Mohammed Rafi was an Indian playback singer and is considered one of India’s greatest singers. He has recorded more than 7400 songs in different languages, of which about 4,516 are Hindi songs and the rest are in Assamese, Konkani, Bhojpuri, English, Persian, Dutch, Spanish, Telugu, Maithili, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali . etc.
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Wiki/Biography
Mohammed Rafi 24 December 1924 (age 55 years at the time of death) in Kotla Sultan Singh village (near Amritsar), Punjab. Their zodiac sign is Capricorn.
Childhood picture of Mohammed Rafi with his father
He did his schooling from a local school in his village. Due to his interest in singing, he did not study much. He received classical training in music from Ustad Barkat Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan. He also took training from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. He used to work in his relative’s barber shop where he used to sing while working. The customer and his brother noticed his talent. After this his brother sent him for training to Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan.
Family, Caste and Wife
Mohammed Rafi was born to Haji Ali Mohammed and Allah Rakhi.
Mohammad Rafi with his father and children
He had five brothers named Mohammad Safi, Mohammad Din, Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Ibrahim and Mohammad Siddiqui. He was the second eldest among all his brothers.
Mohammad Rafi with his brothers
He had two sisters named Chirag Bibi and Reshma Bibi. He first married Bashira Bibi. Rafi has a son named Saeed from his first wife. He remarried to Bilkis Bano in 1943. He had three sons named Khalid, Hamid and Sahid and three daughters named Parveen, Yashmeen and Nasreen from his second wife.
Mohammad Rafi with his sons
Mohammed Rafi’s family
Mohammed Rafi’s family tree
livelihood
He made his debut as a playback singer with the song “Soniye Ni, Heeriye Ni” from the Punjabi film “Gul Baloch (1944)”, in which he sang with Zeenat Begum. He made his Bollywood debut as a playback singer in the song ‘Aji Dil Ho Kaaboo Mein’ from the film “Gaon Ki Gori (1945)”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWfQ89GtGKg
He had worked with composers like Naushad, SD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Ravi, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and many others.
famous song
- I have fallen in love with you
- This face is as bright as the moon
controversies
- There was a falling out between Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi in the early 1960s. Lata demanded royalties for the songs sung by her and asked Rafi to support her opinion. Instead of supporting him, Rafi went on another path. Rafi said that when producers pay fees, a singer demands a song, the singer will not get a share in the royalties. The result was that after this Lata and Rafi did not sing together for about 2-3 years. Veteran music director Jaikishan eventually helped them reconcile.
Mohammed Rafi with Lata Mangeshkar and Jaikishan
- In 2012, Lata Mangeshkar had said in an interview that she had decided to sing with Rafi only after he wrote an apology. After this incident, Rafi’s son Shahid described his action as insulting to his father. She further said that if this is true then she should bring that letter in front of everyone and if she fails to do so then Shahid will file a case against her.
- Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi were in dispute regarding Lata’s entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. In a letter dated 11 June 1977, he challenged that the number of songs recorded by him was more than Lata’s songs. After Rafi’s death, Guinness clarified this fact and nominated him for ‘Most Recorded Songs’ in 1991, later the Guinness Book entries of both Lata and Rafi were removed.
award
- Awarded Silver Medal by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (first Prime Minister of independent India) on the first anniversary of India’s Independence Day in 1948.
- In 1977, he received the National Award for the song “Kya Hua Tera Vaada” from the film “Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin”.
filmfare awards
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho” from the film “Chaudhvin Ka Chand” in 1960
Mohammed Rafi receiving Filmfare
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Teri Pyaari-Pyaari Surat Ko” from the film “Sasural” in 1961
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Chahunga Main Tujhe” from the film “Dosti” in 1964
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Bahaaro Phool Barsao” from the film “Sooraj” in 1966
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Dil Ke Jharoke Mein” from the film “Brahmachari” in 1968
- Best Playback Singer for the song “Kya Hua Tera Vaada” from the film “Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin” in 1977
Favourite Things
- Movies: Mughal-e-Azam, Aradhana, Guide, An Evening in Paris
- Color: Brown, Red, White
collection of cars
He owned a Fiat Padmini and Impala.
Mohammed Rafi with his car
net worth
His estimated net worth was $20–30 million (Rs 139–208 crore).
Death
Mohammed Rafi died of a heart attack on 31 July 1980 in Mumbai. He was buried in the Juhu Muslim cemetery and about 10,000 people attended his funeral. The Government of India declared two days of public mourning in his honour. In 2010, his tomb was demolished to make room for a new burial. His fans have marked a coconut tree nearest to his grave to pay homage to the great man and visit him twice a year on his birth and death anniversaries.
Mohammed Rafi’s burial
fact
- He learned classical music from Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jeevan Lal Mattu and Firoz Nizami.
- In 1941, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Station to sing.
- Apart from singing in Indian languages, he also sang in foreign languages like English, Persian, Arabic, Sinhalese, Creole and Dutch.
- He came to Mumbai in 1944 and started living with Hameed Saheb in a ten by ten feet rented room in Bhindi Bazaar area.
- Rafi appeared on screen for the song “Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha” from the film “Laila Majnu (1976)” and the song “Woh Apni Yaad Dilane Ko” from the film “Jugnu (1973)”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG4hu2EqD7k
- Rafi considered KL Sehgal as his idol and was influenced by GM Durrani. He even followed her singing style in the early days of his career.
- After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishnan and Rafi created a song overnight, titled, “Suno Suno Ae Duniyawalon, Bapuji Ki Amar Kahani”. After this Rafi was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to sing at his house.
- His song “Tu Kahin Aas Paas Hai Dost” for composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal was recorded a few hours before his death.
- In 2010, Rafi was voted the most popular playback singer along with Lata Mangeshkar in a poll conducted by Outlook magazine. “Man Re Tu Kahe Na (Chitralekha (1964))” was voted the number one song and “Tere Mere Sapne Ab” was voted the number one song in the same survey. One is Rang Hai (Guide (1965)), and the other as “Din Dhal Jaye Hi”.
- ‘Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk’ in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai is named after him.
Padmashree Mohammad Rafi Chowk
- The official biography was, ‘Mohammad Rafi: Golden Voice of the Silver Screen’ written by Shahid Rafi and Sujatha Dev and launched on his 91st birth anniversary.
- Mohammad Rafi’s nickname is Feeko.
- At the age of 13, Rafi made his first public appearance in Lahore, where he sang a song by KL Sehgal.
- When he was 10 years old, there lived a fakir (a Muslim (or, roughly, a Hindu) religious ascetic who lived entirely on alms) who wandered around his village and sang. Fascinated by the fakir’s singing, Mohammad used to follow the fakir and listen to his songs. Fakir had a lot of influence on his singing.
- Rafi’s father was against his singing and would often beat him when Rafi talked about becoming a singer.
- According to Naushad, Rafi had come to him with a letter of recommendation from his father. Rafi first worked for Naushad in the film “Pehle Aap (1944)” in “Hindustan Ke Hum Hain”.
- Naushad was Rafi’s mentor and helped Rafi establish himself as one of the leading singers of the Indian film industry.
Mohammed Rafi with Naushad
- According to Rafi, one of his favorite songs is “Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki”, which he sang.
- According to a survey conducted by BBC Asia Network, ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ was chosen as the most popular Hindi song.
- In an interview given to BBC, Rafi admitted that he cried during the recording of the song ‘Babul Ki Duain Leti Jaa’.
- On 31 July 2010, his son Shahid Rafi launched the Mohammed Rafi Academy on the occasion of his father’s 30th death anniversary. It provides training to individuals in Indian classical and contemporary music.
- On his 93rd birthday, Google featured a commemorative doodle on its homepage.
Mohammed Rafi’s Google Doodle
- He liked playing badminton and carrom.
Mohammad Rafi playing badminton
See more: Anjali Tendulkar Wiki
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Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn