#GoldenFrames: Mohammed Rafi, the legendary Bollywood singer with a honey-laced voice

Mohammed Rafi lent his voice to a range of actors, music directors and genres. He was nominated twenty-one times and received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award. The singer was also honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India in 1967. Rafi could effortlessly emote happiness, pain, sorrows, excitement and love through his voice. He is an icon in Indian film music.

The seventh of eight children, Mohammed Rafi, was born on December 24, 1924, to parents Haji Mohammed Ali and Allahrakhi in a small village called Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab, India. The singer grew up in an orthodox household where music and singing were frowned upon. However, it didn't stop Rafi to take an interest in singing, and he would often imitate the chants of a local fakir roaming on the streets of Rafi's hometown, Lahore. His talent was first recognised on a grander scale in 1937, at the age of thirteen, where he unexpectedly performed at the Pan-India Exhibition due to a power failure. Here, he was heard by renowned singer K.L. Segal, who predicted that Rafi would become a big singer one day.

A seventeen-year-old Rafi completed recording his first playback duet with Zeenat Begum for the Punjabi movie 'Gul Baloch' (1944) in Lahore on February 8, 1941. Naushad allowed him to sing in the chorus for the movie 'Phele Aap' (1944). Rafi sang the duet song "Yahan badla wafaa ka bewafaai ke siva kyaa hai" for the movie 'Jugnu' (1946), which became a super hit even before the film was released.

Rafi became the voice of almost every screen hero, supporting actor, character actor in Hindi cinema between 1942 and 1980. He also worked with music directors, ranging from the legendary Shyam Sunder and Naushad to Ravindra Jain, Anu Mallik, Bappi Lahiri and Rajesh Roshan. According to the late Indian film producer Manmohan Desai—Rafi’s voice was Godlike. "Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho" from the movie 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand' (1960), "Chahunga Main Tujhe" from the movie 'Dosti' (1964), "Khilona Jaan Kar" from the movie 'Khilona' (1970), "Maine Poocha Chand Se" from the movie 'Abdullah' (1980) and "Dard-e-dil" from the movie 'Karz' (1980)—are some of Rafi's iconic collection.

(In this photo: Naushad and Mohammed Rafi)

He is an artist who sang over 7000 songs in various Indian and foreign languages. It is hard to put in words the joyful discoveries of Rafi singing in Bengali, Assamese, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu or Punjabi. His celebrated music career inspired several greats.

In 1948, India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru had honoured Rafi on Independence Day for his song on Mahatma Gandhi, "Suno suno ae duniya waalon Bapu ki amar kahani."

Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar sang some of the most popular melodies of Hindi cinema together. Due to some differences, they were briefly not singing with each other. Rafi also contested the claim of Guinness Book of World Records that Lata had recorded the highest number of songs, that is, 25,000 songs. It is believed that music director Madan Mohan reconciled their partnership.

Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi worked in the highly competitive film industry, but they had mutual respect for one another. The popular song from 'Chupke Chupke' (1975) was a testimony of their togetherness.

His singing career was not limited to the recording studio. Rafi spent much of his time touring worldwide and performing live concerts in the United States, UK, South America, Canada, Africa, West Indies, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Malaysia, Fiji Islands, New Zealand and the Netherlands. Such was the love and admiration for the legendary Rafi Saab.

Mohammed Rafi married Bilquis in Mumbai in 1944. The couple had seven children—four sons and three daughters. Rafi loved to spend quality time at home with the family. Whether it was a round of badminton, a game of carrom or flying a kite—Rafi would make time for his loved ones when not in the studio or touring. Rafi had a soft spot for homemade sponge cake. Rafi never had a formal education, so he ensured that his children went abroad for studies. He discouraged their Bollywood/singing aspirations in any form. The singer often changed bungalows which was quite an unconventional practice.