An endless feud between the fans of Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar..
Mohammed Rafi was born at Kotla Sultan Singh, near Amritsar . Rafi displayed his talent for singing at the tender age of 13. The lure of movies beckoned him to Bombay in 1944. His first hit was the Tera Khilona Toota Balak from Anmol Ghadi in 1946. India lost this jewel on July 31, 1980.
Abhas Kumar Ganguly, better known as Kishore Kumar was born on August 4, 1929 in Kandwa. Following the footsteps of his elder brother Ashok Kumar he too ventured into movies. But he soon realised that his heart was in singing. Under the patronage of RD Burman he soon flourished. He would at times compose and write songs himself. Sadly he passed away in October,1987.
The debate as to who was the greater singer carries on even today, even decades after their death. Both of them left an indelible mark in the world of Indian film music, a void that still cannot be filled today. No wonder that their fans are at constant feud with one another trying to prove that their hero was better.
It is a no secret that Mohammed Rafi was a trained classical singer and that Kishore Kumar had a natural talent. Hence Rafi’s fans feel that he was the more accomplished and skilful of the two. Kishoreda’s fans are of the opinion that though he may not have been trained, he had purity and sheer quality of voice. The fact that he wasn’t trained, and could still sing anything, both classical and non classical songs with equal magic rendered him more superior than Rafi.
Fans claim that Rafi was the most favoured singer for many veteran composers while Kishore Kumar was preferred by few and was a playback mainly for Dev Anand and later for Rajesh Khanna. Rafi on the other hand balanced his melodious voice for diverse stars like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Guru Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor.
In support of Rafi’s greatness, many of his fans say Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in films that Kishore himself acted. They also draw the attention to Rafi’s song Darde Dil in Karz which was based on a single note and proved that he was indeed blessed with God-gifted melody. Mohammed Rafi’s fans also claim that Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan who belong to the Rafi school are technically better than Kumar Sanu, Babul Supriyo etc.
On the other hand, Kishore Kumar’s fans remind people of songs which he sang by melodiously incorporating his inimitable yodelling. Those numbers are extremely popular even today. They further claim that in the 70’s and 80’s, it was he who sang for a number of heroes.
This debate can go on endlessly. However it must be stated that both were great singers of their times and each had his own distinctive style.
There was no feud between the two and the immense respect that Kishore Kumar had for Mohammed Rafi is clearly seen in the photo during Rafi’s funeral. A silent, sad and grief-struck Kishore in the newspapers portrayed very well that no one except him understood what an irreparable loss had taken place in Indian film music.
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March 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Sanjay,
Let’s keep this discussion to a decent level. The kind of language you used in your post speaks volumes about your tastes. If compared, laloo prasad will score over you in terms of decency. Stop your hate train before you derail it. No amount of name calling will serve you any purpose. There was nobody like Rafi, and will never be one like him. Kishore Kumar was great in his own right. It’s the fans like you who have let him down from time to time.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Correction in post 822.
I meant to say Rafi was never considered as “CLASSICAL” singer
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am
Dhani Ram ji
u wrote:
There is a duet with Ashaji: Jab se tumhein dekha hai aankhon mein tumhi tum ho.Is there an equally good duet of Ashaji with Kishoreda?I don’t know much about Kishoreda’s duets with Ashaji.
Another is:raat ke humsafar hum kidhar ko chale
My reply:
SOng whihc u have mentioned is good song..Canu compare this song with following:
1. E duniya wale puchhenge mulaqat hui kya baat hui
2. Dillagi ne di hawa (most romatic song)
3. Agar saaj chheda tarane banage
4. Chhod do aanchal zammana kya kahega
U might have ur own fav. I don’t have problem. But for god sake, don’t say they are best.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 am
Sudip,
I must say, Ur analysis on rural and urban is quite right. I would also like to add here one point:
Urban and rural relates themselve based on tune. LP and SJ used Tabla and other indian instruments which got attraction in rural.
I remember couple of year back year when i visited UP (attend my friend marriage), few songs which was playing almost every conrner where i visited
- Yaar badal na jaana (song from Talaash, hardly was heard…It got great melody….but not popular across country..)
Dhani Ram,
Playback singing is commercial art. Rafi was commercially hit and popular till 69. You people don’t have problem there, but when we said Kishore dominated rafi 69 onward, ur problem starts there.
I personally don’t categories Rafi as classical singer, because history says he was never considered as singer, wheneve there is any opportunity for pure classical singer in movie. It was only Manna Dey who got preference over all.
As far as me consider, i acept Rafi as only playback singer where he could not come closer to Kishore.
If you talk to me on classical singer, then my choice would not be Manna dey, but Pt. Jasraj, Subbaluxmi.
Mere dear friend, I posted couple of master piece (
) of Rafi’s singing. I must say, I will never prefer to hear them again, I mean his voice didn’t suit to those type of songs. On other hand, Kishore managed to sing 2rd grade song beautifully like…
1. ice cream khaoyogi
2. Ma maa miya
3. Chhopadi me chaar payi
Mere dost, Is it right to blame kishore for all those songs….It was music director (forced by producer and director) who composed these kind of songs on others demand, so singer should not be blame. Singer should only be blamed if he is not able to do justice to the song.
I feel kishore and only kishore who could have sing this kind of songs.
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
Vipul,
My dear Friend, Himesh is not best at all. I remember one line for him
“CHaar din ki chadani aur phir andheri raat”.
Is it what popular mean? Popular means Kishore/Rafi/Mukesh, They are alive in form of their singing after so many year
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:14 am
Sudip
You made a most perceptive observation in one of your posts when you said that inward looking people prefer Rafi while outgoing people love Kishore.You are absolutely right that music is a matter of temperament.I would just add that while temperament determines tastes,tastes also mould temperament.Tastes can develop and ripen with knowledge and experience.
In a way Sumit is right that Himesh Reshamia is the best because he sells.Personally I have no liking for Himesh.You already know that I am quite fastidious in my tastes and resolutely believe that only Rafi was a perfect singer and all others are far,far behind him.Kishore stands absolutely nowhere in my estimation as a singer.A hundred times better than Kishore for me is another Bengali–Hemant Kumar whose Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahaan,chali gori pee se milan ko chali,hai apna dil to awaara,na yeh chand hoga na taare rahenge,aa neel gagan tale pyar hum karein etc are aesthetically far more appealing than the crudities of Kishore.And yet,paradoxically,Sumit is right for the reason that cinema is a commercial art.A movie is made to earn money.If it fails at the box office,its artistic quality has little value.Now the irony is that a singer of the highest quality would not get wide recognition if he didn’t sing for films and singing for films necessarily forces singers to make compromises.The worth of a song in a way lies in its commercial success.Movie makers,actors,directors,singers etc would get out of business if they don’t sell.And remember it is not the best that sells.
And yet Hindi cinema has produced great gems in the midst of mediocrity and downright banality.What puts Rafi way ahead of all other singers is the sweetness of his voice,its range and its smooth,unwavering and unfaltering flow.Listen to a song like:Jaane kya dhoondti rehti hain yeh aankhen mujhmein.There is a duet with Suman Hemmadi(Kalyanpur) Ajhun na aaye baalma.
Vipul
I usually don’t listen to Kishore but it seems to me you do.So I have even less musical sense than you.Let me tell of one
melodious KK number and it will help you in acquiring some further musical sense: Main hun ghora yeh hai gaari.If even after listening to this immortal composition you are not able to comprehend the subtleties of music,you will never know what great music is and what great poetry is.I know why I don’t like Kishore.But I wonder why I should have no musical sense while I like many other singers including non-film singers as well as western singers.
Manna De has been talked about quite a lot on the forum,About a year ago Manna De was interviewed by the Editor of the Indian Express on NDTV in the programme Walk the Talk.Besides talking about his his art,Manna talked about Rafi,Kishore and Mukesh.He categorically stated that Rafi was the best and perfect playback singer ahead of all others.Manna was very emphatic in this and the interview was also on a respectable channel with the highly respectable editor,Shekhar Gupta.Mr Gupta asked Manna De some searching quetions.Manna De gave lucid reasons for Rafi’s greatness.While talking about Kishore he said one or two good things about Kishore such as Kishore’s commercial success,his ability to sing certain types of songs etc.But he spoke of his limitations as well.Manna De has left absolutely no doubt as to whom he regards as the greatest singer of all times.
Vipul,so far as music is concerned we are very small men.We may go astray in our judgements.Let us say we are to know the worth of a scientist.We will have to go by what the other scientists have to say about him.Why is Shakespeare regarded as the greatest writer in English?Because other great writers say so about him.There are some great writers who don’t regard Shakespeare to be the greatest.Bernard Shaw was one of them.But it is a minority opinion.Similarly,the greats in the field of music regard Rafi to be the greatest singer.In my previous posts I have cited the names of some of the greats in the world of music who have spoken in glowing terms about Rafi.Recently Mahendra Kapoor in an interview lauded Rafi greatly.The only thing he said about Kishore was that he had a lively sense of humour which he kept displaying even at the time of recording.He said nothing about his singing talents.Nitin Mukesh has said that Mukesh told him that there was no singer like Rafi.Vipul,there is all circumstantial evidence that Kishore himself thought so.Then outside the film world,Begum Akhtar,Bade Gulam Ali,Mehndi Hassan,Gulam Ali,Jagjit Singh and the greatest South Indian singer Jesu Das etc consider Rafi to have been the greatest singer.My question to you Vipul is:Why doesn’t Kishore draw similar applause from such giants of the world of music?You and I may not have any musical sense but these people have or had.I want answer to just this one question.If this question is satisfactorily answered,I will drop out of this debate and believe that indeed Kishore was the greatest and I have no musical sense.
Manish,Sudip,Vipul,Vikram,XXX,Probal,
I have enjoyed reading your comments.I will continue to read your comments in future also but I won’t be able to participate much in the debates for want of time.You must have noticed that all my comments are posted past mid-night.Meanwhile what do you think of these songs:
Subha na aayee sham na aayee jis din teri yaad na aayee
Na jhatko zulf se paani yeh moti phoot jaayen ge
Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa band palak mein piar
Naache man mora magan dhigda deegee deegee
Yeh dunia yeh mehfil meire kaam ki nahin
Yeh wadian yeh phizaayen bulaa rahee hein tumhein
Le ke pehla pehla piar bhar ke ankhon mein khumar jaadu nagri se aaya hai koi jaadugar
There is a duet with Ashaji: Jab se tumhein dekha hai aankhon mein tumhi tum ho.Is there an equally good duet of Ashaji with Kishoreda?I don’t know much about Kishoreda’s duets with Ashaji.
Another is:raat ke humsafar hum kidhar ko chale
I like this duet of Rafi with Lataji immensely:Tum hee tum ho meire jeevan mein phool hee phool hain jaise chaman mein.Lataji sings this song very well but Rafi is just majestic.Look at the way Rafi articulates each word.Variety,depth and expression with which Rafi renders each note makes him a singer who is born only once in a century(Naushad’s words for Rafi).What do you all think of this song?
March 1st, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Ai ai ya karoon main kya Susu Suku…! This is quality Singing and Quality lyrics? Yahoooooo.chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe…Yahooooo… quality singing and quality lyrics from the most popular films? What rubbish!! Rafi was nearly abolished from the music industry and died of heart attack because of Kishore Kumar’s popularity and acceptance the world over! That’s a fact jack!
Not only as a singer but as a music director Kishore Kumar stands way beyond any Md. Rafi (whatever) Lata Mangeshkar also recorded songs under him. I personally think it’s a waste of time comparing Rafi with Kishore Kumar - let’s compare Rafi with Anup jalota in respect to bhajans, compare Rafi with Suresh Wadkar in respect to classical songs and his “junglee” sammi kapoorian style with the versatile singer Weird Al, and his so called Ghazals with Chandrasekhar Gadgil. In reality Rafi was like Manna dey, never successful as a classical singer and never classic in a modern day song! It is correct to compare him with “Ravi Sastri” in Indian cricket! Sigh*
March 1st, 2008 at 8:34 am
Vipul,
No need to comment on Mukesh - he has nothing to do with this topic. Having said that (yes Ashu you can call me inconsistent here) - you and Ashu have left an open door with Mukesh so I’ll leave you with an anecdote from singer mukesh dot com:
{One of the classic true stories of musicdom concerns a top-notch classical vocalist, playback singer Mukesh and veteran music director Kalyanji. The singer was leaving the composer’s music room after a sitting when the classical luminary entered for a social call. After Mukesh departed, this worthy told Kalyanjibhai, “Look at the irony! What does that man know about classical raag and sur? And he drives a Mercedes and I have to travel by bus!”
Kalyanjibhai beckoned the man to sit next to him and asked him to sing Chandan sa badan chanchal chitwan along with the harmonium. The classical singer sang the line, with excessive murki as per his training.
Kalyanjibhai again explained to him the exact notes. Try as he might, the classical maestro could not get the requisite straight and heart-touching rendition needed for this Saraswatichandra classic. Gently, the composer drove home his point by telling him, Ab aap ko pataa chalaa ke woh Mercedes main kyoon ghoomte hain? (Do you now realise why he drives a Mercedes?) }
March 1st, 2008 at 8:28 am
Ashu,
I was being consistent. I was replying to post 801 (6 posts before my reply) when you brought up Mannade’s comment on SDB & Rafi.
Ashu, you don’t need IMAGINE - it happened already. The song Na Tu Caravan Ki Talash Hai - regarded as the mother of all qawwalis - has Manna “beating” Asha & Sudha Malhotra and then Rafi jumps into the middle and “beats” Manna. Rafi is the only male singer I know that Manna has NEVER spoken negatively about. I had to address your tangential imagination else this doesn’t pertain to the main topic.
Once again Ashu, you make superficial arguments with regards to SD Burman’s view on Rafi & Kishore. There are quotes from SDB with regards to the two (I think I may have provided them). They are very clear and if you chose to deny them and make weak & baseless arguments like having Kishore for Sagina.
And with regards to that song list you provided - I actually listened to the Main Hoon Mr Johnny for the first time. IMO you’re not judging this properly. Without even seeing the picturisation, I can tell this song is for a COMEDIAN and Rafi is doing playback accordingly. So of course he is going to sound silly! And yes - you are right - Rafi does an excellent job of singing for the comedian - and yet this is the same main during that same year 1960 rendered Ae Mohabbat Zindabad (Naushad) and Zindagi Bhar Nahin (Roshan). He changed his voice for the actor / situation / genre. This was a comedy genre.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:21 am
Quality songs (popular) of KK were higher than Rafi. Here is one more…
Icecream khaogi… picture Laogi… rh mera wad hai… Was the movie justice choudhar? Nice cong…
how about one more fom the same movie…
Ma ma miya pom pom pa ki gadi… tez bhagao.. This was my favourite when was 14.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:16 am
Sixty successful men and women of India(Friday, August 10, 2007 of HINDUSTAN TIMES)
Rafi Saab is choosen among the Sixty successful men and women without whom the country would not be where it is today.the press cliping was:
Mohammad Rafi:
Indeed the best singer of all times, he inspired many budding artists and lives on today through his songs like Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho and Baharon Phool Barsao.
I nevr knw this. I salute Rafi saab ( l liked the word BEST and not one of the best)
March 1st, 2008 at 6:15 am
If one follows the 1970s there were two types of songs that became mainstream and popular among the public.
The first type was the urban music where RD Burman (and to some extent Rajesh Roshan) made a niche’ for himself. This type of songs needed deep bass and was accompanied by light drums. Kishore specialized in this genre. Typical numbers are Rimjhim gire sawan, Phir wohi Raat hai, Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jatey hain….
The second type was the rural dholak music with the typical LP theka. This type of songs required a lot of control over melody because one false sur would mean you will sound off key. Rafi was a master of this genre. Typical songs are Hum to chale pardes, Yeh khidki jo bandh rahti hai, Tera naam ka diwana, etc.
Even if you listen to Rafi’s lighter numbers he used to put a lot of sublime touches to it. Take the antara of “Janey hum sadak ki logon se” (Aasha). It is a light song but the pitch transitions are amazing. It surprises me all the more because Rafi was 55 in 1980 (even Manna has started being off tune post 50) . If you watch the visuals in youtube, you almost feel being in Reena Roy’s position, as if every word is being directed at you..
February 29th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Sumit wrote
Dear All,
Lets not fight over things. May be the best never go the chance to sing. And the one’s who got is Himesh G, who has rocked people all around the world. Some one may come up and say Himesh G is the best. And yes he is th best cos he sells the most. What sells the most is the best and that is y people buy it. The world has changed. Now evn u and I can sing. It is just a matter of going to the Studio.
Reply”
Sumit, if you think that music is business that I agree with you that what sells most is the best. But it is not business for everyone. Rafi used to sing free for many direcotrs as they did not have money to pay. I heard this in his son’s interview. It does not mean that since Rafi made less money so he is not best. For KK, he sang for a token money of only one rupee.
Now here is the my question about Himesh. For how many MD’s Himesh sang so far apart from himself? I do not have to answer. You know it.
So definition of best is different for different people. for someone it is money as they look at at it as business. I hope you got my point.
and by the way, shouting from nose is not music. It is a kind of “shor” and I do not like it.
February 29th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Few Rafi’s great hit:) Pls. listen and provide ur comment. And pls. don’t forget to comapare with 80s hindi song(especially Bappi’s composition - remake of Telugu movie…Tohfa, Mawaali, HImmatwala and many…)
Great singing by Rafi in following songs…
1 Aye Jaaneman…(Hare kaanch ki chudiya)
2. Main hu Mr. Johny.. (Maai Baap) [ Superb Melody and what a great singing)
3. Kya hamne socha tha kya ho gaya…with Manna Dey….[Master Piece]
4. Kiss Kisko pya karo..
5. Do do haath, do do paaon..Kaam jo lega en chaaro se..
[another master piece]
Vipul and Manish, Pls. listen this songs, they are truly master piece.
And vipul, pls. sing these songs in ur family, and get feedback from them and it would be great if you publish them here.
Note: If you guys find some difficulty to get these songs, pls. visit
musicindiaonline.com
February 29th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Manish, I remember Manna called mukesh sometmes going besura and It is still in my mind. I think Manna Da was correct.
By the way, I am still sure that Mukesh just can’t sing laga chunri main daag as it is too difficult for him. The proof is “Have you heard any difficult song sung by Mukesh”? May be one semi classical “Jhumti Chali hawa” and in that song too Mukesh’s voice was not up to the mark at the end when he tried to go on high notes. It is just my observation and people have rights to differ.
I am not trying to say that Mukesh was not a good singer. I am just saying that he had limite range and certain songs like i mentioned was not his cup of tea!
February 29th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Manish,
One thing i forgot to mention in my last blog:
u wrote:
{what Mehmood did is 100% correct, There is saying in HIndi…
“Moika padne par Gadhhe ko bhi baap banana padta hai” so Mehmood did exactly what situation requires.}
My reply:
I think Manna Dey would have done samething if there is situation where he had to loose against Rafi.. (Sorry, I am little imaginative.)
Manna Dey felt insult in loosing to Kishore before the song got recorded, but after recording he accpeted the truth, and that’s why he is great…
feel free to disagree
February 29th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Manish,
Pls. read ur previous article…don’t divert the topic. How manna dey comes in the picture?
I replied to ur previous blog where you guys told abt mukesh and Manna Dey.
Everybody know what SDB think abt Kishore and Rafi.
Evidence:
1. He asked Kishore to sing for Dilip Kumar in “Sagina”
2. He asked Kishore to sing for Raj Kapoor in “Bahar”
3. He asked Kishore to sing Bengali version of “Gun guna rahe hai bhaware” in Aradhana (Bengali)
What else proof you want? man….
- I saw “K for Kishore” today. I hope you have heard abt Nagesh Kukunoor. He is planing to start movie on Kishore Kumar.
Bhai mere….Heere ko pathhar bolane se Heera pathar nahi ho jaata.
Manish, First be consistent urself and then ask me to be consistent….
February 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Vipul bhai,
“Tamhare view barobar nathhi”
I already publish what Manna Dey spoke abt these 2 legends. There is no point in repeating samething again and again.
When Manna sing “Laga chunari Me daag”, he become better singer than Mukesh, but when same guy sing “Mere bhains ko danda kyon mara”, you guys don’t acept him best than ur fav. Really funny.
“Taki Taki…” or “CHOpdi me chhaar pai” was sung by Kishore because noone could have sung that song in better way.
SJ used kishore as much as RDB used Rafi…(May be minor difference). I personally believe LP gave his best composition to Kishore….
1. Ruk jaana nahi
2. Mere nasseb main ye dost
3. Mere dil me aaj kya hai
4. E jeevan hai
5. Zindagi ki yahi reet hai
6. Ek ritu aaye
7. dekho veer jawano
All above songs sung by same person who sang “Taki Taki..” and “Jhopadi me chaar pai”..
Mr. Vipul…Why did u sing “Taki Taki…” or “Chhopadi me chaar pai” ? Why did you not sing:
1. Saagar Kinare
2. Manzilen apni jagah hai
3. Chhokar mere man ko
4. Sheeshe ki umra
5. kuchh log mohabbat karke
6. Matlabi hai log yaha par, matlabi zamaana
7. Nahi jeena, Nahi jeena, tere bina nahi jeena
8. Sheshe ke gharo me dekho to
and many more…..
Above songs are few list of many songs of 80s sung by Kishore (early of ur teen age). I am sure if you had tried to sing above songs, your mother would have appreciated you.
I am sure if you had sing “Boot Palish Tel maalish”,”Raamala murdabad”,”Thoda ruk jaayegi to..” songs, your mother would have told the samething what she told you after hearing “Taki Taki..”
“Beta.. aa sangneet nathi.. Ghonghat chhe”.
February 29th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Ashu:
on the subject of mannade, people are unfair to him. it’s always questions about rafi or kishore. they always want him to praise rafi & kishore. what about manna himself? so long as manna “concedes” that rafi & kishore were superior to him than all the fans are happy and are like “what a humble spirit”. as soon as he says something otherwise (indeed, manna was a great singer himself) - people start calling him senile, bitter, etc. i’ve seen it happen many times.
i think it is silly to compare rdb & sdb. if mannade chose to do so - my guess is it was more about personal matters than sheer music alone. sdb often had manna practice songs and then made manna teach the songs to rafi or kishore. how would manna feel about that? so manna has said some inconsistent things WHEN PRODDED. the article sudip gave to you was not a reporter putting manna on the spot with a lead in. manna wrote it with his own motivation. remember that manna was insulted to lose a classical match to kishore in padosan. i can certainly understand where manna was coming from (if he’s unwilling to see it was just a comedy movie). he has also made some direct & absolute (as opposed to comparative) remarks about kishore kumar and mukesh that fans wouldn’t be pleased. he never did anything like that with rafi.
it is interesting that you conveniently write off the padosan remark and call manna a gaddhe when he says something you don’t like: {what Mehmood did is 100% correct, There is saying in HIndi…
“Moika padne par Gadhhe ko bhi baap banana padta hai” so Mehmood did exactly what situation requires.}
once again ashu - the inconsistency with your thinking!
February 29th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Ashu:
Rafi fans love SDB. Every large following will have a minority of clowns. Don’t take minority, extreme examples and use them to generalize. Those who know SDB best for Aradhana are obviously falling for superficial newspaper articles and not actually listening to music else they’d regard SDB as one of the best composers with Rafi. Likewise, anyone who has completely followed SDB’s career - will know that Rafi was one of his best & most frequently used singers. Don’t make baseless remarks like “50%”.
I am a music lover first and as a consequence of that - a Rafi fan. I welcome the Aradhana wave. I too like variety. As I’ve said repeatedly, one voice is not enough for me. So I was glad Kishore Kumar got his due break. And let me add to my last post when I talked about Kishore for lighter songs and Rafi for the heavenly songs - there are exceptions of course. I too listen to Rafi in my room and Kishore in the car.
Why did SJ or LP use Kishore for select songs? VARIETY! Heck, even I would go to other MDs to to listen to Kishore if MDs used only one voice! Second, why WOULDN’T they make use of Kishore who was a very good singer? NEVER a matter of thinking he was better than Rafi or that Rafi couldn’t do justice. Jaikishan & LP especially always regarded Mohammed Rafi as the best. Why did RDB ask Rafi to sing Rekha O Rekha (not one of my favorites). Certainly NOT because he felt Kishore couldn’t do justice but for the above two reasons I described for Kishore. That was a silly argument.
You don’t compare Roshan (who composed songs for Rafi) with Bappi (who composed songs for Kishore) yet you go on to compare Rafi’s songs to Kishore’s songs? That’s illogical.
February 29th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I will mention one more song… “Ek ankh maru to parda hat jaye… Duji maru to zamana jhuk jaye… dono maru to chhori pat jaye…. Aaye banko……. ”
Wow.. what lyrics! what a song? now this is quality dear…. (popular). I still remember these types of songs were major hit in 80’s and I was in my early teen. When I recorded my first casstte (Those days.. you can select your siongs and record in a small casstte . many shops were doing that) , I had all these songs and my mom used to get very upset whenever I used to play them.
She told me “Beta.. aa sangneet nathi.. Ghonghat chhe”. (in Gujjju).. meaning this is not music but is just “shor” of kishore. I realised that she was right when I became 18.
But still lets stick to definition of quality. Quality means popular
February 29th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Sumit: I think the best judge of quality is the TEST OF TIME. Will Himesh’s songs maintain their current “appeal” 100 years from now as they are today? I doubt it. Rafi’s appeal will always remain intact as they have for the past 60 years.
February 29th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Dear All,
Lets not fight over things. May be the best never go the chance to sing. And the one’s who got is Himesh G, who has rocked people all around the world. Some one may come up and say Himesh G is the best. And yes he is th best cos he sells the most. What sells the most is the best and that is y people buy it. The world has changed. Now evn u and I can sing. It is just a matter of going to the Studio.
Thanks
Sumit
February 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
“U wrote abt “Taki Taki..”, I feel this is what versatility mean, Kishore is capable of singing any song.”
-Versatility does not mean singing junk. And such versatility does not lead to better singing.. If so, then Rakhi Sawant would be a better actor than Waheeda Rahman because she can act is tons of “various” scenes…”Taki o Taki” would equivalent to Rakhi Sawant in music.
BTW, forget Rafi. Even I can sing “Taki o Taki” in my bathroom. I’ll send you a copy of the recording if you want
February 29th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Vipul and manish,
I dont’ understand you guys. I am sorry. You said i m biased, pls. let other to read ur article and decide, they will know what exactly bias mean.
You said Mukesh sang all song except “Laga chunari me daag” because it was not his cup of tea.
If this is true, then pls. answer my few question:
1. Why Manna Dey sang “Mere bhains ko danda jyon mara” for Shaami Kapoor. Though all songs were sung by Rafi in “PAGLA KAHIN kA”
2. Why Kishore sang “Mere Naseeb me e dost tera pyaar nahi” in Mehboob ke Mehmendi” though all songs were sung by Rafi
Is it mean above songs were not cup of Rafi’s tea. If is it so then you guys are completely wrong.
Manish, i never think abt Roshan vs. bappi..Because i always keep them in different class. U wrote abt “Taki Taki..”, I feel this is what versatility mean, Kishore is capable of singing any song.
and “Zamane ko dhikhana hai, you people wrote that is not actual singing. If Rafi was not able to sing those songs, how can you say that he was versatile.
When i wrote abt “Aaajjjjjjjjjjjaaaaa” and “Tak tak..” from “Jeene ki Raah”
Mere dost, like and dislike varies from people to people. If you remember, few days ago i posted one link in which Manna Dey’s said RDB was much better than SDB. How many people will agree to it? I am sure you will not. Is it mean you know music better than Manna?
Half of the Rafians hate SDB and RDB and they blame them for Kishore’s popularity.
Aap log ka view, is like our indian law which modifies as per the class(poor and rich) of the people.