Roshan's everlasting bond with Mohammad Rafi

Roshan's everlasting bond with Mohammad Rafi

Roshan galvanised the Indian horizon of film music with his excellent experiments on melody. He had created mujras, qawallis, ghazals, classical compositions which match the exact requirement of the theme of the films wherever he had worked.

The earlier films like Bawre Nain was created at a time when recording was not modernised to that extent. Even then his songs in the 50s like "bade armano se rakha hai balam" were hits. In the 60s Roshan utilized the Golden voice of Indian cinema, Mohammad Rafi in the most melodious manner that was possible. In the film Barsaat ki Raat,1960, the song "zindagi bhar nahin bhulenge woh barsaat ki raat" mesmerised the music lovers with the melody of the sarengi that was used so well. Rafi's voice floated like cirus clouds in the air and Bharatbhusan's performance in the film was well acclaimed by the Indian audience.The same film had a qawalli "yeh isq isq hai, isq isq" which was staretd by Manna Dey and completed by Rafi. The grammer of Qawalli was fully existant in the song.

Besides Roshan created songs with a very serene dimension in the film Aarti, 1963, picturised on pradeepkumar.Most of the songs were on Raag Pahari. Rafi created an intoxicating appeal with the songs "Ab kya misal doon mai tumhare shabab ki" and "aapne yaad dilaya tha to mujhe yaad aya". Meenakumari's performace was matched with the background score in the song "baharon ki manzil rahi."

In the film Tajmahal,1963, the andaz of Pradeepkumar almost replicated the style of living of emperor Shahjahan that existed during the mughal period.The songs of Rafi namely "Jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega" and "payon chulene do phulon ko inayat hogi" had matched the badshahi andaz of the historical period.The lyrics were written by shari Ludhiyanvi.Besides other everlasting creations of Roshan include "laga chunri me daag chupayun kase" sung by Manna Dey in the film "Dil hi to hai" picturised on Raj Kapoor, and "Kya baat hai tujhme teri tasver me nahin" sung by Mohammad Rafi.

In the film Chitralekha,1965, picturised on Pradeep Kumar, Roshan motivated Rafi to sing a legendary bhajan titled "man re to kahena dhir dhare, woh nir mohi moh na jane jinka moh kare". It was a blank verse with very little musical instruments being used. Rafi's performance was amazing. In the film Bheegi Raat, 1965, Rafi made people spell bound with the songs "jane woh kaun hai kya naam hai in ankhoka," and "dil jo na keh saka, wohi raze dil".Pradeep kumar's scrreen presence was outstanding as Roshan's orchestration and the sensational performance of Rafi.

Noted poet and music director Salil Chowdhury in his interview with Asha bhosle had said he admired Roshan the most because of his use of melody through the instruments used in the songs including sarengi, tabla, sexaphone, guitar and noted instruments. Asha Bhosle said that Rafi, Lata and others have worshipped Roshan like sage. The song in the film Bahubegum, titled "niklethe kahan jane ke liye pahunchethe kahan maloom nahi", almost told the story of Meenakumari who left home for not marrying pradeep kumar and ended up in a kotha.It was a mujra and the orchestration was outstanding by every means. The same film had one of the most immortal performance of Lata titled"Duniya kare sawal to hum kya jawab de." Rafi was outstanding with his final performance "hum intezer karenge tera qawamat tak, khuda karen ki qawamat ho aur tu aye." Viewers became speechless in the cinemahall with this song.

Besides Roshan's performance in the Film Mamta, 1967 is worth mentioning. Mamta was the hindi version of the Bengali film "Uttar Phalguni", which depicted the story of a tawaif who was victim of circumstances and shed blood to make her daughter a Barrister who ultimately pleads in the High Court of Calcutta in an alleged murder case of her mother.The performance of Suchitra Sen, the most versatile Actress of Bengali Cinema cannot be described in words.But the big challenge was matching the quality music composed by Robin chatterji in bengali film where the majority of the songs were sung by classical singer Sandhya Mukherjee.Roshan created the asme class of music in the film.the popular songs included "Rahe na rahen hum" sung by Lata and "in baharon me akela na phiro, rah me kaighata rok nale" sung by Rafi. But the type of Hindustani classical songs that used to be sung in the Class of singers called baijees in the late 18th century was displayed by Roshan.Roshan died in 1969 with his last film "anokhi raat." It is big loss for the Film industry because if aany composer had utilized the Royal style of Rafi's singing it was Roshan himself. Rafi's archive should contain the works of Roshan so that future generations can learn the grammer of Hindustani classical used under different moods.


Article By Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, Coventry, UK.
Master of Law from Case Western Reserve Univerwsity, Cleveland, Ohio,USA.

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Mohammed Rafi Songs

Immortal Ghazals sung by Mohammad Rafi

Mohammed Rafi

Mohammad Rafi is a name which has galvanised the Indian firmament during golden age of Indian film music. As his dimension was as wide as the horizon of creative arts, various categories of his songs has been remembered by generations for the last 50 years, including ghazals, Hindustani classical songs, bhajans, folk songs, songs on the freedom movement of India, qawallis, najrul geeti and many more types of geet. Among them ghazal is one category where Rafi’s sweet voice has brought life into the sensational lyrics and outstanding music compositions of the Golden era.

The ghazal is a common song form in India and Pakistan today. There are different definitions of it, but simply it is a musical form, but having a poetic recitation. Today, however, it is commonly conceived of as an Urdu song, with prime importance given to the lyrics.In some modernized ghazals the poet's name is hidden somewhere in the last verse, usually between the front and end of a word.

In the 1950s and 60s, the song picturised on the different films were based on different moods of the characters depicted in the stories. As the lyrics of the ghazals were quite rich, having immense literary and poetic value they generally captured the pensive moods of the major characters of the stories.Most of the films had ghazal in one form or the other composed by the musical giants of the golden age.

Madanmohan used to be considered as the king of ghazals. His most outstanding creations were composed for Mohammad Rafi , including “Tumhari Zulfke sayeme sham karlunga, safar is umraka palme tamam karlunga” from the film Naunihal, 1967, “ Baad muddat ke yeh ghari aayi, aap aye to zindagi ayee”, from the film Zahanara, 1964, “kisiki yaad mai apna ko hai bhulaye hue”, from the film Zahanara, 1964, “ Rang aur noor ki barat tujhe pesh karu, in muradonki hassen raat tujhe pesh karoon,” from the film Ghazal, 1965, “Barbad muhobaat ka dua saath liye ja” from the film Laila Majnu, 1977, picturised on Rishi Kapoor (1).

There were very dignified ghazals composed by Roshan during that era. Some of them include “ jane who kaun hai kya naam hai in aankhoka” from the film Bheegi Raat, 1965, picturised on Pradeep kumar, “ Hum intezar karenge, tera kayamat tak, khuda kareki kayamat ho, aur tu aye,” from the film Bahu Begum, 1967, “ Aab kya misal doon mai tumhare shabab ki,” and “aapne yaad dilaya tha to mujhe yaad aya” from the film Aarti, 1963, picturised on Pradeep Kumar.Roshan composed one of the most evergreen hit titled “ Zindagi bhar nahin bhulenge woh barsaat ki raat,” from the film Barsaat ki raat, 1960, picturised on Bharat Bhushan.The legendary lyrics were written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi (2).

S. N. Tripathi composed few immortal ghazals based on the life of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. The songs included “ Na kisisi ki aankh ka noor hoon” and “lagta nahin yeh dil mera” from the film Lal Quila. Jaidev composed one of his master pieces, “ kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aya, baat nikli to har ek baat pe rona aya” from the film Humdono, 1961.

Shankar Jaikishan is known to create songs of diverse range of subjects.Even amongst his stylish western compositions the best ghazals were composed for Mohammad Rafi. Some of them include “unke khayal aaye to ate chale gaye” from the film Lal patthar,1971, picturised on Raajkumar, “ Chalke teri aankhose sharab aur ziaada” from the film Aarzoo,1965, picturised on Rajenderkumar, “O Mere Shahe Khuba, o meri Jan- e- jajana” from the film Love In Tokyo, 1965, written by Hasrat Jaipuri and picturised on Joy Mukherjee.

Ravi has composed few unforgettable tunes like “chaudavi ka chand ho yah aaftab ho, jobhi ho tum khuda ki kasam, lajawab ho” from the film Chaudavi ka chand, 1960, picturised on Gurudutt, also “Chulene do nazuk hoton ko, kuch aur nahin hai jaam hai yeh” and “yeh zulf agar khulke bikhar jaye to accha ho” from the film Kaajal, 1965, picturised on Raaj Kumar.

Naushad had done proper justice to each and every raaga he has used to compose his songs. His notable ghazals include “ Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam” and “ tumse ishar – e –haal kar baithe” from the film Mere Meheboob, 1963 picturised on Jubileekumar Rajender Kumar” written by Shakeel Badayani, “ koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin” from the film Dil Diya Dard liya,1966, and “aajki shaam mere dilki salaami lele, dilki salaami lele, kal tere bazm se diwana chala jayega, shamma rah jayegi, parwana chala jayega”, from the film Ram Aur Shyam,

1967, picturised on Tragedy king Dilip Kumar (3).

OP Nayyar had made a very unique use of the santoor with the sarangi, and he too while making his western blend thought about ghazals for Rafi. His best creations include “ aapke hasin rukh pe aaj naya nur hai, mera dil machal gaya to mera kya kusur hai” from the film Baharen phir bhi ayegi , 1966,picturised on Dharmender, and “Aachal se sajane lena dilko” and “Zulf ke chayon me chehere ka ujaala lekar”from the film Phir Wohi dil Laya Hoon, 1963, written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and picturised on Joy Mukherjee.

There were ghazalas from other Classical composers also like “Kahin bekhayal hoker yuhin chuliya unhiko,” and “ Aise to na dekho, ki humko nasha ho jaye” by SD Burman in the film Teen deviya, 1965, “Theheriye hosh me aaloon to chalejayiega” by Khayyam.As these songs are soft in nature, they create an everlasting impact on the souls of numerous music lovers of the country who find themselves associated with Rafi. It is very difficult to mention the notable ghazals sung by the maestro who has around 26000 songs in a span of 35 years.An archive should be created where Rafi’s creations are restored, categorised and preserved for future generations to know the noble hertitage of ghazals India had during the golden age.

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(1) Noted and renouned Ghazal Singer, Ghulam Ali had said that Rafi’s songs had reflected the truth that the man possessed and the sweetness of the songs depict his generousness and kindness of heart.

(2) My father Ex Chief Public Prosecutor of Bankshall court, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court interviewed Monobendra Mukherjee, the Bengali Classical Singer composing Music for Bengali films Mayamrigo 1960, Joyjayanti,1970, Badhu,1962, and singing more than 1000 nazrul geeti, who said that he used to do the riyaaz everyday for several hours to do justice to his thumris, tappas and he is amazed about only one singer in India, Mohammad Rafi, whose voice floats like a river and the harkats in the songs are so accurate and effortlessly sung like the way clouds flow in the sky.

(3) Jagjit Singh, one of the most legendary ghazal singers of the present century, said some of the very melodious Ghazals were sung by Rafi during the Golden age, listeners heard them and appreciated them even sometimes not knowing that they are categorized as ghazals. Jagjit Singh composed music for noted film Saath Saath and TV serial Mirza Ghalib starring Nasir uddin Shah and directed by Gulzar.

Article By: Souvik Chatterji

Master of Law from Warwick University, UK and
Master of Law from Case Western Reserve University,USA.
Assistant Director, CUTS International
Centre for Competition, Investment & Economic Regulation
D-217, Bhaskar Marg,Bani Park, Jaipur 302 016, India
Ph: 91.141.2282821 (Board)
http://www.cuts-ccier.org

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