This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (November 2011)

Hind (Arabic language:هند) also spelled Hend, is a female singer from Bahrain. Her work includes popular Arabic music as well as traditional Khaliji music. She was discovered by the musician Anwar Abdullah, and gave her the nickname "Hind", but her real name is Suhair. Hind's debut album Rabeie El Galb was released in 2000, off the album she became well recognized in Bahrain and the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. It was only after she signed her latest album Al Ghroob with Rotana, that's when she became recognized and famous around the Persian Gulf region.

Biography[link]

Hind was born in the Kingdom of Bahrain (5/5/1979) she grew up with her parents and five siblings (three sisters, and two brothers). Her father worked in the ministry of Social Security, and her mother was a full devoted housewife. She graduated from high school in 1997 (the same year she joined in creating as a co-finder of the Bahraini Traditional music group). She enrolled into Bahrain University majoring in Business Management. In the year of 1999, Hind left the university to pursue a music career after she was recognized by the well known musician Anwar Abdullah. She was signed to the company "Fanoon El Emarat" which produced her first album Rabeie El Galb also known as Hind 2000.

In 2002, she got married. Ten months later on, she gave birth to her first child "Abdullah". In 2003, she released her second album Hind 2003 also known as Sodfa, which did not leave a big remark in the music business as the first one did. Also in the same year, her fan website was launched and she was given the nickname "Farashat Al-Khalij (the gulfs butterfly)". Sadly, her marriage did not last long where it ended in 2004.

2005 was the turn point in Hind's life, where she signed with the well known music company Rotana her third album titled Hind 2005 also known as Al Ghroob. Off that album Hind have made a tremendous entry in the music industry where that was her key to success throughout 2005 to 2007.

Hind released her latest album in 2008. The album included twelve songs which were sung in different dialects such as Khaleeji, Lebanese and finally Egyptian.

Her official site is www.hindworld.com

Discography[link]

• Rabeie El Galb (2000)
• "Hind 2003" (2003)
• Al Ghroob (2005)
• Hind 2008 (2008)

Rabeie El Galb[link]

1. Rabeie El Galb
2. Mani Ala Keefak
3. Bil Tahdeed
4. Melh El Haya
5. Ela Ana
6. Eshaq We Hib
7. Itha El Gheera

Hind 2003[link]

1. Sodfa (Lyrics: Abdullah Al-Hashmi, Music: Khalid Nasser)
2. Minak Aza'al (Lyrics Ahmed Al-Sharqawi:, Music: Bader Khalifa)
3. Gassi (Lyrics Mohammed Al-Marzoqi:, Music: Tariq Al-Muqbil)
4. Abashrik (Lyrics: Saad Al-Khuraji, Music: Anwar Abdullah)
5. Meta Ya Galbi (Lyrics: Sami Al-Jama'an, Music: Ahmed Al-Harami)
6. Hala Bi Noor El Fajir (Lyrics: Al-Shaikh Zaid, Music: Khalid Nasser)
7. Ma Abi Akthar (Lyrics: Farouq Abdullah, Music: Ahmed Al-Harami)
8. Khayabt Thani (Lyrics: Younes Abdullah, Music: Mohammed Al-Araifi)

Al Ghroob[link]

1. Ana We Inta We AlShooq (Lyrics: Al-Thari, Music: Abdullah Al-Jasim)
2. Khalas (Lyrics: Ahmed Al-Sanie, Music: Faisal Al-Rashid)
3. Ya Hasafa (Lyrics: Seba, Music: Ahmed Al-Harmi)
4. Tajrubah Murra (Lyrics: Ibrahim Bin Swad, Music: Ahmed Al-Harmi)
5. Jarooh Dafeena (Lyrics: Hattan, Music: Khalid Shaikh)
6. Sahi Wala Hee (Lyrics: Araf Al-Hashil, Music: Serouz)
7. Majnoon (Lyrics: Loaye Al-Bigali, Music: Bader Al-Thwai)
8. Tejahalni (Lyrics: Faisal Al-Yami, Music: Jasim Abdullah)
9. Taal (Lyrics: Naifa Al-Bahrainia, Music: Ahmed Al-Harmi )
10. Magedart Asber (Lyrics: Sager Al-Khaibi, Music: Tariq Al-Muqbil)
11. Al Ghroob (Lyrics: Geyouth, Music: Suliaman Al-Mulla)

Hind 2008[link]

1. Marid Al Mahaba
2. Yiji Minak
3. Zabahani Al Chawk
4. Bikol Basata
5. Abeh Yshouf
6. Afa Farah
7. Hamati
8. Touk Ala Bali
9. Jitak
10. Tashtaki
11. Man Ant
12. Mawed Omr

Hind 2012[link]

External links[link]

• Listen to Hind's Music
• Hind World (The Official Fan Web Page)
• Hind at Rotana

Guru Dutt
Born	Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone 9 July 1925 Mangalore, British India
Died	October 10, 1964(1964-10-10) (aged 39) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actor, Producer, Director, Choreographer
Years active	1944–1964
Spouse	Geeta Dutt (1953–1964) (His Death)

Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), popularly known as Guru Dutt (Konkani:गुरु दत्त), was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is often credited with ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema.^{[citation needed]} He made quintessential 1950s and 1960s classics such as Pyaasa (Thirsty), Kaagaz Ke Phool (Paper Flowers), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (The King, the Queen and the Jack) and Chaudhvin Ka Chand (The Fourteenth Day Moon in Muslim calender but actually means full moon, a metaphor for beauty). In particular, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool are now included among the greatest films of all time, both by Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 best movies ^[1] and by the Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll,^[2] where Dutt himself is included among the greatest film directors of all time.^[3] He is sometimes referred to as "India's Orson Welles".^[4] In 2010, he was included among CNN's "top 25 Asian actors of all time".^[5][6]

He is most famous for making lyrical and artistic films within the context of popular Hindi cinema of the 1950s, and expanding its commercial conventions, starting with his 1957 film, Pyaasa. Several of his later works have a cult following. His movies go full house when re-released; especially in Germany, France and Japan.^[7] The latest book on him is Ten Years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's Journey by Sathya Saran based on the recollections of his chief scriptwriter and friend.^[8]

Early life and background[link]

Guru Dutt was born on 9th July 1925, at Bangalore to Shivashanker Rao Padukone and Vasanthi Padukone in a Konkani Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin family.^[9] His father was initially a headmaster, and then a bank employee. His mother Vasanthi, while initially a housewife, later taught in a school, gave private tuition and also wrote short stories and translated Bengali novels into Kannada. Vasanthi was only 16 when Guru Dutt was born.

Guru Dutt had a tough childhood with financial difficulties, and a strained relationship between his parents. As a child he had some bad experiences; the hostility from his maternal uncle's family, a frightening encounter with his insane maternal adopted uncle, and the death of his seven-month old brother (Shashidhar).^{[citation needed]}

Guru Dutt was initially named Vasanth Kumar at birth at the suggestion of his mother's elder brother, but after a childhood accident, he was renamed Guru Dutt, which was felt to be a more auspicious name. He was joined by three younger brothers, Atmaram, Devidas and Vijay and a younger sister, Lalitha. The Indian film director, Kalpana Lajmi, is his sister's daughter.

He spent a great deal of time with his mother's cousin, Balakrishna B. Benegal (known to the family as Bakutmama) who was a painter of cinema posters. The Indian film director, Shyam Benegal, is the son of Sridhar B. Benegal, Balakrishna's younger brother.

Early Inspirations[link]

His sister recalls that at age 14 Guru Dutt would use his fingers to shape images on a wall lit up by the flickering light of their grandmother’s diya (candle) as she performed the evening arathi (prayer). Though untrained, he could produce inspired movements as he did when he persuaded his uncle, Benegal, to photograph him performing a snake dance, based on a painting by the latter. The snake dance was later performed at a gathering of Saraswat Brahmins at Calcutta for which Guru Dutt was even given a cash prize of 5 Rupees.

He was a good student, but never went to college, partly because of financial troubles at home. Instead, he joined the performing arts troupe of Uday Shankar, the older brother of the better-known Ravi Shankar.

The Uday Shankar India Culture Center at Almora taught dance, drama, and music. It aimed at combining the best of the Gurukula system with a modern Arts University, and tried to turn out well-rounded students, at home in many disciplines. A young Guru Dutt joined the center at age 16 in 1941 on a five-year scholarship of Rs. 75 annually (a lot of money then), and studied at Almora until 1944, when the advancing World War II forced the closing of the center.

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Guru Dutt wired home to say he had got the job of a telephone operator at a Lever Brothers factory in Kolkata. But soon he disengaged himself from the job, and joined his parents in Mumbai in 1944.

However, his uncle found him a job under a three-year contract with the Prabhat Film Company in Pune (then called Poona) in 1944. This once premier film producing centre had already seen the departure of its best talent, V. Shantaram, who had by then launched his own Kala Mandir. It is here that Guru Dutt met two people who would remain his good friends - actors Rehman and Dev Anand.

Guru Dutt acted in a small role as Sri Krishna in Chand in 1944. In 1945, he acted as well as assisted director Vishram Bedekar in Lakhrani, and in 1946 he worked as an assistant director and choreographed dances for P. L. Santoshi’s film, Hum Ek Hain.

This contract ended in 1947, but his mother got him a job as a freelance assistant with Baburao Pai, the CEO of the Prabhat Film Company and Studio. However, after that, for almost ten months, Guru Dutt was unemployed and stayed with his family at Matunga, Mumbai. During this time, Guru Dutt developed a flair for writing in English, and wrote short stories for The Illustrated Weekly of India, a local weekly English magazine.

It is during this time that he is supposed to have written the script for the almost autobiographical Pyaasa (Hindi: the thirsty one). Its original name was Kashmakash (Hindi: struggle), which was changed later to Pyaasa and was written at his home in Matunga.^{[citation needed]}

It is in this phase of his life that Guru Dutt was married twice! The first time he eloped with a girl called Vijaya from Pune, and later his parents had him married to his maternal niece, Suvarna, from Hyderabad.

As choreographer, actor, assistant director[link]

While Guru Dutt was hired by Prabhat Film Company as a choreographer, he was soon pressed into service as an actor, and even as an assistant director. At Prabhat, he met Dev Anand and Rehman, who both became stars. These early friendships helped ease his way into the film world.

After Prabhat failed in 1947, Dutt moved to Mumbai, where he worked with two leading directors of the time, with Amiya Chakravarty in Girl's School, and with Gyan Mukherjee in the Bombay Talkies film Sangram. Then, Dev Anand offered him a job as a director in his new company, Navketan, after the first movie had flopped.

Thus, Guru Dutt's first film, Navketan's Baazi, was released in 1951 . It was a tribute to the Forties' Film Noir Hollywood with the morally ambiguous hero, the transgressing siren, and shadow lighting.

Dev Anand and Guru Dutt's promise[link]

There exists a very interesting anecdote behind this new job. Guru Dutt and Dev Anand used the services of the same laundry man when they were at Prabhat in Pune in 1945. One day Anand found that one of his shirts had been replaced with a different one. On arriving at work as the hero of Hum Ek Hain, he found the film's young choreographer (Guru Dutt) wearing his shirt. On being questioned, Guru Dutt admitted that it was not his shirt, but since he had no other, he was wearing the replacement. This developed into a great friendship, since they were of the same age. They promised each other that, if Guru Dutt were to turn filmmaker, he would hire Anand as his hero, and if Dev were to produce a film then he would use Guru Dutt as its director.

Dev Anand fulfilled his end of the bargain with Baazi, but regretted that his friend Guru Dutt did not. Guru Dutt indirectly did fulfill his promise. His studio, Guru Dutt Movies Pvt. Ltd., produced "C.I.D." which starred Dev, but the film was directed by Raj Khosla (an assistant director to Guru Dutt). Thus, technically, Guru Dutt never directed Dev Anand under his production company.

Guru Dutt and Dev Anand would make two super-hit films together, Baazi, and Jaal. Creative differences between Guru Dutt, and Chetan Anand (Anand's elder brother), who was also a director, made future collaborations difficult.

Remembering his old friend Guru Dutt, Anand quotes, “He was a young man he should not have made depressing pictures…”^[10]

Recently, Anand quotes, "my only true friend in the film industry. We got close to each other while working for Prabhat, one of the big banners of those days. I gave him his big break in Baazi and he cast me in some of his movies like C.I.D."^[11]

Baazi's other contributions[link]

Baazi also highlights two early key technical developments in Indian movie-making that are attributed to Guru Dutt. The use of close-up shots with a 100 mm lens - there are over 14 in the movie - which became known in Indian movie-making as the "Guru Dutt shot", and the use of songs to further the narrative in the movie. Guru Dutt also introduced Zohra Sehgal (whom he met at Almora) as the choreographer in the movie, and he also met his future wife, Geeta Dutt during the making of the movie.

As director[link]

Baazi was an immediate success. Guru Dutt followed it with Jaal and Baaz. Neither film did well at the box office, but they bring together the Guru Dutt team that performed so brilliantly in subsequent films. He discovered, and mentored, Johnny Walker (comedian), V.K. Murthy (cinematography), and Abrar Alvi (writing and directing), among others. He is also credited for introducing Waheeda Rehman to the Hindi cinema. Baaz was notable in that Guru Dutt both directed and starred, not having found a suitable actor for the principal character.

Fortune smiled on Dutt's next film, the 1954 Aar Paar. This was followed by the 1955 hit, Mr. and Mrs. 55, then C.I.D., Sailaab, and in 1957, Pyaasa - the story of a poet, rejected by an uncaring world, who achieves success only after his apparent death. Guru Dutt played the lead role in three of these five films.

His 1959 Kaagaz Ke Phool was an intense disappointment. He had invested a great deal of love, money, and energy in this film, which was a self-absorbed tale of a famous director (played by Guru Dutt) who falls in love with an actress (played by Waheeda Rehman, Dutt's real-life love interest). Kaagaz Ke Phool failed at the box office and Dutt was devastated. All subsequent films from his studio were, thereafter, officially helmed by other directors since Guru Dutt felt that his name was anathema to box office.

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, a critically and commercially successful film, was directed by his protege, writer Abrar Alvi, which won him the Filmfare Best Director's award. The film's star Waheeda Rehman denied rumors that the film was ghost-directed by Guru Dutt himself.^[12] Guru Dutt also has his influence on his last box office smash hit Chaudhvin Ka Chand.^[13]

His legacy to direction of Hindi cinema is unmistakable and accepted by many leading Hindi directors of the day, including another of his protege, Raj Khosla.

Guru Dutt's last productions[link]

In 1964 he acted in his last film Sanjh Aur Saveradirected by Hrishikesh Mukherjee opposite Meena Kumari.(Classic Legends aired on Zee Classic TV Channel on May 27 2012)

Death[link]

On 10 October 1964, Guru Dutt was found dead in his bed in his rented apartment at Pedder Road in Mumbai. He is said to have been mixing alcohol and sleeping pills. His death may have been suicide, or just an accidental overdose. It would have been his third suicide attempt [1].

Guru Dutt's son, Arun Dutt, said that he views this as an accident in an interview with India Abroad in October 2004 on the 40th anniversary of his father's death. Guru Dutt had scheduled appointments the next day with actress Mala Sinha for his movie Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, and Raj Kapoor to discuss making colour films. According to him, "my father had sleeping disorders and popped sleeping pills like any other person. That day he was drunk and had taken an overdose of pills, which culminated in his death. It was a lethal combination of excessive liquor and sleeping pills."^[14]

At the time of his death, Guru Dutt was involved in two other projects - Picnic starring actress Sadhana, and director K. Asif's epic, Love and God. Picnic remained incomplete and Love and God was released two decades later with Sanjeev Kumar replacing Dutt in the leading role.

The extra-feature on DVD of Kaagaz Ke Phool has a 3 part Channel 4 produced documentary on the life and works of Guru Dutt titled In Search of Guru Dutt.

Most people, especially Abrar Alvi, figured it was a suicide. Abrar and dutt had many-a-times discussed ways of commiting suicide and both had tried at least once but had failed. Abrar and Guru Dutt sat late that night discussing a movie, and according to Alvi, during their conversation, Guru Dutt was very morbid in his thinking and conversation.
He was, according to many, distressed by his personal situation - his wife, Geeta Dutt, had distanced herself from him. He had a sleeping disorder that made him take sleeping pills, and he had been drinking since 5:00 pm that evening.

According to Asha Bhonsle, Guru Dutt called her at midnight before his death to ask whether Geeta, his wife was with her to which she replied in negative. She was the last person who spoke with Guru Dutt.( Doordarshan Documentary on Guru Dutt aired on Oct 10 2011)

Personal life[link]

In 1953, Dutt married Geeta Dutt, a well-known playback singer. They had been engaged for three years and had to overcome a great deal of family opposition to marry. They had three children, Tarun, Arun, and Nina.

Dutt had an unhappy marital life. According to his brother Atmaram, Guru Dutt was "a strict disciplinarian as far as work was concerned, but totally undisciplined in his personal life" (Kabir, 1997, p. 124). He smoked heavily, drank heavily, and kept odd hours. Guru Dutt's relationship with actress Waheeda Rehman also worked against their marriage. At the time of his death, he had separated from Geeta and was living alone. Geeta Dutt herself died in 1972 at age 41, after excessive drinking which resulted in liver damage. According to an interview with Abrar Alvi, one of Dutt's close friends and his assistant director in films, Dutt did not "open up" to discuss his thoughts and problems, even though they were spending many hours together.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy[link]

Guru Dutt was at first mourned as a matinee idol but as the years passed, it became ever clearer that it was as a director that he would be remembered. Starting in 1973, his films were shown at film festivals throughout India and the rest of the world. Despite being a commercial director, he appealed to the same intelligentsia who made Satyajit Ray an international favorite. He also has a place in the hearts of many ordinary Indians for his song picturisations and the many vivid characters sketched in his films.

Contrary to a general belief about the viability of his film projects, Guru Dutt more or less produced commercially successful films.^[15] Over the years the commercial nature of his projects saw a trade-off with his creative aspirations. Movies like C.I.D., Baazi, Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam were rightfully the first of their kind in Hindi cinema. The only movie produced by Guru Dutt and termed a box-office disaster was Kaagaz Ke Phool, now a cult classic. He lost over 17 Lacs producing that movie, a large amount by the standards of the time, which was more than recovered by his next project, Chaudhvin Ka Chand. He never lost faith in his team or in the distributors of his films. Once a project was over, he would begin anew - with little concern about the commercial success of the previous project. He was part of an exclusive school of Indian film directors, including the likes of Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan and Bimal Roy, who were able to achieve a healthy blend of artistic and commercial success between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s.

Pyaasa was rated as one of the best 100 films of all time by Time Magazine.^[1] In the 2002 Sight & Sound critics' and directors' poll, two of his films, Pyaasa and Kaagaz Ke Phool, were among the top 160 greatest films of all time.^[2] The same 2002 Sight & Sound poll ranked Dutt at #73 in its list of all-time greatest directors, thus making him the eighth highest-ranking Asian filmmaker in the poll.^[3]

Memorable quotes[link]

• On failure of Kaagaz Ke Phool and success of Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "Life mein, yaar, kya hai? Do hi toh cheezen hai – kamyaabi aur failure. There is nothing in between."^[16] ("What is there in life, friend? There are only two things - success and failure. There is nothing in between.")
• While scouting for locations in Baroda for Chaudhvin Ka Chand : "Dekho na, mujhe director banna tha, director ban gaya; actor bana tha, actor ban gaya; picture achche banane thay, achche banay. Paisa hai, sab kuch hai, par kuch bhi nahi raha."^[17] ("See, I wanted to be a director, I became one. Wanted to be an actor, I became one. Wanted to make good pictures, I have done that too. Have money, have everything. But I have nothing left.")

Selected filmography[link]

Actor[link]

• Sanjh Aur Savera (1964)
• Suhagan (1964)
• Bahurani (1963)
• Bharosa (1963)
• Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
• Sautela Bhai (1962)
• Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)
• Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
• 12 O'Clock (1958)
• Pyaasa (1957)
• Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
• Aar Paar (1954)
• Baaz (1953)
• Hum Ek Hain (1946)
• Lakha Rani (1945)
• Chand (1944)

Director[link]

• Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
• Pyaasa (1957)
• Sailaab (1956)
• Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
• Aar Paar (1954)
• Baaz (1953)
• Jaal (1952)
• Baazi (1951)

Producer[link]

• Aar Paar (1955)
• C.I.D. (1956)
• Pyaasa (1957)
• Gauri (1957) Incomplete
• Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959)
• Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)
• Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
• Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966)

Further reading[link]

See also[link]

• Guru Dutt team
• Films directed by Guru Dutt

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Kabir, Nasreen Munni, Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema, Oxford University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-19-564274-0
• Micciollo, Henri, Guru Dutt, un grand cinéaste encore pratiquement inconnu hors de l’Inde, Films sans Frontières, 1984

External links[link]

Mohammad Rafi (December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980) is considered to be the greatest Indian male playback singer of all time.^[1] He was awarded the National Film Award, Best Singer Award, six Filmfare Awards and the Best Singer of the Millennium award. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.^[2] His singing career spanned about 35 years, and he is noted for his ability to sing songs of different moods and varieties:^[3] his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans. He is best known for romantic and duet songs, which he playback sings with the technique to mould the voice according to characters of the actor on the screen.^[4]

Rafi is primarily noted for his songs in Hindi-Urdu, over which he had a strong command. He also sang in other Indian languages including Konkani, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Maghi, Maithili and Assamese. He also recorded a few songs in foreign languages such as English, Persian, Spanish and Dutch. From available figures, Rafi sang 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980.

Early years and background[link]

Mohammed Rafi was the second youngest of six brothers. His father, Hajji Ali Mohammad and family lived in Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab (British India).^[5] Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, began singing by imitating the chants of a fakir in his village.^[5] Rafi's father moved to Lahore in the 1920s where he ran a men's salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate Lahore.^[6] His elder brother, Mohammad Deen, had a friend, Abdul Hameed, (future brother-in-law), who spotted the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul Hameed later convinced the family elders to let Rafi move to Mumbai and he accompanied him in 1944.

Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.^[7][8] His first public performance came at the age of 13, when he sang in Lahore featuring K. L. Saigal.^[7] In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam Sunder, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye Nee, Heeriye Nee" with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (the film was released in 1944).^[9] In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them.^[10] He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941 Punjabi film Gul Baloch and the earliest debut in Mumbai film was Gaon Ki Gori in 1945.^[4]

In Bombay[link]

In 1944, Rafi moved to Bombay. He and Ahmed rented a ten-by-ten-feet room in the crowded downtown Bhendi Bazar area. During this time, poet Tanvir Naqvi introduced him to film producers including Abdur Rashid Kardar, Mehboob Khan and actor-director Nazeer.^[6] Shyam Sunder was in Mumbai and provided the opportunity to Rafi to sing a duet with GM Durrani, ‘Aji dil ho qaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi…’, for Gaon Ki Gori, which became Rafi’s first recorded song in a Hindi film. Other songs followed.^[11] Rafi also had brief roles in movies like Laila-Majnu (1945) and Jugnu. In Laila-Majnu, he sang Tera Jalwa as a part of the chorus.^[12]

In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishan-Rafi had overnight created the song "Suno Suno Ae Duniyawalon, Bapuji Ki Amar Kahani".^[11] He was invited by the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to sing at the latter's house. In 1948, Rafi received a silver medal from Nehru on the Indian Independence Day. In 1949, Rafi was given solo songs by music directors such as Naushad, (Chandni Raat, Dillagi and Dulari) Shyam Sunder (Bazaar) and Husnalal Bhagatram (Meena Bazaar).

Rafi's first song with Naushad was "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain" with Shyam Kumar, Alauddin and others, from A. R. Kardar's Pehle Aap (1944). Around the same time, Rafi recorded another song for the 1945 film Gaon Ki Gori, "Aji Dil Ho Kaaboo Mein". He considered this song his first Hindi language song.^[10]

Rafi also appeared in two movies. In 1945, Rafi appeared on the screen for the song "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in the film Laila Majnu.^[10] He sang a number of songs for Naushad as part of the chorus, including "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Roohi Roohi" with K. L. Saigal from the film Shahjahan (1946). Rafi sang "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" from Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946) and a duet with Noor Jehan in the 1947 film Jugnu, "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka". Following the Partition of India, Rafi decided to stay in India and had his family flown to Mumbai. Whereas Noor Jahan migrated to Pakistan and made a pair with playback singer Ahmed Rushdi.

Rafi was influenced by the singers of that time like K. L Saigal and, most notably, by G. M. Durrani - on whose style he based his singing. He sung with his idol in some of the songs such as "Humko Hanste Dekh Zamana Jalta Hai" (Hum Sab Chor Hain, 1956)^[13] and "Khabar Kisi Ko Nahiin, Woh Kidhar Dekhte" (Beqasoor, 1950),^[14] etc.

Recording career in the 1950s and 1960s[link]

In his early career, Rafi associated with many contemporary music directors, most notably Naushad. In the late 1950s and 1960s, he worked with other composers of the era such as O. P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, S.D. Burman and Roshan.

Association with Naushad

As per Naushad, Rafi came to him with a letter of recommendation from Naushad's father.^[15] Rafi’s first song for Naushad was "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain" ("We belong to Hindustan") for the film Pehle Aap in 1944. The first song for the duo was the soundtrack of the movie Anmol Ghadi (1946). Before Rafi, Naushad’s favorite singer was Talat Mahmood. Once Naushad found Talat smoking during a recording. He was annoyed and hired Rafi to sing all the songs of the movie Baiju Bawra.^[12]

Rafi's association with Naushad helped the former establish himself as one of the most prominent playback singers in Hindi Cinema.^[10] Songs from Baiju Bawra (1952) like "O duniya ke rakhwale" and "Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj" furthered Rafi's credentials.^[9] Rafi ended up singing a total of 149 songs (81 of them solo) for Naushad.^[16]

In the 1960 film Mughal-E-Azam, Mohammed Rafi sang the song "Ae Mohabbat Zindabad", composed by Naushad, with a chorus of 100 singers.^[17]

Association with S D Burman

S. D. Burman patronized Rafi as the singing voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt.^[18] Rafi worked with Burman in movies like Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), Guide (1965), Aradhana (1969), and Abhimaan (1973). S. D. Burman was also another music director besides Naushad who used Rafi prolifically to sing for most of his songs.

Association with Shankar-Jaikishan

Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was a partnership in the Hindi film industry. Under Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi produced some of his songs for actors like Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Out of six Filmfare awards, Rafi won three for S-J songs, viz., "Teri Pyari Pyari Soorat Ko", "Baharon Phool Barsao", and "Dil Ke Jharokhe Mein". The song "Yahoo! Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe" was sung by Rafi, only to be matched a fast-paced orchestra and a composition by Shankar Jaikishan. S-J made Rafi give playback for Kishore Kumar in the film Shararat ("Ajab hai daastan teri yeh zindagi"). Rafi sang a total of 341 numbers (216 solo) for Shankar-Jaikishan.^[16] Among the films of this combination, are Basant Bahar, Professor, Junglee, Suraj, Brahmachari, An Evening in Paris, Dil Tera Deewana, Yakeen, Prince, Love in Tokyo, Beti Bete, Dil Ek Mandir, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Gaban and Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai.

Association with Ravi

Rafi got his first Filmfare Award for the title song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), composed by Ravi. He got National Award for the song "Babul Ki Duaen Leti Ja" from the film Neel Kamal (1968), also composed by Ravi. Rafi actually wept during the recording of this song. He, himself, admitted this in his interview to BBC in 1977.^[19]

Ravi and Rafi produced several other songs, in the films China Town (1962), Kaajal (1965), and Do Badan (1966).

Association with Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan was another composer whose favorite singer was Rafi. Rafi's first solo with Madan Mohan in Ankhen (1950), "Hum Ishq Mein Barbad Hain Barbad Rahenge".^[10] They teamed up to produce many songs including "Teri Aankhon Ke Siva", "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" and "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho".

Association with O. P. Nayyar

Rafi and O. P. Nayyar created music in the 1950s and 1960s. O. P. Nayyar was once quoted as saying "If there had been no Mohd. Rafi, there would have been no O. P. Nayyar".^[20] He and Rafi created many songs together including "Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan". He got Rafi to sing for singer-actor Kishore Kumar – "Man Mora Baawara" for the movie Raagini. Later, Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in movies such as Baaghi, Shehzaada and Shararat. O. P. Nayyar used Rafi and Asha Bhosle for most of his songs. The team created many songs in early 1950s and 1960s for movies such as Naya Daur (1957), Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957), and Kashmir Ki Kali (1964). Rafi sang a total of 197 numbers (56 solo) for Nayyar.^[21] The song "Jawaaniyan yeh mast mast" and the title song "Yun to humne lakh hansee dekhe hain, tumsa nahin dekha" of the film Tumsa Nahin Dekha. They were followed by songs like "Taareef karoon kya uski jisne tumhe banaya" from Kashmir ki Kali.^[22]

Rafi and OP had a fallout during the recording for movie "Sawan ki Ghata", as disclosed by OP during one of his interviews.^[23]

Association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal

The composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal (L-P) also patronized Rafi as one of their singers, right from their very first film, Parasmani (1963). Both Rafi and L-P won the Filmfare Awards for the song "Chahoonga Main Tujhe Saanjh Savere" from Dosti (1964). Rafi rendered the maximum number of songs for the music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal: a total of 369 numbers (186 solo) for L-P.^[16]

Once, when composer Nisar Bazmi (who had migrated to Pakistan) didn’t have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him. He also helped producers financially. As Laxmikant (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo) once observed – “He always gave without thinking of the returns”.^[24]

Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought after singer in Bollywood.^[25] He sang for many male stars in Hindi films.^[26] In 1965, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Sri award. Rafi recorded two Hindi songs in English on 7" release in 1968. He also sang a song in Creole while on his visit to Mauritius in the late 1960s.^[7] Rafi recorded two English albums as well. One of them is Pop Hits.

Association with his Contemporary Singers

Rafi associated with several of his contemporaries, singing duets with them and sometimes for them (as in case of Kishore Kumar who was also an actor). Rafi sang the maximum number of duets with Asha Bhonsle (female), Manna Dey (male) and Lata Mangeshkar (female).^[18] For the song “Man mora bawra” in the film Ragini, Kishore Kumar requested Rafi to sing this song for him because this song was a semi classical and Kishore Kumar said that "Rafi Sahab can sing this song better than me". Rafi sang the song.^[27][28] The song "Ajab Hay Dastan Teri Aey Zindagi" was first given to Kishore Kumar to sing and he sung the first half ofantara but in the second half, he faced some trouble and after many retakes, he was unable to give the effect that Shankar Jaikishan wanted, and finally the song was given to Rafi to sing.^[28] In the song "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar Kya Karein" (Amar, Akbar, Anthony), Mohd Rafi sang with Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh - all in one song. This was probably the only time that all of them rendered their voices for one song.^[29]

Singing career in other languages

Rafi sang several hit songs in Chris Perry's Konkani album Golden Hits with Lorna Cordeiro.^[30]

Royalty issue[link]

In 1962-1963, the popular female playback singer Lata Mangeshkar raised the issue of playback singers' share in the royalties. Recognizing Rafi's position as the leading male playback singer, she wanted him to back her in demanding a half-share from the 5 percent song royalty that the film's producer conceded to select composers. Lata's contention was that, there was no way producers and music directors could deny this singing duo, one-half share in that 5 percent song royalty to the composer. Rafi's stated that his claim on the filmmaker ended with his being paid his agreed fee for the song. After that, if the film proved a hit, the filmmaker was welcome to keep the Gramco (HMV) royalty he earned from it. If the film did not prove to be a hit, argued Rafi, that he had already been paid the same fees for his song; so later the situation is resolved. Lata viewed his stand as a stumbling block on the royalty issue and this subsequently led to differences between the two. During the recording of "Tasveer Teri Dil Mein" (Maya, 1961), Lata argued with Rafi over a certain passage of the song. Rafi felt belittled, as music director Salil Chowdhury sided with Lata. The situation worsened when Lata Mangeshkar declared that she would no longer sing with Rafi. Rafi stated that he was only so keen to sing with Lata as she was with him.^[27][28] Later, at the insistence of S. D. Burman, the two decided to reconcile and sing duets.

Early 1970s[link]

In early 1970s, Rafi recorded fewer songs At the same period Kishore Kumar's popularity increased due to the songs he sang for the film Aradhana.^[27][31] The music for Aradhana was composed by S. D. Burman, and he had used Rafi as the male playback voice for the first two recorded duets, "Baaghon Mein Bahaar Hai" and "Gunguna Rahen Hain Bhanwre".^[18] After these two recordings, S. D. Burman fell ill and his son and assistant, R. D. Burman, took over the recordings. R. D. Burman got Kishore Kumar to sing the solos "Roop Tera Mastana" and "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani".

During 1971-1973, Rafi's musical output decreased; however, he did sing several songs.^[32] Some of Rafi's songs of the early 1970s were with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, R. D. Burman and S. D. Burman. These include "Tum mujhe Yun Bhula na Paoge" (a signature song of Rafi in 1971) from Pagla Kahin Ka, "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" from Heer Ranjha (1970), "Jhilmil Sitaron ka" from Jeevan Mrityu (a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, 1970), "Gulabi Aankhen" from The Train (1970), "Yeh Jo Chilman Hain" and "Itna to Yaad Hain Mujhe" from Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971), "Mera mann tera pyasa" Gambler, "Chalo Dildar Chalo" from 1972 released Pakeezah, "Chura Liya Hain Tumne" from Yaadon Ki Baarat (a duet with Asha Bhosle, 1973), "Na tu Zameen Ke liye" from 1973 released Dilip Kumar movie Dastan, "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho" from Hanste Zakhm (1973), "teri bindiya re", from Abhimaan (1973) and "Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai" from Loafer (1973).

Later years[link]

Rafi made a comeback as a leading singer in 1974. In 1974, he won the Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teree Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad" (Hawas, 1974) composed by Usha Khanna.^[16]

In 1977, he won both Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song "Kya Hua Tera Wada" from the movie Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, composed by R. D. Burman.^[18] Rafi sang for Rishi Kapoor in films like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Sargam (1979) and Karz (1980). The qawwali "Pardah Hai Pardah" from Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) was a superhit. Rafi's notable renderings in the late 1970s and early 1980s include Bairaag (1976), Laila Majnu (1976), Apnapan (1978), Suhaag (1979), Qurbani, Dostana (1980), The Burning Train (1980), Naseeb (1981), Abdullah (1980), Shaan (1980), Asha (1980), Aap To Aise Na The (1980), Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1982).

In December 1979, Rafi recorded six songs for the Hindi remake of Dilip Sen's Bengali superhit Sorry Madam; unfortunately the film was never completed due to a personal tragedy in Dilip Sen's life. These songs, written by Kafeel Aazar and composed by Chitragupta, were released digitally in December 2009 by the label Silk Road under the title "The Last Songs". The physical album was released only in India by Universal.

Guiness World Records controversy[link]

During his last years, Rafi was involved in a controversy over Lata Mangeshkar's introduction in to the Guinness Book of World Records. In a letter dated June 11, 1977 to the Guinness Book of World Records, Rafi had challenged the claim that Lata Mangeshkar has recorded the maximum number of songs ("not less than 25,000" according to Guinness). After receiving a reply from Guinness, in a letter dated November 20, 1979, he wrote: "I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment vis-a-vis Ms Mangeshkar's reported world record has gone unheeded.".^[29] In an interview to BBC recorded in November 1977, Rafi claimed to have sung 25,000 to 26,000 songs till then.^[20]

After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of Word Records gave Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings" but also stated: "Mohammad Rafi (d 1 August 1980) [sic] claimed to have recorded 28,000 songs in 11 Indian languages between 1944 and April 1980."^[33] According to the available figures, Rafi has sung 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980.^[33] The Guinness Book entries for both Rafi and Lata were later removed in 1991.

Death[link]

On Thursday, 31 July 1980, Rafi died at 10:50 p.m., following a heart attack.^[34] His last song was "Shaam phir kyun udaas hai dost" (Aas Paas), which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelal few hours before his death.^[29][35]

Rafi was buried at the Juhu Muslim cemetery.^[36] It was one of the biggest funeral processions Mumbai had ever witnessed, with over 10,000 people attending.^[37]

In 2010, his tomb was demolished to make space for new burials. Fans of Mohammed Rafi who arrive twice a year at his tomb, on 24 December and 31 July, to mark his birth and death anniversary, use the coconut tree nearest to his grave as a marker.^[38]

Trivia[link]

• Rafi's song from the film Gumnaam (1965), "Jaan Pehechan Ho", was used on the soundtrack of Ghost World (2001). The film opens with the lead character dancing around in her bedroom to a video of Gumnaam.^[39]

• His "Aaj Mausam Bada Beiman Hai" is featured in the 2001 film Monsoon Wedding.^[40] His song "Mera Man Tera Pyasa" (Gambler, 1970) has been used as one of the soundtracks in the Jim Carrey-Kate Winslet starrer Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). This song is played in the background in Kate Winslet's character's home while the lead pair are having a drink - at approx 00.11.14 runtime.^[41]

• Several of Rafi's unreleased songs will be used for an upcoming film titled Sorry Madam.^[42]

• A documentary about Rafi’s life is under production by The Films Division of India.^[43]

• In the summer of 2008, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra released a double CD entitled Rafi Resurrected comprising 16 songs by Rafi. Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam provided the vocals for this project and toured with the CBSO in July 2008 at venues including the English National Opera in London, Manchester's Apollo Theatre and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.^[44]

• The Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai and Pune (extending MG Road) is named after Rafi.^[45]

• In June 2010, Rafi was voted the most popular playback singer in the OUTLOOK Music Poll, conducted by Outlook Magazine, along with Lata Mangeshkar.^[46] The same Poll voted "Man re, tu kahe na Dheer Dhare" (Chitralekha, 1964), sung by Rafi as the #1 song.^[47] Three songs were tied for the #2 place of which two were sung by Rafi. The songs were "Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hain" (Guide, 1965) and "Din Dhal Jaye, hai raat na jaye" (Guide, 1965). This poll was published in Outlook Magazine. The jury included people in the Indian music industry; Abhijeet, Adesh Srivastava, Alisha Chinai, Anu Malik, Ehsaan, Gulzar, Hariharan, Himesh Reshammiya, Jatin, Javed Akhtar, Kailash Kher, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Khayyam, Kumar Sanu, Lalit, Loy, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, Prasoon Joshi, Rajesh Roshan, Sadhna Sargam, Sameer, Sandesh Shandilya, Shaan, Shankar, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam and Talat Aziz.^[48]

• In an article in Times of India, Rafi is described as "a versatile singer, who could render classical, rock and roll, indeed any kind of song with ease, he was Hindi film's, favourite male voice through the 1950s and 1960s". Music director Rajesh Roshan, who composed some of the songs with Rafi, remembers him as "a warm-hearted simple person with no ego".^[49]

• There have been appeals ^[50] to the Government of India to honour the singer, posthumously, with Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award)^[11]

• Classical and playback singer Manna Dey, who was also a contemporary of Rafi said, "Rafi and I could sing everything, and he was such a gentleman. He was a better singer than me, and I will say this - that no one came even close to him! He deserved everything he got! We had a great understanding and it was never about one-upmanship".^[51][52]

• Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor said, "I am incomplete without Mohammad Rafi. I used to often go for the recoding of my song, which was sung by Mohammad Rafi, only because I used to like telling him how I would perform on this song on screen so that he can sing it that way. Even he liked my involvement".^[53]

• On 22 September 2007, a shrine to Rafi designed by artist Tasawar Bashir was unveiled on Fazeley Street, Birmingham, UK. Bashir is hoping that Rafi will attain sainthood as a result.^[54][55]

• Singers like Shabbir Kumar, Mohammed Aziz, and more recently, Sonu Nigam, made their names by adopting Rafi's style, and perhaps owe their entire careers to Rafi.^[56]

• After his death, seven Hindi movies were dedicated to Mohd Rafi; Allah Rakha, Mard, Coolie, Desh-Premee, Naseeb, Aas-Paas and Heeralal-Pannalal.^{[citation needed]}

• Over 9000 musical tributes were organized in July 2011 commemorating the 31st anniversary of the singer's death.^[57]

• Rafi is one of the recording artists mentioned in the 1997 song Brimful of Asha by Cornershop.

List of Songs[link]

Personal life[link]

Rafi married twice; his first marriage was to the cousin of his second wife, and took place in his ancestral village. The marriage ended when his in laws and wife migrated to Lahore, Pakistan after partition. Rafi and Abdul Hameed married each one of two sisters in Mumbai in the late 1940s. Rafi had one son from his first marriage and three sons and three daughters from his second marriage with Bilquis in Mumbai. He was very much a family man, following a recording-room, to home, to recording-room itenerary. He never attended film parties, did not smoke or drink, was religious, and was considered a humble man.^[58] He used to perform his riyaz (musical practice) regularly. His only indulgences were playing carom, badminton, and flying kites.^[11]

Awards[link]

Honorary

• 1948 - Rafi received a silver medal from the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on the first anniversary of the Indian Independence Day.^[10]
• 1967 - Honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
• 1974 - Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teree Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad" (Hawas, 1974).
• 2001 - Rafi was honored with the "Best Singer of the Millennium" by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine^[59]. Rafi won with 70% of the votes.^{[citation needed]}

National Film Awards^[60]

Filmfare Awards^[61]

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

Sur Sringar Award

References[link]