Sir: Mohammad Rafi was born on 24 December 1924 in the village of Kotla Sultan Singh near Amritsar. Although, he did not have any family background of singing, he was blessed with a melodious voice.
He started singing at the age of 13 by copying a fakir who used to sing in the streets. In 1944 musician Noushad gave him his big break in his movie Pehly Aap but he got recognition from the movie Anmol Ghari’s song Tera Khilona toota baalic.
Soon after this song he was the first choice of prominent musicians like Shankar J Kishan, SD Burman, OP Nayyer, Ravi, Madan Mohan, Ghulam Haider, and Khalil Chaudhry. He gave his voice to almost all major heroes of the film industry at that time, including Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Bharat Bhusan, Dev Anand, Shami Kapoor, Rajenar Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, and Shashi Kapoor. Those songs are still heard and loved by millions of people.
Bari door sy aye hyn pyar ka tuhfa laey hyn, teri galyon mayn nah rakhyn gy qoadam, Baharo phool barsao, Pardeseyon sy nah akhyan milana, Dil key jharoky mayn tujh ko bitha kr, and Yeh dunya yeh mehfil are a few of the hundreds of super hit songs he sang, which are beloved the world over.
Mohammed Rafi was the legendary singer who sang more than 26000 songs during his professional life, spanning over almost four decades. He is considered to be the most melodious singer of his time. Shabbir Kumar, Mohammad Aziz, Sonu Nigam and many more rose to fame by singing Rafi’s song. His son Shahid Rafi said in an interview that Rafi sab was a down to earth and a humble man. He was shy, pious and always refrained from politics. He spent a spotless life with an immaculate character. He sang songs in 7 languages including English, Dutch and Spanish and in 1965 he was honoured with the Padma Shiri award. However, this melodious Nightingale was silenced by a massive heart attack on 31 July 1981. I just wanted to remind everybody of this great singer, and pay tribute to his memory.
IFTIKHAR MIRZA
Islamabad
Published in Daily Times, July 31st 2018.
Child sexual exploitation, the ugly reality no one wants to acknowledge, is deeply ingrained in…
Bad blood-related news comes from Balochistan almost every other day. And the attack on a…
Donald Trump's victory as the President of the United States has raised numerous new questions…
The International Cricket Council (ICC) finds itself entangled in an unwarranted controversy sparked by India's…
Leave a Comment