On birth anniversary looking back at the awards of Rafisahab the singer of the millenium

Rafisahab should have received filmfare awards for many other songs. By: Dr Souvik Chatterji (Associate Professor in Law and Head of Department, JIS University, Kolkata) Rafisahab is remembered all over the world on his birth anniversary on 24th December, 2024. He had remained an inspiration for numerous singers all over the world. While he received filmfare for best male playback singer 6 times, there were many more songs in which he deserved the filmfare award. Here is a list of songs where Rafisahab deserved filmfare awards. Year Song Music Director Reason 1953 “O Duniya ke rakhwale” Naushad Ali The filmfare awards started in 1953 but at that time only one singer award was given. Rafisahab deserved the award for brilliant bhajan andaz and spiritual rendition of the song in film Baiju Bawra. 1954 “nanne munne bacche tere muthi me kya hai” Shankar Jaikishan The song had great philosophy related to children. It was from film Boot Polish which reserved Indian and international awards. 1955 “o door ke musafir hum ko bhi saath le le” Naushad Ali The song had great chorus andaz and tragic andaz. Dilip Kumar’s “tragedy king” image was bolstered by the lyrics and rendition of the song in film Uran Khatola. 1956 “duniya nab bhay” Shankar Jaikishan The song had both classical andaz and devotional andaz. It was a musical film with Shankar Jaikishan portraying different ragas. Rafisahab balanced the mood of film Basant Bahar. 1957 “chal ur jaa re panchi ki ab yeh des hua begana” Chitragupt The song was philosophical in nature. It had great message for society. Rafisahab expressed the message of director in the film Bhabhi. 1958 “mai soya aankhiya meeche” OP Nayyar The song was a duet song with Asha Bhosle. But it had great romantic andaz of OP Nayyar in the film Phagun. 1960 “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi barsaat ki raat” Naushad Ali and Roshanlal Nagrath Rafisahab won the filmfare award for the song “chaudavi ka chand ho” but he deserved the award in “madhuban me radhika” for brilliant rendition of raag hamir and “zindagi bhar nahi bhulegi” for excellent ghazal andaz. 1962 “ab kya misaal doon” Roshanlal Nagrath Rafisahab should have won the award for excellent rendition of ghazal andaz and soft romantic andaz 1963 “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam” Naushad Ali Rafisahab should have won the award for the best ghazal and mushaira. Rafisahab by Naushad Ali’s tunes and Shakeel’s shayari displayed the urdu ghazal culture of Lucknow, Aligarh. 1964 “kisiki yaad me apnako hai bhalaye hue”, “man re tu kahe na dheer dhare” and “apni azaadi ko hum hargeze mita sakte nahi” Madanmohan Kohli, Roshanlal Nagrath and Naushad Ali. Rafisahab brought about the great ghazal culture of Lucknow, Aligarh and replicated the history during Mughal period. Madanmohan Kohli’s music in film Jahanaara had great ghazal andaz. “man re” is considered as one of the best bhajans Rafisahab sang in Pradip Kumar’s Chitralekha having philosophical andaz. “apni azaadi” had fantastic patriotic andaz and Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for rendering patriotic andaz in Dilip Kumar’s film Leader. 1965 “aye watan aye watan humko teri kasam” Prem Dhawan Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for outstanding patriotic in the film Shaheed based on Shahid Bhagat Singh’s life portrayed by Manoj Kumar 1966 “aaja re aa zara aa” and “aapse maine meri jaan muhobbat ki hai” Shankar Jaikishan and OP Nayyar Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for western andaz of singing in Joy Mukherjee’s Love in Tokyo in intoxicating mood and waltz andaz song in Biswajeet’s Yeh Raat Phir Na Ayegi 1967 “hum intezer karenge tera qayamat tak” Roshanlal Nagrath Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for rendition of royal style of singing during the period of Nawabs of northern India in Pradeep Kumar’s film Bahu Begum. 1968 “babul ki duwayen leti ja” Ravi Shankar Sharma Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for singing the best song based on getting daughters married. The feeling of the parents of the daughters is brought by Rafisahab in Balraj Sahani’s Neel Kamal. 1969 “teri aankhon ke siva duniya me rakkha kya hai” Madanmohan Kohli Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for rendition of excellent quality ghazal with romantic andaz in Sunil Dutt’s film Chirag. 1971 “unke khayal aye to ate chale gaye” Shankar Jaikishan Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for singing songs having mujra andaz the way it was sung in royal courts of nawabs in Raj Kumar’s film Lal Patthar. 1973 “tum jo mil gaye ho” Madanmohan Kohli Rafisahab deserved filmfare award because the orchestration was related to movement of star in car in the film and Rafisahab brought the romantic mood in rainy ambience in Navin Nischal’s Hanste Zakhm. 1976 “barbad muhabbat ki dua saath liye ja” Jaidev and Madanmohan Kohli Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for presenting style of singing in middle east based on life of Laila Majnu in Rishi Kapoor’s film Laila Majnu. 1977 “parda hai parda” and “shirdiwali saibaba” Laxmikant Pyarellal Rafisahab deserved filmfare award for presenting style of qawalli in “parda hai” and rendering brilliant spiritual song with bhajan andaz in “shirdiwali saibaba” in Rishi Kapoor’s film Amar Akbar Anthony. The lyrics of majority of these songs were written by eminent poets, shayars like Shakeel Badayani, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Rajender Krishan, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, SH Bihari and others. The standard of singing was very high. The range of Rafisahab was unlimited. So the fact that the greatest singer of the century Rafisahab receiving only 6 filmfare awards never show the great contribution for those 35 years where he sang immortal songs and gave expression to the thoughts of directors, producers, writers, poets, musicians.

In birth anniversary of Naushadsahab his landmark combination with Rafisahab is remembered

Remembering Naushad on his birth anniversary. 5th May, 2024. is the death anniversary of eminent composer Naushad Ali. The lovers of music in India remember his everlasting tunes on the death anniversary. The audience of film music in India remembered dignified composer Naushad Ali on his birth anniversary on 23rd December, 2024. He was a genius composer and shaped Indian film music with his classical gharana in the 40s from where it just grew with variety and innovation. Naushad Ali is remembered for his brilliant tunes over a period of 50 years down the memory lane. In the 40s, he composed music in many films including Anmol Ghari, but he stormed bollywood with romantic songs in Dulari, including “suhani raat dhal chuki” sung by Rafi, all the songs of Andaz, where he composed Rafi’s songs for Raj Kapoor and Mukesh’s songs for Dilip Kumar. In the 50s, Naushad’s composition in Baiju Bawra made the listeners speechless. He won filmfare award for the best composer for his brilliant classical presentation in songs like “o duniya ke rakhwale”, “man tarapata”, “tu gangi ki mauj”, etc., sung by Rafi and Lata. Rafi’s range was used to perfection and from that time the Rafi Naushad combination provided gems after gems. The different ragas and their timings were explained by Naushad in the film. Bharat Bhushan and Meena Kumari gave able lips in the songs composed by Naushad. Songs of Uran Khatula, like “wo dur ke musafir” sung by Rafi for Dilip Kumar also shook bollywood in the mid-50s. In the 60s Naushad was unstoppable. His composition in Kohinoor for Rafisahab titled “madhuban me radhika nachere” and “do sitaron ka zameen” picturised on Dilip Kumar displayed the brilliance of Hindustani ragas. Naushad’s composition in Rajender Kumar’s Mere Mehboob, Naushad displayed the ghazal culture of Lucknow and Aligarh. The songs “mere mehboob tujhe meri muhobbat ki kasam”, “ai husn zara jag”, etc. sung by Rafi and picturised on Rajender Kumar was per se excellent. Naushad composed light songs in Mughal-i-azam for Lata including “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat ke nandlal”, and again composed thumri sung by Bare Ghulam Ali Khan in the same film. Naushad also composed Bhojpuri music for Dilip Kumar in the film Ganga Jumna. The songs “nain lar jaihe” sung by Rafi was one of the examples of Naushad’s control of Bihari folk tune. Naushad was at his best in Dilip Kumar’s Leader. All the songs in the film sung by Rafi and Lata flabbergasted the listeners, including “ek shahenshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”, “teri husn ki kya tareef karun”, “mujhe duniya walon”, etc. Naushad was excellent in Dilip Kumar’s Ram Aur Shyam. All the songs sung by Rafi and Lata in the film including “aye hai baharen dekho”, “yeh raat dulhan bangayi”, “mai hoon saki”, etc. Critics consider Dil Diya Dard Liya as one of the best creations of Naushad. All the songs in the film became superhit including Rafi’s “dilruba maine tere”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”. Naushad Rafi and Dilip Kumar continued with their level of excellence in the film Aadmi, with Rafi’s songs like “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “aaj purani rahon se”, etc. Besides, Naushad composed excellent music in Rajender Kumar’s Palki, Saathi, Ganwar, etc. Rafi’s hit songs in those films included “dil-e-betaab ko seene se lagana hoga” sung with Suman Kalyanpur. Naushad faded away from film music in the 70s, causing huge loss to the film industry. The classical gharana related to thumris, kajris, ghazals, etc., faded away with Naushad. Music became popular, but lost its class. Naushad received Dadasahab Phalke for his excellent contribution to bollywood music. His songs and the films should be preserved and restored.

Happy birthday to superstar Salman Khan sahab

Happy birthday to Salman Khan. The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Salman Khan on 27th December, 2024. In 2019 his film Bharat did business of 211 crores and was a hit film. The other film Dabaang 3 crossed 100 crores and will also be a hit. In 2018 his film Race did business of 173 crores, so was above average. In 2019 Salman Khan is looking forward to film Bharat. He had been the other superstar other than Shahrukh Khan who had ruled bollywood films for the last 23 years. Although he had mixed results in respect of success of his films released in 2009 and 2008, his popularity and box-office had remained intact. In 2010, he had given the greatest hit Dabanng, which had done business of more than Rs 150 crores. From that time he had proved himself as the greatest cash generator of bollywood films. His film Ready released in summer 2011 did business worth 125 crores and his film Bodyguard had broken the record of Dabanng and did business worth 160 crores. In 2012 his film Ek Tha Tiger had been the greatest grosser with business of 200 crores. His other film Dabaang 2 had already done business of more than 158 crores. In 2013 he did not act in any film. In 2014 his film Jai Ho did medium business with 115 crores. But his other film Kick became a blockbuster with business of 235 crores. His film Bajrangi Bhaijaan in 2015 did business worth Rs 320 crores. His other film Prem Ratan Dhan Payo on the first day of release itself did business of 40 crores. He created an impression before the viewers with his romantic film Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989. After that he had acted in every type of film including comedy films, action films etc. His musical blockbusters include Khamoshi with Manisha Koirala, Andaz Apna Apna with Amir Khan, Karishma Kapoor and Ravina Tandon, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai opposite Twinkle Khanna, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega opposite Preeti Zinta, to name a few. He build a manly body from the early part of his career and from that time became the role model of many youngstars of the country. His action films included Auzaar with Shilpa Shetty, Tumko Na Bhool Payenge with Diya Mirza, Tere Naam, Karan Arjun opposite Mamta Kulkarni, to name a few. His recent action film in 2009 titled Wanted opposite Ayesha Takia did brilliant business. Although he did not shape his career as an action hero like Sunny Deol or Sanjay Dutt, his performance in action films were very impressive. He acted in landmark comedy films during his career, which included Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya opposite Katrina Kaif and Sushmita Sen, Mujhse Shaadi Karoge opposite Priyanka Chopra, Partner opposite Lara Dutta, God Tussi Great Ho opposite Priyanka Chopra, to name a few. In 2009, he acted in romantic films Mai Aur Mrs Khanna, opposite Kareena Kapoor, and also London Dreams with Ajay Devgan and Asin. Although Mai Aur Mrs. Khanna did average business, London Dreams became hit. If his films in 2008 can be analyzed it can be said that his film Heroes with Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Preeti Zinta, had done best business so far. The films God Tussi Great Ho did average business and the film Yuvvraaj could not rise up to the hype that was created by strong promotion of Subhash Ghai. Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s performance had been well appreciated by the film-lovers and the film had created aesthetic values with innovative music and good locations. In 2010 his film Veer has both romantic elements and action elements as well but the huge cost that was put up was not recovered at all. His television show Dus Ka Dum in Sony Channel got fantastic response in 2009. The leading actors of bollywood films including Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Jeetender, Tusshar Kapoor, Amir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, all appeared in that show and Salman Khan helped all of them for the promotion of their films that were released this year. In 2011 his show Big Boss got excellent viewership with Sanjay Dutt also sharing the role of anchoring. Salman Khan had been extremely popular for the viewers of TV Channels for his straight forward communications. He appeared in Saregamapa Music Competition in Zee TV with Katrina Kaif and asked Aditya Narayan, Himesh Reshammiya, Pritam, Shankar Mahadevan and others about the fate of Aneek, Raja and others who had won the competition before. He enquired whether they had got chance in bollywood films or whether they were still struggling. No other bollywood actor would have ever been concerned about the fate of upcoming talents including singers, dancers, actors, etc. In 2011 he came during Zee Saregamapa Little Champs program and encouraged child participants like Azmat Hussain, Niladri Chatterjee, Salman Ali, Nitin Kumar, and others. In 2012 and 2013 he did a great job in the TV Program Big Boss. The viewers expect him to break records after records as it is proved in the recent 3 years that he is the greatest crowdpuller in the country. Salman Khan had always been involved with controversies and his good deeds got neutralized due to the killing of deers in Jodhpur, offense relating to rash and negligent driving, etc. But those who had behaved well with Salman Khan know that he is a gem of a human being. 2010 had been a year with mixed fortunes for Salman Khan. While Veer did mediocre business, Dabanng ended up being blockbuster. He had also hosted the show Big Boss with huge success. 2011 had been excellent for Salman Khan with 2 of his films Ready and Bodyguard giving business of more than 125 crores each. The viewers expect Salman Khan to give an even better performance in the film Radhe, Kick 2 which are going to be made in future.