Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

Mohammed Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan.

As shankar jaikishan had given tunes to all the leading singers of bollywood films, including Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore, Talat, Hemant Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, etc., shankar jaikishan’s special relationship with Rafi went unnoticed. Rafi was a sensation in the history of playback singing and SJ acknowledged his talent over the years.


Rafi’s westernised andaz was used by shankar jaikishan in the songs “raat ke humsafar” picturised on Shammi Kapoor, in An Evening in Paris, “aja je a zara aa”, picturised on Joy Mukherjee, in Love In Tokyo, “O Priya”, picturised on Rajender Kumar in Jhuk Gaya Asman, “ai chand zara chup jaa” picturised on Shammi Kapoor in Laat Sahab, to name a few. shankar jaikishan had given landmark ghazals to Rafi, including ‘chaalke teri ankho se sharab aur ziada,” picturised on Rajender Kumar in Aarzoo, “unke khayal aye to ake chale gaye” picturised on Raj Kumar in Lal Pathhar, “o mere shahe-khuba” picturised on Joy Mukherjee in Love In Tokyo, “rukh se zara naqab” picturised on Jeetender in Mere Huzur.

shankar jaikishan had provided tragic tunes which were made immortal by sweet performance of Rafi including “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, picturised on Shammi Kapoor, in Junglee, “teri zulfo ki” picturised on Dev Anand, in Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, “yaad na jaye” picturised on Rajender Kumar in Dil Ek Mandir, etc.


shankar jaikishan had composed classical songs for Rafi including “kaise samjhaun bari na samajh ho” in Suraj, “radhe ke tune bansuri churayi” in Betibete, “awaaz deke hume tum bulayo” in Professor, etc. As shankar jaikishan dominated bollywood films from the 40s to the 70s, the viewers had lost count about the different category of songs given to Rafi by shankar jaikishan. The songs having the flavour of folk music also became famous like “ramaiya vasta maiya” in Shree 420, which was also sung by Mukesh and Lata along with Rafi.


shankar jaikishan’s excellent orchestration is evident in Rafi’s songs “aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche”, “jaan pehchaan ho”, “akele akele kahan ja rahe ho”, “le gayi dil”, “meherbaa likhoon”, to name a few. Had Jaikishan survived for a longer time, the combination could have given everlasting tunes for more number of years. All the classic creations should be restored for future generations who can cherish the rich compositions.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

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