Mohammed Rafi 100th birth anniversary: A song for every mood

Back in the early 1970s during the black n white Doordarshan era one often saw actor Bharat Bhushan in the song lsquoMan Tadapatrsquo from the 1952 film lsquoBaiju Bawrarsquo Over time the other details became familiarmdashit was sung by Mohammed Rafi to the tune composed in raag Malkauns by Naushad for words written by Shakeel BadayuniThose days another song was popular on the radio lsquoO Haseena Zulfonwalirsquo also sung by Rafi but this time for an R D Burman creation written by Majrooh Sultanpuri in the 1966 film lsquoTeesri Manzilrsquo was a complete contrast with its sheer energy depicted by Shammi Kapoor Though it was the period Rajesh Khanna was ruling the screen with most of his hits sung by Kishore Kumar there were many Rafi songs that ruled the airwavesThose melodies are popular even today as we celebrate the legendary singers birth centenary Some 60 or 70 years after they were recorded the tunes are still part of talent hunt contests prominent on streaming platform playlists and sung at tribute shows by singers a couple of generations younger Rafi lives on and will continue to do soThe two songs mentioned above are evidence enough to prove the maestros versatility Of course that was one of his main qualities From a humourlaced song like lsquoSar Jo Tera Chakrayersquo from lsquoPyaasarsquo 1957 and the drunken slur of lsquoChalka Yeh Jaamrsquo from lsquoMere Humdum Mere Dostrsquo 1968 to the filmi Qawwali lsquoParda Hai Pardarsquo Amar Akbar Anthony 1977 and the sheer poetry of Mirza Ghalibs nonfilm ghazal lsquoYeh Na Thi Hamari Qismatrsquo his palette was filled with a variety of colours And there were those numerous duets with Lata Mangeshkar Asha Bhosle Geeta Dutt and Suman Kalyanpur which still fill the ears and hearts of fans with romantic youthreminiscing nostalgiaThere were other features that made Rafi unique Starting from the very basics there was the very texture of his voice Divine A singers timbre is like his or her autograph and Rafi had a distinct one What was equally significant was the way he used that voice to express emotion Listeners would feel the words get gooseflesh from the nuances sing along Just check four of his songs closely and that connection is obviousmdashlsquoInsaaf Ka Mandir Hai Yehrsquo Amar 1954 lsquoChaudhvin Ka Chand Horsquo Chaudhvin Ka Chand 1960 lsquoYaad Na Jaayersquo Dil Ek Mandir 1963 and lsquoDin Dhal Jaayersquo Guide 1965If one takes only these four songs one notices two other things besides the voice texture and expression They have been composed by four different music directorsmdashNaushad Ravi ShankarJaikishen and S D Burmanmdashand filmed on four different actorsmdashDilip Kumar Guru Dutt Rajendra Kumar and Dev Anand And these were Rafis other hallmarks He sang for a variety of music directors and his voice suited many actors from Dev Anand Bharat Bhushan and Shammi Kapoor to Guru Dutt Joy Mukherjee and Rishi KapoorEven for these actors he would sing in contrasting styles depending on the moods they portrayed in the film Take the 1961 movie lsquoJungleersquo for instance where he sang for Shammi Kapoor under ShankarJaikishens baton On the one hand there were the exuberant lsquoChaahe Mujhe Koi Junglee Kahersquo and lsquoKaroon Main Kya Suku Sukursquo which had listeners screaming lsquoYahoorsquo and lsquoAi Yai Yarsquo the latter was inspired by a song by Bolivian singer Tarateno Rojas In a totally opposite style he sang lsquoEhsaan Tera Hoga MujhparrsquoLikewise there was lsquoPyaasarsquo composed by S D Burman Both lsquoYeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaayersquo and the Geeta Dutt duet lsquoHum Aapki Aankhon Meinrsquo were picturised on Guru Dutt But see the difference in styles The first relied on the brilliance of Sahir Ludhianvis poetry and the other was a melodious romantic tune In the 1956 film lsquoCIDrsquo composed by O P Nayyar he had one tone for Dev Anand in lsquoAankhon Hi Aankhon Meinrsquo and another for Johnny Walker in lsquoAe Dil Hai Mushkilrsquo And there were those actors who were identified largely by Rafi songsmdashVijay Arora for lsquoChura Liyarsquo in lsquoYaadon Ki Baraatrsquo 1973 and Tariq for lsquoKya Hua Tera Vaadarsquo in lsquoHum Kisise Kum Naheenrsquo 1977Rafis other trademark was his use of classical raags In lsquoBaiju Bawrarsquo besides Malkauns in lsquoMan Tadapatrsquo he rendered a brilliant Darbari in lsquoO Duniya Ke Rakhwalersquo His rendition of raag Hameer in lsquoMadhuban Mein Radhikarsquo Kohinoor 1960 and Shivranjini in lsquoBaharon Phool Barsaorsquo Suraj 1966 are exemplary Music directors of the 1950s and 1960s had a soft corner for Pahadi and Rafi delivered many hits in this raagmdashlsquoJo Vaada Kiya Whorsquo with Lata in Taj Mahal 1963 lsquoChahoonga Main Tujhe Saanjh Saverersquo Dosti 1964 lsquoAaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salaami Lelorsquo Ram Aur Shyam 1967 lsquoChalo Dildar Chalorsquo with Lata in Pakeezah 1972A combination of these factors makes Rafis songs memorable to this day Though each fan would have a different set of favourites time hasnt diluted the impact of these charming melodies On his birth centenary it would be appropriate to spend the day in the company of his magical voice There can be lsquoSavere Wali Gaadirsquo Laat Saheb 1967 in the morning lsquoDin Dhal Jaayersquo in the afternoon lsquoHui Shaam Unka Khayal Aayarsquo Mere Humdum Mere Dost in the evening and lsquoAaj Ki Raat Mere Dil Ki Salaami Le Lelorsquo at night with lsquoChahoonga Main Tujhe Saanjh Saverersquo at any time Theres a Rafi song for every time of the day every mood everyoccasion