Rafi@100 | Recalling the Guru Dutt connection on Mohammed Rafi’s 100th birth anniversary

Mohammed Rafi shared an emotional connect with Guru Dutt and on former’s birth centenary, here is an ode to the dream duo of Golden Generation.

As lovers of Bollywood music across the world celebrate the birth centenary of Mohammed Rafi, who epitomised the versatile male voice of Indian film music, music aficionados once again realise the near impossibility of limiting the oeuvre of Rafi Saheb, as his peers called him with affection and respect in equal measures, to a numbered list of 10 or 20 all-time bests.

Unlike many popular playback singers who are often associated with one or the other lead actor, Rafi Saheb with 4,500 plus songs across genres can hardly be placed in any particular box.

Singer for all seasons and styles, he left an unparalleled legacy, which is evident from the enthusiasm music lovers show to celebrate his 100^th birthday on Tuesday (December 24) even after 44 years of his passing.

Though Rafi Saheb was associated with many stars and legends of Bollywood, his association with the legendary actor-director, Guru Dutt, who also died young (all of 39) deserves a special mention for the wonderful music their combination left behind. If the songs they did together remain evergreen after six or seven decades, the credit goes not only to the excellent composition and profound lyrics, but also to the soulful rendering that added layers to the experience.

The Rafi-Guru Dutt combination gave Indian cinema some of the best songs of all times including – 'Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye Toh Kyaa Hai' (Pyaasa), Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari (Kaagaz Ke Phool), Chaudvin Ka Chand Ho (Chaudvin Ka Chand), Udhar Tum Hasin Ho (Mr&Mrs 55) and Mohabbat Kar Lo Ji Bhar Lo (Aar Paar) to name a few.

In Pyaasa, there is a very poignant verse by Sahir Ludhianvi that opens with ‘Tang aa chuke hain kashmkakashe zindagi se hum (I'm weary of this troubled life and existence) and ends with ‘Thukra na dein jahaan ko kahin bedili se hum (In my grief, may I not reject the entire world). Guru Dutt’s on screen presence in front of the microphone becomes one with Rafi’s melancholic voice, the man behind the 1957 cult classic in which rejection of the world and life was the central theme. Rafi’s ability to tune his voice to the protagonist’s (poet Vijay Babu) state of mind stood out in that verse. After watching it, one gets the feeling that it was as if Guru Dutt’s soul was bared and only Rafi could have done it.

Similarly, in Kaagaz Ke Phool, Suresh Sinha, the once popular actor revisits a studio, which had seen his glory days. As the now destitute Suresh walks across the deserted space, Rafi’s 'Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari Bichde Sabhi Baari Baari' (I've seen what goes for friendship in this world, everyone disperses, one by one they all leave) plays in the background and it sums up the mood of the film where Suresh Sinha is found lying dead in the director’s chair in the studio later.

Though it has been four-and-a-half decades since Rafi left us, his songs and voice have never.

At the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa recently, there was a special tribute to commemorate 100th birth anniversaries of four Indian cinema legends that included Rafi (others being Raj Kapoor, director Tapan Sinha and Telugu matinee idol Akkineni Nageswara Rao).

At IFFI, Rafi’s son Shahid Rafi paid glowing tributes to his father by saying, ‘He was a true father. We miss him definitely. He was very down-to-earth, soft spoken and charitable’.

It just isn’t the Rafi’s family who is missing him. It’s the entire music world, the aficionados and fans alike who miss the singer nonpareil.

There is no perfect ode to Rafi’s voice than the title song of Chaudvin Ka Chand (where it is the dream pair of Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman on the screen).

‘Chaudahavin ka chaand ho, ya aafataab ho jo bhi ho tum, khuda ki qasam, laajavaab ho (Are you the full moon or the sun? Whatever you are, I swear to God, you are beyond compare) !