Today Mohammed Rafi the singer is remembered for his outstanding singing. Not only Hindi he has sung Telugu songs also. Rafi voiced songs for all the top stars of the day. Rafis greatest gift was his ability to match his voice to the persona of the character played by the actor like the Telugu singer SP Balasubramaniam.
Thus, he sounded the part for the romantic Dilip Kumar when he sang “Tere husn ki kya taarif karun” in Leader (1964), the soul of Guru Dutt in such songs as “Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai” in Pyaasa (1957), the irrepressible Shammi Kapoor singing “Yahoo” in Junglee (1961), and even the mischievous Johny Walker offering a “Tel malish” in Pyaasa. His duets with other leading playback singers of Hindi cinema were equally memorable and popular.
The composer Naushad recognized the budding singer’s potential and gave Rafi his first solo song assignment, “Tera khilona toota balak” in Anmol Ghadi (1946), and later the song “Is duniya mein ae dilwalo” in Dillagi (1949), which proved to be a milestone in his singing career.
legendary playback singer who recorded more than 25,000 songs in a career spanning almost 40 years.
Rafi studied music with eminent Hindustani singer Chhote Gulam Ali Khan. He eventually came under the tutelage of composer and musical director Feroz Nizami.
A public performance that Rafi gave in Lahore when he was about 15 proved to be a turning point in his life. In the audience was Shyam Sunder, an acclaimed composer who was impressed with Rafi’s talent and invited him to Bombay to sing in films. Rafi recorded his first song in Lahore for the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (1944).
