In October 2023, throughout the surge of AI developments on the web, I got here throughout a musical duo that had created a deepfake model of the tune ‘Haule Haule’ from the 2008 movie Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, initially sung by Sukhwinder Singh, with Mohammed Rafi’s voice. My first response as a fan of Rafi and of Bollywood classics was that this was an act of sacrilege. Upon additional evaluation, I understood the experiment as a music lover’s want to listen to their favorite melody in probably the most beloved and memorable voices to have existed on this planet of Hindi movie music. Rafi’s voice has at all times been the voice of the hero for us; he sang for nearly each main actor in Hindi cinema from the Fifties to the ’70s. It’s due to this fact not completely irrational that somebody would need to think about Rafi’s malleable voice because the voice of Shah Rukh Khan or different up to date favourites.
Rafi was among the many creators of the blueprints of Hindi movie music at a time when a movie’s songs shaped the spine of its success. Playback singers, the celebrities behind the scenes, instilled feelings into songs in a way that actors might simply lip-sync to them on-screen. Rafi’s songs stood out due to the versatile high quality of his voice, unparalleled dedication to his inventive pursuit, the depth of understanding of the lyrics which he possessed, clear enunciation and an intuitive data of the actor’s mannerisms. When rendered in Rafi’s vocal cords, a tune emerged as a sophisticated and perfected jewel. On twenty fourth December 2024, the one hundredth delivery anniversary of the legendary singer, celebrations which have been happening around the globe by the course of the 12 months will culminate in quite a few occasions honouring his legacy.
One voice, many actors
Hindi movie music is exclusive for its reliance on the mixed talent of the playback singer and actor to convey the fitting temper and emotion of a tune to the viewers. Rafi created the idiom of conserving the picture of the on-screen actor in thoughts whereas recording and bringing in the fitting inflections. His technique of voice modulation is usually described by his collaborators and business specialists because the ‘Midas contact’. He sang for Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Guru Dutt, Pleasure Mukherjee, amongst many others. Equally exceptional had been his songs for comedians corresponding to Mehmood and Badruddin Jamaluddin Kazi (higher recognized by his display title, Johnny Walker). Through the recording of the tune, ‘Kaun Hai Jo Sapnon Mein Aaya’ from Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Rafi started singing solely to be interrupted by director Lekh Tandon who mentioned, “This isn’t a Shammi tune, Rafi mian, the hero is Rajendra Kumar.” Rafi paused for a bit then modified the fashion utterly and sang once more, effortlessly matching the mannerisms of Kumar.
Shammi Kapoor thought-about Rafi’s voice his personal and insisted on having him sing each tune of his till Rafi’s premature loss of life in 1980. In accordance with writer Sujata Dev, Rafi sang extra songs for Kapoor—a complete of 190—than he did for another actor. The primary dancing hero of Bollywood, Kapoor was fastidious about being current at each tune recording of his movies. He would ask Rafi so as to add additional emphasis on sure phrases or have him sing some phrases in a selected manner in order that when Kapoor enacted them on display, there was a seamless fusion between his efficiency and the tune.
Through the recording of ‘Aasman Se Aaya Farishta’ from An Night in Paris, Kapoor was travelling abroad. When he realized that the tune was recorded in his absence, he was furious and lashed out at director Shakti Samanta and composers Shankar-Jaikishan. They insisted that Kapoor take heed to the observe simply as soon as. When he did, he was shocked on the intuitive method wherein Rafi had recorded the tune and requested how he did it. Rafi replied matter-of-factly, “Once I was informed that you just had been singing this tune, I knew you’ll swing one arm right here and the opposite arm there. And at ‘Jaaneman’, you’ll most likely swing your legs too. So, I sang it that manner.”
An exuberant performer in entrance of the mic, Rafi was a easy man off it. Writer Rauf Ahmed writes in his guide, Shammi Kapoor: The Sport Changer, “The flamboyance that Mohammed Rafi acquired whereas singing for Shammi Kapoor belied the pious, conservative man that he had been in his non-public life.”
Excessive on creativity
An acutely observant artiste, Rafi—a teetotaller—was particularly recognized for his repertoire of drunken songs, tracks that concerned singing for characters of their various inebriated states. For instance, the tune, ‘Jinhen Naaz Hai Hind Par’ from Pyaasa, picturised on the protagonist Vijay, performed by Guru Dutt, depicts him getting drunk out of hopelessness for the primary time in his life and within the tune, is observing the crumbling social values round him. Rafi begins the opening strains with a bit hum: ‘Yeh kooche hmm hmm hmmm… ghar dilkashi ke’, to indicate how the character is perplexed. In distinction, the tune from Chief, ‘Mujhe Duniyawalo Sharaabi Na Samjho’, picturised on Dilip Kumar, is sung for a extra extroverted character who’s at a celebration. To carry out the mischief within the character’s voice, Rafi sings in a better register than the tune from Pyaasa. He renders a few of the phrases in a slurred cluster whereas including emphasis on the ‘L’ sound to indicate a drunk one that gained’t cease speaking.
In an analogous comparative evaluation, the tune ‘Nain Lad Jai Hain’ from Gunga Jumna and ‘Jaan Pehechan Ho’ from Gumnaam are each high-spirited celebratory songs, one folks and the opposite rock ’n’ roll. Rafi has sung the previous by including extra emphasis on the ‘Ha’ and ‘Ra’ syllables, typifying the dialect from Uttar Pradesh wherein the tune is written. For ‘Jaan Pehechan Ho’, he sings with a slight twang to swimsuit the membership performer’s persona and all of the syllabic emphases stay on the identical aircraft, matching the town dialect.
In Rafi’s singing may be discovered one thing additional that lends a timeless high quality to the tune. Through the Fifties and ’60s, regarded the golden period of Bollywood music by many, his songs had been typically extra well-liked than the movie itself. Whether or not it was a bhajan, ghazal, classical piece, dance quantity or romantic tune, Rafi’s vocals can be so immersed within the music, it appeared as if that individual style was his speciality. In Dev’s guide, Mohammed Rafi: Golden Voice of the Silver Display, eminent classical vocalist, the late Jasraj mentioned, “The fundamental trait that distinguishes a playback singer from a classical vocalist will not be the vary or means as a singer however the voice high quality and its modulation. The final word energy of Rafi Sahab was the amalgamation of each these qualities that helped him reign supreme within the discipline of playback singing.”
A composer’s delight
Rafi labored with a spread of composers and simply as he did with actors, he might mould his singing to every of their markedly totally different composing kinds. Of all of the music administrators, his musical affiliation with Naushad was maybe the strongest. Naushad, a perfectionist, was typically stumped by Rafi’s dedication of which he received the primary glimpse throughout the recording of ‘Hindustan Ke Hum Hain’ for Pehle Aap. The tune required the singers to tramp up and down the studio to create the impact of marching troopers. Solely after ending the recording did Naushad discover that Rafi’s toes had been bleeding. His new footwear had given him blisters. When requested why he didn’t say something, he innocently responded, “Woh hum gaana jo gaa rahe the.” Rafi would typically keep again after rehearsal was over, fine-tuning the trivialities of his singing. Baiju Bawra was among the many best early collaborations between Rafi and Naushad that fuelled a lifelong partnership. After the recording of the tune, ‘O Duniya Ke Rakhwale’, Naushad returned residence mighty happy with the proficient new singer solely to search out him sitting in his verandah at six the following morning. Rafi was sad with the recording and felt that he had not finished justice to the composition and insisted on recording it once more at his personal expense. Solely upon a number of reassurances by the grasp composer did he return residence. Naushad was requested in a radio interview within the ’90s, “If you happen to had been to compose the perfect music of your life in the present day, what would you do?” The composer had replied, “Rafi and I had been one. Since he handed away, solely 50 per cent of me has remained. I’ll pray to Allah to ship Rafi for an hour, to create my finest composition.”
We proceed to rejoice Rafi’s legacy in the present day as a result of it stays unadulterated. It’s the final proof that there are not any shortcuts to greatness. That, as an artiste, when one is rewarded with overwhelming fame, it’s to be handled with gratitude and accountability. Rafi’s artistry was the results of his dedication, sweat and blood, and numerous hours spent agonising over whether or not or not a tune touched the fitting emotional chords, whether or not listeners would keep in mind the music for longer than the discharge interval of the movie. When listening to a playlist of classics of Hindi cinema, one could overlook the title of the movie, composer, actor however one can’t go incorrect with the singer when a tune bears the unmistakable stamp of Rafi. That’s the brilliance of Mohammed Rafi.
By Vidhi Salla. This piece was initially revealed by the Nationwide Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, within the December 2024 problem of ON Stage – their month-to-month arts journal.
