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Nostalgia - A rare interview of Mohammad Rafi

Nostalgia - A rare interview of Mohammad Rafi

by Jyothi Venkatesh December 25 2017, 5:18 pm Estimated Reading Time: 5 mins, 0 secs

The legendary singer Mohammad Rafi's 93rd birth anniversary was held on December 24, 2017. To mark his birth anniversary, in his memory, we carry this interview which was his last interview by Jyothi Venkatesh.

“Money isn’t the only criterion for me to accept a film”, Mohammad Rafi tells Jyothi Venkatesh.

Little did I realize that this meeting would be Rafi’s last ever interview to the press. One of the few filmland celebrities belonging to the old school of discipline, Rafi was waiting for me at the dot of the appointed time, after doing his riyaz in the morning.

Rafi has always felt that though singing is a God-given gift, “to maintain your voice is tough. From 1942, I have had my ups and downs. Riyaz is a must if you want to preserve the quality of your voice. I do not smoke or touch liquor. I am pained to see some singers who after giving one hit song, start acting big only to fall down with a thud soon after.”

 A humble and publicity shy celebrity, Rafi’s formula for success is his humility. “It is a must for one to be successful in any field.” Resorting to chaste Urdu he explains. “Kisika dil humne kabhi dukhaya nahin. Jo kisika dil ko dukhata hai, woh zindagi mein kabhi tarakki nahin karega.”

Rafi was born on December 24, 1924 in Punjab’s Amritsar district. At a very young age, he showed an aptitude for music and was trained under Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan of Kirana Gharana. How he became a playback singer is described by him as follows.

Ab aapko main kya kya bataoon? I am a native of Lahore. I belong to a very orthodox and conservative Muslim family. I used to sing at friend’s places when I was only 15. During one such occasion, top actor-producer of that time Naser Khan spotted me, offered to take me to Bombay and groom me as a singer in films. Khansaab had asked my father for permission which was refused point blank because he frowned upon the very idea of my taking up singing in films as my career. My elder brother however convinced my Abbajaan to let me go to Bombay. With great reluctance he agreed. I made my debut as a playback singer in 1942 with Laila Majnu, a Nazir-Swarnalata starrer. I sang a qawwali as part of the chorus for music director, the late Pandit Govindram. I even did a bit role in the film. Later I acted in films like Samaj Ko Badal Dalo, Jugnu, etc. In Gaon Ki Gori, I sang a duet with Noor Jehan under the baton of music director, Shyam Sunder.”

Rafi voices his disillusionment with the music directors today. He was visibly pained that music directors sign films by the dozens and hence quality of music in films has deteriorated. “Very few music directors today work with dedication on their tunes and compose memorable music like Lakshmikant-Pyarelal did in Sargam. Most of the others are there in this field only to make a fast buck by copying foreign tunes and plagiarizing other composers’ tunes.”

“Film making wasn’t merely a business proposition during those days when institutions reigned supreme and free lancing had not become popular. Believe it or not, I used to be paid a meagre amount of Rs 75 in those days for one song. When I entered there were popular singers like Saigal Saab, G.M. Durrani and Khan Mastan. Unki khoobi yeh tha janaab ki instead of considering me as yet another competitor, they encouraged me to give my best. I remember the first time I met Saigalsaab when I was just 15 at Lahore where he had come to give a concert on the stage. The mike failed at the last minute and while it was being set right, I was asked to keep the audience engaged by singing a couple of songs. He blessed me and predicted that a day would come when I’d be a sought-after singer.

“Melody and classical training were primary when I set my foot in the field. Today however music has degenerated into just shor. In those days we singers used to help the interlude music, whereas today it’s the other way round. A situation has come today when the interludes help the playback singer.”

Rafi, unlike Kishore Kumar who wouldn’t sing until his remuneration is paid in full before the recording has even sung for a token amount of just one rupee. “Though I insist on being paid my price by commercial film makers who can afford it, I sing for small budget films including regional films for a much lower price. Money isn’t the only criterion for me to accept a film. Out of my earnings, I keep aside a sizeable amount for charitable purposes but I prefer not to tom-tom because I do not want to seek publicity for these acts”.

In spite of several years of experience in the field, Rafi has never composed music for any film. “S Mukherjee had asked me to compose music for one of his films but I refused because it’s my firm belief that one should be perfect in only one field, look at Talat Mehmood. He took up acting and after that he could click neither as an actor nor as a singer. Late Mukeshbhai took up production and lost heavily when the films he made flopped. If I were to compose music today, the other music directors would start feeling that I may steal their tunes for my own songs and stop assigning me the job of singing for them”.

(This interview appeared 37 years ago by the writer)

 




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