a strong base. Hundreds of Rafi’s songs proved to be hits and would be remembered forever. However, his hit film duets sung with Lata Mangeshkar are highest compared with any other playback singer.

Some of these are: Teri duniya se door (film Zabak), Jo wadah kya woh (Taj Mahal), Sau saal pehle (Jab pyar kissi se hota hae); Do sitaron ka zameen par hai milan (Kohinoor), Tere husn ki kya tareef karoon (Leader); Woh jab yaad aaye (Parasmani); Tujhe jiwan ki door se (Asli Naqli); Mil mil ke gaen ge jo do dil yahan (Dulari) and Tasweer teri dil mein (Maya).

Once I heard Salim Raza, Pakistan’s famous playback singer praising the Rafi-Asha duet ‘Abhi na jao chhor kar’ from the film ‘Hum Dono’. He said the song opened up gradually reaching the full bloom like a flower, to the utter delight of listeners. Rafi’s contribution to film singing is insurmountable, and his memory will be remembered by thousands of his fans all over the world for many years to come.

Parvez Rahim

Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2017