A Darker Truth
When anyone mentions Kishore Kumar today, one’s instant reaction is that he was a very famous comedian and then the second most popular reaction would be that he was a great singer. Must say, that is a lot to achieve in a single lifetime. But the truth is that is just the tip of the iceberg. Kishore Kumar was a lot more than that.
Trying something new and excelling in it came naturally to Kishore. Due to his second wife -Madhubala’s heart condition, his acting career took a slump for 9 crucial years. But he saw this as an opportunity and created some really deep and meaningful movies in the time available.
As a film maker, Kishore’s style was vastly different from that of the jovial comedian that everyone saw. Being a realist to the core, his films were stark and naked - with a strong message and equally strong direction. Very to the point, it made quite a few people uncomfortable. He was labeled as an eccentric and his films were considered as not being commercially viable. But that’s exactly what they were not - he made those films not for main stream success, but for satisfaction.
One of his productions titled Door Gagan Ki Chaaon Mein features him in the title role. The story is that of a soldier, who is anxious to get home after a long and strenuous war only to see that his home has been torched to the ground and the only survivor of this catastrophe is his son who is so badly traumatized that he can’t speak. The movie is about the unspoken bond that the two develop between each other - one which starts of as slow and halting, but gradually becomes the epitome of love and devotion. The film also stars his son Amit and the duo has doe such a beautiful job - it is moving and brings tears to your eyes.
Then who can ever forget Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi - a light hearted comedy of errors which stars all the three brothers - Ashok, Kishore and Anup plus his second wife. In a hilarious and rib cracking comedy, Kishore has exhibited his versatility in direction - he showed everyone that he is not closed to anything.
It is really sad that of the 18 films that he made, only eight saw the light of day and even those were grossly under rated. When it came to expressing himself through films, Kishore Kumar let a deeper, intellectual side of him be seen. Unfortunately, not too many could see that part of him as they were too busy laughing at his antics in other films. If they would have made that effort, they would have seen another facet to this gem of a man.
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February 3rd, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Lastly, Ashishji, with all due respects to you, I find your comments to be a bit biased.. If you think RDB’s best performance was with Rafi, then it is biasedness only.. Let us come out of that.. It is equally ridiculous to sound like “Roshan’s best numbers came with kishore”!! sheerly because in initial years roshan used Kishore more than Rafi!( Sheesham, Maalkin and Mashooka)… Let us open heartedly admit a fact, that some MDs did deliver better for Kishore than rafi- as you call yourself a music lover.. If you ignore compositions like “O Majhi Re”, “Zindagi Ke Safar Me”, ” Main Shayar Badnaam”, “Kuchh to log kahenge”- which RD particularly handpicked for Kishore, you are ignoring the obvious.. RD never handpicked any song for Rafi, sorry, admit it.. But yes, he did give Rafi some very good numbers.. Similalrly, for Rajesh Roshan, although he gave beautiful numbers to Rafi like “Mujhe chhoo rahi hai teri garm saansein”, if you remove Kishore, RR is gone by 70% in the 70s… Let us not drag this issue of whether RD really preferred rafi over kishore or not.. it is useless.
And most of you have not heard many early singing of kishore in 40s and 50s.. request, even as a rafi fan- listen to them.. Listen to Jagmag Jagmag Karta Nikla or woh Meri Taraf Yun Chale Aa Rahe Hai or Husn bhi Hai Udaas Udaas… I really don;t think Kishore could not enter Rafi’s sprectrum, at least technically… But, as I said, market is a strange object.. You can never explain why people discarded Husn bhi Hai Udaas by Kishore in 1953 whereas they accepted Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani from the same man in 1972!! Similalry, even Rafi fans can’t explain why market rejected a brilliant rendering of rafisaab “Koi phool na khilta yeh kali bhi na hoti agar tu na hoti” in 1974 but accpeted a mediocre composition like “Chakke pe chakka” in 1968!!
We, remember those only which market takes us to.. Kishore is much bigger spectrum than many perceive him to be.. I know as i have heard almost 2100 songs of him( I still have not listened another 1000).. I have heard Rafisaab also well, and I admit whatever spectrum he had, he was well appreciated… But kishore, as a simpleton as he always was, after rendering “Chingari koi Bhadke”( better than any clasically trained singer- I bet) coming out and commenting in front of media “Mujhe yeh sab raag waag samajh me nahi aati.. Kya gana hai bata do, main ga deta hoon”.. only helped dirty people to stereotype his image or sometimes hurting his image also..
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Ashish Kapoor ji…
I am not a regular visitor of any of these sites(which is my fault,of course)..So, I saw your comment late.. As far as popularity is concerned, let us talk less of it.. Perhaps the day I see “R for rafi” on screen(if at all that happens in my lifetime), we may talk on that issue better…
Yes, Number of Bhajans or patriotic songs Kishore sang were handful and nothing compared to Rafi.. But really do they represent a genre of music? I mean to say, like Qawalii(where I say Rafisaab was the supreme) or Soulful songs( where Kishoreda inspired and still inspiring an entire generation), do they really require particular skills to render?? These are basically voice based songs, which sound good in a particular voice, and with all my respect to both the singers, Rafisaab sounded better in that.. Yes, I do agree, patriotic songs sounded better in Rafi’s voice although I heard a couple of patriotic songs of Kishore which were as usual, very soulfully sung like “15 August ki punya tithi” which Kishore sang in as early as 1948.. But, yes, numbers are too low to be compared..Just like in comedy songs, Rafisaab did great job, but it was always Kishore’s voice which suited the best… that is why I gave a couple of songs of Kishore to you also to counter, in my last post to you here, as i think these songs can’t be matched by Rafisaab also.. Not because he can’t sing them, but because he would not be able to generate the similar “Impact”..
Another thing, which sometimes rafi fans fail to understand is again the X- factor in a song.. That day I was listening two songs, back to back, based on Raag Yaman- one by Rafisaab( Humko Tumhare Ishq ne kya kya bana diya) and the other by Kishoreda( Yun neend se woh jaane chaman).. Strikingly similar compositions, with Antaras of both are 99% similar.. But the way of rendering was different.. while listening to Rafisaab, you keep on getting astounded by the technicalities and harqats he brought into the song, and in the course of it you suddenly yell out “Wah Wah”!!! Which I did.. In kishore’s version, you get dumbstuck.. You don’t say anything, at the end of the song even you can’t explain why you liked it so much but you find tears in your eyes just with the soul which Kishore used to bring in a song.. Definitely, I am not saying you don’t cry at rafi’s songs, you really do, but the tears are different for both the singers.. rafisaab can be explained but kishore sometimes goes out of explanation!!
So, I understand, when Rafifans find Kishore’s fan following to be more or Kishore’s fans not accepting rafi to be the best, what they go through.. They have points with them to prove why Rafi should be best but kishore fans don;t have any!!! That “X” factor with all its sublimity is just beyond explanations! I respect that as a music student also..
Both were great and they still inspire many of us even today!! Three cheers to rafisaab and Kishoreda!!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 am
sorry for the funny typo: SALIL regarded Rafi as the best male singer.
“There is no doubt that Kishore possessed an exceptional voice. But voice alone is not everything. I have to say that if Kishore had
classical training he would have been a different Kishore. Not only by popularity, but also by the yard stick of qualitative merit of singing
Kishore could have reached the place occupied by Rafi. However, if I have to evaluate Kishore as a singer, it would probably be fair to say that Kishore brought in a new style of singing - something close to the pop style. In this style, there was no one close to him. I can say
that with confidence.”
http://bhadra.wordpress.com/2006/07/02/kishore-kumar-and-salil-chowdhury/
on a separate note, about tasveer teri dil mein - i don’t agree with your conclusion. salil’s mention of that song isn’t so much a swipe at rafi as it is praise for lata. i corresponded with someone who hosted salil in the early 90s. salil told the story to his guests from the point of view that lata had a great range that even the great rafi could not match. the guest told me that listening to salil talk about the song, salil indicated that he had a lot of respect for rafi and this was the only instance where he perceived a chink in rafi’s armor. i think rafi & salil had an artistic difference in opinion and it’s a more trivial affair than made out to be.
articles here and there are good but they don’t always tell the whole story. especially for something as complex as human emotions. you could bring out articles where mds don’t give enough credit to kishore but you know that those articles don’t give the true, complete picture.
just enjoy the music!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:10 am
Arghya: Sail regarded Rafi as the greatest male singer.
- Manish
January 24th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
refer post 119, dear arghya sahab,
thanks for replying to my views after 8 months.it only shows the popularity of this web site.
in my post i had written about patriotric songs and bhajans of rafi saa’b. and also i had said that i shall give you two of rafi saa’b,s for every one that you would of kishore da,s. sir my challenge still stands. any takers ? i challenge mr anil pedgaonkar and arghya and the others of their genre to take up my challenge of rafi saa’b,s non filmy songs and ghazals. for every one song or ghazal of kishore da i shall give u two of rafi saa’b .
rdb,s first movie as a md was chhotae nawab and all the songs in the male voice were sung by rafi saa’b. gentlemen i have mentioned my tel no in my post and if you have the flair for music then please get in touch with me and i will show u with practical and physical proof as to what is change in modulation and mood of voice along with the diversity in range and how rafi saa’b could change the pitch from high to low and vice-versa so easily. i have never challenged kishore da,s singing capability but he is no match for rafi saa’b when it comes to sur, saaz, range, pitch, versatility and also the sweetness of voice.
if you will hear the songs of rdb,s initial years as a md u will find that they were better in quality as compared to his later years. but “1942 a love story” was good.
i have with me the song “man re tu kahe na dhir dhare” that was sung by kishore da in one of his live musical programmes after the death of rafi saa’b as a mark of homage to his(in kishore da’s words) elder brother. he had tremendous respect for rafi saa’b and rafi saa’b also had the same respect for him.
ashish kapoor, ashkpr@hotmail.com , tel no- 09810087414, 09212587514
January 7th, 2009 at 2:14 am
ALL WHO SUPPORT OTHER SINGER THAN KISHORE ARE GA*DU AND I WILL F**K THEIR A**
January 5th, 2009 at 10:05 am
For Mr. Ashish Kapoor,
Dear sir I give you one song each from kishore and give me a better option sung by rafi in this genre as you had said:
1. aake seedhi lagi dil pe jaise katariya( don’t give lame excuses like non-classical number.. You know by heart what it takes to render this, if you don’t, ask Sabita Chowdhury-as Salilda is unfortunately not with us)
2. yeh jeevan hai is jeevan ka- even your favourite LP said after the recording of this song that “god was singing”.. So much of emotions, with a soft voice at such low notes, with all due respects to Rafisaab, his voice would have sounded too thin and like crying had he tried this song…On life’s philosophy, for that matter, give me any song of Rafi as against Kishore’s “Zindagi Ka Safar”,”Zindagi ke safar Mein”,”Badi sooni sooni hai zindagi”,”Yeh jeevan hai”,”Jeevan meetana hai deewanapan”,”Tune hume kya diya re zindagi”..only getting training in classical music and singing all songs with same voice irrespective of the actor, the situation might have been accepted in 60s, but 70s was different..You needed your soul in the song..Listen “Koi Hota jisko Apna” and after that ” Chhukar mere man ko”- see the changes in voice modulation done by kishore with changing mood of the song.. Rafi’s voice, my dear, sounded same in all songs!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Salil chowdhury was dissatisfied with rafi for not rendering “Taseveer teri Dil Mein”properly9failing at scale changes) and virtually stopped recording with him after 1965(don’t argue,it is a fact,rafians!!)..But he was highly satisfied with Kishore(even though it took Kishore 5 takes) for “Guzar Jaye Din” with so many scale changes..And to Salil, only kishore could have done it..salil chowdhury, to me, was the ultimate with the challenges he used to throw at singers. Manna succeeded, Lata succeeded, Kishore succeeded(Salil was into speechless mode after “Koi Hota Jisko Apna”), but rafi failed…So, people commenting about “Kishore’s spectrum” needs to go back to history..
The only point otherwise great singing of rafi was his monotonous singing…He sounded the same for rajendra kumar as for dharmendra as for dev anand..whereas kishore used to mould his voices from situation to situation and hero to hero!!! In 70s, with so many superstars, that is what the people and MDs wanted..Even Anil Biswas had given a warning to rafi much prior to Aradhana to get rid of this monotonous voice..But rafi was perhaps too confident that time to take it by heart…
R D Burman always felt Rafi was difficult to be moulded..Once Rafi had decided a song to be rendered in a particular way, no MD could change his view!!RD, a dominant musician, never liked it..And he liked Kishore because his ability to mould in a particular scenerio with the MDs coice!!
Now if people ignore opinions by Salil, Anil Biswas and other maestros and still go with a stroghead with occassional comments from people like OP Nayyar who in an odd interview said Kishore would have done better in “Sabere ka Sooraj” need a brainwash!
December 28th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Rafi’s voice in high pitch may be better but what about Rafi’s voice in very low notes as compared to Kishore???
Rafi’s voice is thin and sounds like crying…It has no depth in comparison to Kishore’s strong vocals.
Put a thousands arguments dudes…I just can never agree Rafi’s voice was better than Kishore…NEVER.
December 7th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Indian,
I both agree and disagree . Rafi is at the top but that top is shared with SPB and Kishore. Maybe in chronology Rafi ended up there first.
You unfortunately have a “frog in a well” view and refuse to look beyond.(Not applying to Rafi : but the best shop in town might not be the best shop in country or world )
Facts by nature cant be falsified, unless you want to live in ur beliefs!!
Its difficult to discuss based on feelings that you put simply bcos the feelings that you have for rafi, someone has for kishore and someone has for spb ( and someone like me has for all the three)
Stop taking a fact for some singer as a remark against Rafi.
When i say SPB has 6 National awards and Rafi only one , It doesnt mean Rafi is not as good but it just means SPB consistently excels at things which are only dreams for most singers.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Without any doubt, Rafi is the best and will remain there on the top forever. Leave Kishore alone, even Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar is not of Rafi’s calibre. All the arguments are bullshits and directed towards falsification of facts and figures against the Legend of Legends Mohd Rafi.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Rafi, SPB and Kishore are IMHO the three best male playback singers india has produced till now.
Each can be evaluated on his strengths and shown better than the other two but they are equals. The only thing separting them is the texture. On other grounds of playback singing these guys are blessed with traits that separate them from the rest.
In bollywood we know a lot about Kishore/Rafi. SPB is known only by his “guest appearances” in hindi music which is not even the tip of the iceberg of this genius. Remember he too doesnt have any formal training and he doesnt know hindi - yet he has made an impact on hindi music inspite of the accent. I know of hindi singers trying it in south and except for the like of lata etc the rest go unnoticed or get noticed in a very wrong way.
And some facts:
1. SPB has won 6/7 NATIONAL awards in playback singing.
(Rafi had one. Kishore i am not sure )
Also, more filmfare and state awards than any other singer.
2. SPB has sung more songs that lata. Features in Guiness records.
3. Apart from Lata and Rafi, SPB is probably the only singer to be on great records of both pundits/normal listerners. The ease with which SPB can handle any kind of song is unparallaled and probably only matched by Lata , Asha and Janaki. Only Yesu has more complicated classical film playback songs than SPB. SPB brings more mannerisms than any other singer into his singing allowed by a perfect grammar and widest range.
One of the few singers (apart from Lata, Susheela, Janaki,Chitra) whose songs get okayed in the first take immaterial of the complexity involved.
4. Know ur scales: When measured on western scale of notes SPB is probably the only indian male singer to comfortably sail across the full range. ( If you thought why not indian scales : they are relative and cannot be used to compare across ).
5. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada are distinct south indian industries. Like Sehgal in hindi, each of these industries had their own great legends prior to SPB. Because each of these languages had its own local flavour its impossible to think of one person ruling the roost of all three industries - Till SPB came. Like lata left behind everyone in hindi, SPB rocketed past everyone and ruled these industires with age as his only competetion.
6. In south, SPB was the first choice for Ilayaraja ( for more than 2 decades) a music director who is treated on par with Mozart etc. Naushad once said that all other music doesnt add up to even half of what Ilayaraja brought in ( and this was on quality and not quantity). SPB not to mention is the first choice of all other south indian MDs since his arrival.
Rgds
Srini
October 17th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
guys…well its not fair to compare, as both of them are genuises in their own way. But for me….kishore inspires, more emotive in this singing, more expressive, more mystic, more haunting…which cant be explained. Finally, I also feel sometimes, kishore da’s voice, pitch and all other technicalities of singing cannot be analysed, simply because it was unorthodox and mysterious. It is beyond any analysis…Just in case u have doubts, listen to the same song “tum bin jaa oon kahan” sung by both rafi and kishore and get ready to get carried away by the effect of kishore.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
in aakraman a good patrootic song by kishore discussed in this forum. also the song jeevan se na har jeenewale was played repetedly for jawans to give courage. muze prem ka rog laga is a good bhajan ( other songs in movie are by rafi). bhajan ssinger anup jalota s voice is of type of kishore and he had used kishore as an idol in college life. kishore’s voice is suited more to bhajans han ghzals or quwwalis. he himself planned to come with a private version of bhajans and mentioned kabir as his favorite in a n interview in 86.
May 5th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
hi every-body, i challenge all of u kishore’da fans and specially anil pedgaonkar sa’ab to come up with the facts about the no of patriotic and bhajans sung by kishore’da.you guys will not be able to match rafi sa’ab even in the wildest of your dreams.for every one song that u will come-up with, i will give two songs of rafi sa’ab. ashish kapoor,ashkpr@hotmail.com, tel-09810087414,09212587414
May 4th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Kk fans,
A nice song of kishore da-Asha duet
Mere pyase man ki bahar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghS8KekFnk4
May 4th, 2008 at 1:00 am
And Manish bhai, there is the famous AAA song too, where Rafi sahab sails thru the patches were the other 2 (Pls. not there is absolutely no disrespect 2 them, they’re very good in their own way) struggle.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Anil, for high pitch comparison - just see the Rafi-Kishore duet from Ram Balram. When Kishore sings in high scale “Na Bana Choooorrrrr” to match up to Rafi’s na miT sake nasiibo.n ke kalam kii - Kishore sounds muffled in comparison.
May 3rd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Ref: Post 105:
Agree with many of ur points, esp. with respect to Kishoreda’s early start (therefore the novelty factor) advantage. However ur observation on Kishoreda’s voice retaining its depth at higher notes is way off the mark simply bcoz he never ventured into those territories that Rafi sahab or Yesudas sir did. For ur information the last ‘Rakhwale…..’ of that song is a good 5 notes (ALMOST AN ENTIRE OCTAVE) above what Kishoreda has ever managed (ab sochoon nahi bhoole…., for instance in the song ‘mere naina’…). Infact Kishoreda’s highest notes were routine (mid-pitches) for Rafi sahab and if Rafi sahab ever sounded less-than-deep (which I don’t believe was the case) it was when he ventured into those unchartered territories (upper 3rd octave and lower 4th octave). Reg. ur observation on ‘maine poocha…’ I’d also say that Rafi sahab sounded a bit off-peak (not off-key in anyway) in it as well as in a lot of late ’70s songs. However I’d give him the benefit of doubt in the sense that perhaps it was a deliberate modulation on the part of the gentle giant to synchronise with those beautiful lyrics. But ‘dard-e-dil…’ was a beauty, the voice 2 me, was a sexy, killer voice in this song.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:13 pm
pl listen to the impact of voice in rr song “kab tak andhere chalate rahenge” sung by KK, Yeh jeevan hai , zindagi ka safar. then u will realize the importance of gr8 voiceof KK it’s impact, softness and expressiveness.
Rather than don or zumroo yodelling these KK songs the depth and softness combination can not be met by rafgi/YEsudas/SPB and not even by Kumar sanu/amitkumar. these songs are testimony to greatness of KK. ghazal is not a song for music it is basically more poetry again jagit sing excels here. Quwaali is rarely a classic music peace. it is group singing. kishore’s voice like anup jalota has graced bhajans.( muze prem ka rog laga). the life philosophy songs wwere his milestone. the song JeevAn se na har jeenawlae as repeatedly playe over radio in kargil war. Hawone pe likh do Hawaon ke is the best nature beauty praising song in bolly wood.
please don not get carried away by range and modulation and clasical training. thee expression softness and depth in the voice are equally importanr qualities which were at their full extent with kishore. most of LPs music was a trash after 1975 including even hits with boring repetitive theka. look at rajesh roshan composition thoda hai thode, dil kya kare sung by kishore. such variety is not sung by rafi. no singer and md but KK and rd dared to get a light singer sing a version in tandem with classical singer. Kishore did it in light romantic bhavgeet version “hume tumse pyar kitana” against the mujra version By parveen sultana. if u do not get carried by classical music the light romantic version appeals more due to sftness and expression and pronounciation of words. the version when first heard in a cafe teria made a spellbound effect over a group of my friends who weere critics of kishore and continue to remain with exceptions like this song and chukar mere manko . both songs had a trmendous effect on every body.
rdB came on a radio show and selected lata/amit version over amit version of the song “yaad aa rahi hai” and put the song on. next he put the second song on that was “hme tumse pyar kitana” by kishore.
rafi and the gr8 songs he sang “khoya khoya chand”, and created imae which reminded composers to call him whenever similar situations and songs were composed. so the task ahead kishore was difficult. gradually over years kishore’s impressions were fromed . with his life songs in mind ” Rhidaynath” got him sung “zindagi aa raha hu mai” and “accha to hum chalate hai “reflected in the duet ” muze tum yad karna”. KKs sad image gave birth to many songs. a unique KK image is portrayed by rajesh roshan in ” koi roko na ” . It is interesting to note that rafi sang many memorable songs forrajesh khanna” due to yhis image formation” nafarat ki , yuhi tum muzse baat karte ho, gulabi aankhe, Ab aan milo sajana etc.
but after kishore singing for many years then for amitabh bacchan it is not easy to recollect good and important songs sung by rafi for amitabh as by that time the kishore image as formed in the minds of composers. they could adapt and compose tunes with kishore in mind.
there is third distinct variety of kishore songs apart from his unimitable singing of sad and soft songs that is songs like “are diwano muze pahachano”, which is alos not easy for
Rafi and others.
mere naina sawan bhado ( a lata type song) again would not have suited MR. SPB
so much was the impact of kishore voice that Ramlaxman created a song ( serious song” with kishore in mind ” maine tuse kuch nahi manga ” for the film “Katha”
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
may be but the song is not gr8. yeh jeevan hai if lp offered to rafi then rafi would not have been able to sing. this song the song “kab tak andhere chalate rahenge”, “zindagi ka safr” were nevr rafi’s cup of tea. if lp’s choice was rafi why he did not offer rafi yeh jeevan hai. the movie was snall budget. the hero was not rajesh khanna or amtabh bacchan. please read my last comment on 1st may 2008. Kishore was number one singer. naturally some songs suited the voice of rafi more so they were offered to rafi. also comosers and people were more used to rafi’s voice for 25 years. His rendering was prefixed on their mind. kishore would have required another 2o years for that. This is simply but AN ADVANTAGE OF EARLY START. THERE ARE MMANY MASTERPIECES OF KISHORE WHICH ARE IMPOSSIBLE FOR RAFI/ YESUDAS/ SPB TO SING. RAFI LATA HAD UNPARALLELED RANGE comapred to asha /kishore but even asha/kishore had good range suitable for most of the songs. at high pitch also kishore’s voice did not lose depth ( teri duniya se hoke majbur chala, mere naina sawan bhado) while rafi’s voice at high pitch was hollow. ( refer o dunike rakhwale). the voice lacked lusture(maine pucha chandse very badly sung also darde dil badly sung) , rafi yesudas, spb all have more modulation than ksishore asha more modulation tahn lata. but if this is criterion then Bhimsen joshi sheerly beats rafi in every aspect. please go by the quality of inspiring voice of kishore in the songs above immortal
April 29th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1yXwA7MgFYM
April 19th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Rafi Sahib was the better singer and Kishore Da was the better musician….
April 17th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
No amount of discussion will ever prove that kishore Kumar was a better singer than Rafi.
April 14th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Niraj Kumar wrote: “in the film Haathi Mere saathi the song ” Nafrat ki Duniya ko Chhodkar” was offered to kishore kumar as usual but he could not be able to sing as the music director wanted”
I asked Mr KCP about this. KCP spoke to Pyarelal himself! I understand that the quoted story is entirely untrue. That song was composed with Rafi in mind right from the start. Kishore was never asked to sing it. I stand by this view unless you have some better source.
Anil Biswas didn’t think much of Rafi. Now before you attack AB - think of his perspective. Anil Biswas cared only for Anil Biswas music. He didn’t care for rest of the spectrum (which Rafi excelled). So of course that woud be his opinion. Likewise, if someone doesn’t prefer songs like “O Duniya Ke Rakhwale” or “Hari Om” but rather prefer “Meri Bheeghi Bheeghi Se” from Anamika - so be it. On the overall spectrum I consider Rafi the best. On the “Kishore spectrum” I consider Kishore the best. If people care only for the Kishore spectrum - than that is fine.