Dev Anand and Rafi.

Dev Anand and Rafi.

Whenever Rafi’s name is used in relation to bollywood films, mainly he is associated with either Dilip Kumar or Guru Dutt, or Shammi Kapoor, who were generally associated with classical composers like Naushad or westernised composers like Shankar Jaikishan.

The combination of Rafi with Dev Anand is overlooked as Dev Anand also gave lips in songs sung by Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar.


The immortal songs of Rafi that were picturised on Dev Anand include “abhi na jao chor kar”, “kabhi khud pe kabhi halat pe rona aya’, “mai zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya”, composed by Jaidev in the film Hum Dono. Shankar Jaikishan gave all the songs of Asli Nakli, picturised on Dev Anand to Rafi including “ tujhe jeevan ki dor me”, “ek but banaunga”, etc. It was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and music played an important role in the success of the film.


The other successful songs of Rafi picturised on Dev Anand include “jiya ho jiya ho hiya kuch bol do”, “yeh anakhe”, “teri zulfo ki”, “sau saal pehle hume tumse pyar tha” from the film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, composed by Shankar Jaikishan. All the songs were superhits, just like any other composition of Shankar Jaikishan. Even SJ’s composition for Dev Anand and Rafi in the film Pyar Muhabbat, with songs like “pyar muhabbat”, “sun sun sun re balam”, etc., were evergreen and successful.


OP Nayyar always admired Rafi and in CID, the song picturised on Dev Anand titled “ankho hi ankho me ishara ho gaya” became everlasting hit. Lastly SD Burman also known for his folk tunes, had provided immortal tunes to Rafi in Dev Anand’s films. The notable songs include “tere mere sapne”, “din dhal jaye”, “kya se kya ho gaya” from the film Guide; “dekho rutha na karo”, “dil ka bhanwar kare pukar”, “tere ghar ke saamne”, from the film Tere Ghar Ke Saamne; “hum bekhudhi me tumko pukare” from Kala Pani; “khoya khoya chaand” from Kala Bazar.

Although Dev Anand did give lips in less number of songs sung by Rafi in comparison to Rajender Kumar or Joy Mukherjee, but nearly all the songs sung by Rafi for Dev Anand had entertained the audience and became immortal over the years. The songs should be restored for the new generation.

By: Rumi Chatterji.

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