Kerala's 'Chota Rafi' lauded for rendition of maestro Mohammed Rafi's songs

A 23-year-old medical student from Kerala has become a sensation after his rendition of Mohammed Rafi's songs was widely appreciated and shared by scores of music lovers including noted personalities like Shankar Mahadevan and Anand Mahindra.

The young singer, Saurav Kishan, has also been termed 'Chota Rafi' and 'new Rafi', earning him over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Hailing from Kerala's Kozhikode district, Kishan is an MBBS student who was studying in China but had to resort to online classes after being held up in his house owing to Covid-19.

Owing to his passion for music, he used to sing popular songs and share it with his friends.

It was based on a request from a social media group that he shared his rendition of Mohammed Rafi's popular song 'Teri aankhon ke siva' a couple of weeks ago. It created a sensation on social media with many noted personalities sharing it and appreciating him.

Anand Mahindra tweeted: "We have been waiting for decades for a new Mohammed Rafi. It sounds as if we may have to wait no longer... I couldn’t switch this clip off..."

Kishan told DH that the appreciation from noted personalities has been the biggest recognition for his songs.

"Now I am receiving more requests to render more Mohammed Rafi songs and share on social media. I've already done seven songs and shared amidst the MBBS studies and the appreciation is motivating me to do more," he said.

Kishan has been focusing on Mohammed Rafi's songs on popular music composer Johnson's advice after he came across his rendition of a song by the legendary singer. Kishan now knows about 800 Mohammed Rafi songs by heart.

The MBBS student, who got into Carnatic and Hindustani music during his childhood days, was pushed into the world of music by his grandparents. He has also participated in several competitions and has performed in various parts of India and abroad.

Asked if he would wish to focus on the medical profession or music in the future, Saurav said he wished to take both ahead, parallelly.