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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May 7th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Ashu,
If Kishore was better than Rafi, then why he had to lip sync Rafi’s songs? The song from “Shararat” was way too much for Kishore. It required a singer of Rafi’s calibure to do justice to the throw and the retraction in this particular song. Listen again. Here is the link.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
dear myk,
pls. read my last blog as:
Regarding “Duniya Meri Jeb Me”….Kishore sang for Rishi, and Rafi for Shashi….(Shashi was second actor in this movie)
As you know multi-starrer movie were in great demand during late 70s, Kishore was only choice for main male actor(more than 80%)
May 7th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
myk,
pls. read my last blog as:
Regarding “Duniya Meri Jeb Me”….Kishore sang for Rishi, and Rafi for Shashi….(Shashi was second actor in this movie)
As you know multi-starrer movie were in great demand during late 70s, Kishore was only choice for main male actor(more than 80%)
May 7th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
myk,
Pls. enhance ur knowledge:
Regarding “Duniya Buniya Meri Jeb Me”….Kishore sang for Rishi, and Rafi for Shashi….(Shashi was second actor in this movie)
Multi-starrer movie was trend in late 70s…u r correct. Have you analysed Kishore sang for main actor in high percentage, and then Rafi..
Here are few movies:
1. Duniya Meri jeb me…kishore sang for Rishi, and one song from Rafi
2. KasmeVaade…Kishore sang for Randhir Kapoor and Amitabh, one song from Rafi with Kishore n Asha
3. Dostana: Kishore sang for Amitabh except one song
4. Chaacha Bhatija: Rafi sang for Dharmendra…Kishore was not there.
[Worst Movie….not blaming Rafi]
5. AAp Ke Deewane: Kishore sang for Rishi, Rafi for Rakesh Roshan
6. Doosra Aadmi: Kishore sang for Rishi, only one duet Rafi for Shashi
7. Parvarish: Kishore for Amitabh, only one duet Rafi for Vinod Khanna
8. Dharam veer: Rafi for Dharmendra(all songs). one kishore, and on emukesh for Jeetendra.
note: Do u know “Hum Banjaro ki baat” was super hit from this moview. Persoanlly i like “O meri Mehbooba” from Rafi and then “Hum Banjaron ki”
9. Amar Akbar Anthony: everyone knows
10. Haath ki Safai: Kishore sang for Randheer, only one duet of Rafi for vinod…
11. Hera Pheri: Kishore for Amitabh, Mahendra Kapoor for Vinod khanna
Can you imagine anyone singing “Peene walon ko peene ka bahana chahiye”?
12. Naseeb: Rafi for Amitabh, Shailendra singh for Shashi
May 7th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
myk,
u quote L-P stating Rafi was great. I hope you have seen last “K for Kishore”…If not let me mention this:
Javed Akhtar, hope you know him, said
“Kishor da jaisa singer na hi tha aur na hi hoga”
May 7th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Naveen Z,
I am really pitty on ur knowledge. Do you know Pran recommended AMitabh for Zanjeer…What does it mean?
Sargam song was on top in 81. Does it mean Rafi dominated late80s?
Jaago bhaiio….If u go back few blogs..you will find a link of binaca geet mala from 75 to 81 sent by me…Hopefully it will open ur eyes. Pls. go through it if you have time…
You know dharmendra has yet to get best actor filmfare award …
and manna sang for Amitabh. 
Note: I don’t want to belittle DHarmedra….He was great actor..Dharmedra was main actor in Sholay, that is why Kishore sang for him
Reason behind this is, I am trying to enhance ur knowledge….
Do you know which song was superhit in Caravaa? I am sure u will remember one of Rafi song…Pls. check the history, it was Kishore’ song whihc was chart buster those time.
Regarding Aasha, apanaPan….These movie are female dominated movie…i think Rafi voice was required there, and FYI only Lata’s songs were superhit…
myk, Rafi never dominated after 69..It’s history…..If you say rafi dominated Kishore, then i must say kishore dominated Rafi from 65-68
because all songs were great and hit.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:56 am
I have been following this thread for sometime. Most of the posts by Sudip,Dhani Manish,myk are excellent .But I have to agree with folks on Rafi’s side that Ashu is a formidable competitor. Ashu raises some good points.I think in past 100 or so posts,there is one point where I agree with Ashu that percentage of Kishore songs that became hits at least on Binaca was more impressive than that of Rafi’s from 69 to 71 considering the number of songs sung by both.Perhaps that is one of the reasons that led to Kishore getting more assignments than Rafi from 72 onwards for a few years .
However Ashuji is off the mark when he says the Rafi was a backup singer.It is being ignorant of the facts while being arrogant at the same time.Rafi died in July of 1980. The Binaca chart of 81 proves that mortally departed Rafi was giving “actively singing” Kishore a tough time. Between Rafi and Kishore right from 77 through 81 except for 1979, the absolute top male song on Binaca annual countdown was always Rafi’s. For the films like Shaan ,Burning Train et al it was Kishore who was a second lead . How does one explain Rafi singing Mere Dost Kisa for Amitabh in Dostana. Rafi was capable to make song a hit whether singing for first lead ,second lead or an ordinary like Mazhar Khan while others depended primarily on first leads (just a little sarcasm here) .It is plain ridiculous to say Dharamender was a second lead in Ram Balram. He appears first in the credits and had an equal box office clout if not greater than Amitabh at the time . And don’t forget a few year prior it was Dharam who had recommended Amit as the second lead for Sholay. The top grosser of 1980 was Aaasha and again Rafi was the lead singer. For Amitabh’s Naseeb a year later late Rafi was the lead singer for both so called first and second leads. What an irony? It would be great if folks here don’t distract with these frivolous arguments any further.
Thanks
Naveen
May 7th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Would like to also add, KK and any other singers were never a challenge nor a threat to Rafi in any way.
Also, when one talks about Rafi and Kishore in the late seventies, or just the late seventies period in general, it can be 1976-1980 or 1977-1980, they’re both one in the same thing. I have even seen some people in other discussions generalize the late seventies period as 1978-1980, when talking about music during that time. The point is, that the “late seventies period” can be referred to as any one of the above mentioned three periods.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:53 am
The last line of my previous post should read as:
“There are so many more albums from 1977-1980 that are Rafi dominated and that have Rafi songs dominating more than Kishore songs and other singers songs.”
May 7th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Vitthal,
Ghantasala may have ruled the Telegu music scene, but you cannot compare that with the National scene where there was much more competition. Also, had Ghantaslala tried his hand nationally he wouldn’t have been able to break in, so to say Ghantasala ruled and Rafi took a backseat to Kishore is being ignorant of facts. Rafi left town, and cut down on his singing, and Kishore’s rise had a lot to do with that besides his own talent. No one ruled like Rafi did, Ghantasala surely did not rule like Rafi did, no male singer did, and Rafi was also the top singer when he passed away. Please don’t compare Rafi’s reign to Ghantasala’s, the situations are totally different, Rafi was on a much wider scale.
Ghantasala like a collosus ?. The term collosus only applies to Rafi, and no one else. Ghantasala did not rule the Southern scene, there were others like PBS, and TMS who also were as successful if not more than Ghantasala, so I wouldn’t strech this further to say he ruled over them all, and for that long, three decades. I would say TMS ruled in the tamil scene, PBS in the Kannada scene, and Ghantasala in the Telegu scene. Rafi on the other hand ruled so much that he left everyone behind. It’s a joke to compare Rafi and Ghantasala in terms of ruling, and like I mentioned Ghantasala ruled in his particular language in a small scale whereas Rafi ruled the National scene on a much bigger scale, and singers like Ghantasala could never break through that because it was impossible. Rafi definitely had a more illustrious career than Ghantasala with many more achievements. All the ruling periods of TMS, PBS and Ghantasala can never match up to Rafi’s ruling period and that too for that long over the National Scene with so much more competition compared to the South. KK’s rise had a lot to do with Rafi’s cutting down on singing and leaving town, had that not happened, KK’s career wouldn’t have flourished. There was hardly anyone else in Telegu music besides Ghantasala so he ruled by default, and each of PBS, TMS and Ghantasala ruled in their particular language, by default, no one to really challenge them, and you can’t say one ruled the whole scene like Rafi. Whereas in HFM, Rafi had to face competition from Talat, Mukesh, Hemant, Manna, KK etc. and came out on top and left everyone behind, and really ruled for much longer than any male singer in India (taking into account all regions), so you can’t compare Rafi’s rule period to anyone’s because its more than anyone’s.
I’m surprised you’re even comparing the two when there is no comparison, Rafi is miles ahead in all departments. You said it yourself, that Ghantasala was called “The Rafi of the South”, which shows Rafi was the greatest, and the benchmark. V-R were called the S-J of the South. This is not just about regional boundaries, the comparison itself is flawed, so it doesn’t matter if Ghantasala sang in the South and Rafi in the National scene. I still consider SPB and Yesudas to be greats when the majority they sang was in the South. IR is one of the greatest MD’s ever and he worked in the South, so its definitely not about where one sang or worked, but about the comparison itself. Also, if Ghantasala had tried to break into the Hindi scene he could have done well but he would never have been able to take over Rafi.
I respect your views, but I still feel SPB and Yesudas are better. I regard Ghantasala as a great singer, but definitely not in the same league or class as Rafi. Yes, SPB and Yesudas consider Ghantasala to be a great singer but they have time and time again mentioned that Rafi is the greatest and the first and last word in singing.
How can I and the whole world forget the greatest singer to have ever lived ?. I will never forget Rafi after listening to any singer, as you claim, because Rafi is the greatest and no one matches up to him. I have heard a lot of Ghantasala, and he is no where near Rafi, its really funny that comparisons arise out of thin air. Then again, everyone compares their favourite to Rafi, so its nothing new. You may feel Ghantasala is the greatest and those are your views, which is fine. You quoted some examples to show Ghantasala is great, which is also fine, but it is a fact that the majority of musicians, MD’s etc. consider Rafi to be the best of them all including the great maestro Illayaraja. I don’t think you have listened to that many Rafi songs, if you do, you won’t even dare compare anyone to Rafi because Rafi is in his own league and class.
There is no comparison at all, Ghantasala did not have as diverse a repertoire or attempted as many genres, or have such a golden voice combined with the ultimate range and versatility, as Rafi did. You are comparing apples and oranges and when you bring Kishore into the picture, its like comparing apples and pears.
Btw, its not a fact that Kishore ruled after 69, its a myth. Only KK fans such as yourself want to spread false rumours, when facts show otherwise. KK’s four years of peak popularity can never match up to Rafi’s dominance before that and after that as well. Rafi was the top singer when he passed away so what challenge are you talking about ?. KK was never a challenge nor a threat to Rafi, it just so happened KK was very lucky or else his situation would have remained the same as all those previous years. Also, Ghantasala didn’t have to face as much competition and still come out on top like Rafi did, had the likes of SPB and Yesudas sang earlier, I am sure they would have taken over in a flash, with all due respect to Ghantasala, as I feel SPB and Yesudas were more versatile. Then if SPB and Yesudas tried their luck at HFM, they would not have been able to reach Rafi’s heights or take over, and they acknowledge Rafi as the greatest like I mentioned before.
It is a fact that KK was no where to be seen all those years, and Ashu made it a point to mention that he only sang for Dev and himself, but failed to also respond to why KK could not make it big as a singer then. You mentioned KK died without a challenge, failing to point out that Rafi was no longer there when KK passed away, so definitely he would have been the top singer, and that singers such as Shabbir, Aziz etc. were regstering more hits than KK in his later days, so what challenge are you exactly talking about ?.
You mentioned no one can sing Ghantasala’s songs the same way, ok that is true and the same can be applied to Rafi’s songs. Rafi’s songs are by far the hardest to sing, I have yet to see any singer’s songs come anywhere close to Rafi’s songs in terms of degree of difficulty. Ghantasala and KK and all others don’t have songs in the league of for example “Likhar tera naam zamin par”, or a “O duniya ke rakhwale” or a “Dekhi zamane ki yaari” and countless others.
You also mentioned Ghantasala didn’t find things such as yodeling to be musical. Well yodelling is not really something that defines a great singer, its just a side skill, no big deal, Rafi also yodelled in quite a few songs, the same way KK did. Both KK and Ghantasala’s repertoire fall flat infront of Rafi’s, and that is the truth.
—————
Ashu,
I brought up Laxmikant’s quote to prove a point that Rafi is the most popular singer. If you’re mentioning World Space and TV and Radio shows, there is much more of Rafi than Kishore. Look at album sales from HMV where Rafi songs sell the most. LOL a show or movie on KK doesn’t prove he is the greatest, its a foolish example, KK’s popularity can never measure up to Rafi’s popularity. Maybe you haven’t seen such overwhelming popularity for any singer ever before, and in this case, since that singer is Rafi, you don’t really like it, so you’re bringing up nonsense examples in the process.
Btw, the RDB interview you quoted by Raju Bharatan is fabricated and not the truth. RD would never say such things, he had the highest respect and regard for Rafi. It’s a shame that you don’t know what interviews are real and what are not. Raju Bharatan has a history of making up many things, and I know RD would never say such things. You can even ask RD’s close associates and they’ll tell you the same thing. Rafi was known to be the best singer at picking up a song really fast, contrary to what the article says and there are many things in that article which are not true. Many of RB’s articles are ignorant of facts. Sorry, but once again your example is weak.
The song orders you mentioned are a figment of your imagination, and not what really happened. Instead of writing the truth, you are making your views the truth. Let’s analyze them:
Abdullah: Maine Poocha Chand Se was a huge hit, much bigger than all the songs in the film. All the other songs followed next. Kishore’s solo was no where in terms of popularity compared to the Rafi solo.
Dostana: Mere Dost Kissa was one of the three Rafi songs nominated for the Filmfare Award in 1980, and was much more popular than any Kishore song in the film. The Rafi-KK duet was also very popular.
Shaan: It was a Rafi album all the way, Kishore had minor presence here.
Ram Balram: Rafi’s songs were again more popular than Kishore’s.
Rafi as a backup singer ?. Maybe to you he was, but Dharmendra and Shashi were definitely not second actors, they were stars, and FYI, Rafi sang for Amitabh in Dostana as well. Multi-starrers was a big trend at that time and both Rafi and KK sang in those films. Since you consider Shashi Kapoor a second actor, Rafi sang for Rishi and KK sang for Shashi in RR’s Duniya Meri Jeb Mein duet, now what would you like to say ?. There are many such examples as the one I mentioned which shows your logic is foolish. They were called “multi starrers” for a reason, having two or more stars and not just one star and other actors. Dharmendra, Shashi, AB, Rishi and many others were all big stars.
From 1979-1981 (the year after Rafi passed away), it was mostly a Rafi show on the BGM and outside of that as well, very little of Kishore. You can mention any films and Rafi’s presence will be much more than Kishore’s because that is what happened. If you did not follow these trends than its better you don’t comment on them and make up things from thin air.
Since you have failed to respond to this point, or acknowledged it, I will continue to assume that you don’t have any reply for that. If there is anyone that is showing a bias, it is you and not Sudip. Sudip is correct in his statements.
There are so many more albums from 1977-1980 that are Rafi dominated or albums that have Rafi songs dominating more than Kishore’s.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Sorry dost, Sudip..
I missed ur blog 1026..
Aapne meri farmaish nahi rakhi..balki aapne apne aapko console kiya hai..somehow…
Agar rafi wala song Yoodelling hai to…Tel maalish boot polish - sivranjanni raag based hai
If i go with ur logic, then.
- Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar….sung by Rafi….according to u…this is Yoodling song….
Don;t u think Kishore would have done justice to this song 100% times better than Rafi..
Dosti ke liye..aapne mere se question puchha tha…
At this point, i just remember one song based on raag piloo in thumri….
1- Jaadu daal gaye ro…..
Note: Dusra yaad aane par turant bhejunga….
Aur Ek baat, agar Thumri ki baat aaye to pehla naam “GHulam Ali” ka hoga….THumri is not kishore and Rafi’s forte….
May 7th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Sudip..
u wrote:
I listen to Hindi film songs as “Hindi film songs”- part of a silly breed of music which have been developed to make movies more colorful and stupid
My reply:
Do you know what does above line means? I believe u r fan of Rafi, not because of his non-filmi songs. It is because of his filmi songs. Music does not make movie colorful and stupid(i feel shame after reading this word), Good music speaks to all people, going places where words alone will not penetrate. In other word, It enable us to find peace of mind.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Rafi singing for kishore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUw8AnSBPo&feature=related
I am no sure wyhy kishore has to use Rafi saab’s voice. May be the song is on high pitc and MD felt that kishore may not give full justice to song.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Ashu:
You are absolutely wrong. In “Kaatilon ki kaatil” one of the biggest hits was “Yeh allah ko khabar”…
In Dostana, no one even bothered about Kishore’s “Bahut khubsurat jawaan ek ladki” ( btw, I love the song.. I think this was Kishore’s best number in the late 70s/early 80s).
You have talked about multi-starrer movies: what about Suhaag, Naseeb
(Rafi singing in both Amitabh’s and Rishi’s voices), Aasha, Kaali Ghata, Ladies Tailor?
Regardless of what way you look at it, Kishore clearly lost his dominance between 1976 and 1980. He was nowhere in the same position as he was between 1972-1975.
You also wrote: “Regarding Yoodling…I can only say “Angoor KHATTE HAI”
Angoor khatte nahin hai.. Rafi angoor khaya, aur Kishore se pehle khaya..Click on the links to listen to perfect yodeling by Rafi:
http://www.esnips.com/doc/f87b5f25-1a15-4e68-a2d9-f36875c91a6a/Hindi
http://www.esnips.com/doc/8d4b719a-0982-4884-b7bd-6d930e15017a/Hindi
Yeh jo angoor ka baat aap kar rahe hain, isko average Ram aur Shyam singers bhi khaya hai, Rafi ka baat chodiye..
May 7th, 2008 at 1:48 am
1029 vitthal: comparing ghantashala’s reign vs rafi’s reign is utterly silly. they were in different groups. i believe that hindi film industry was much more competitive, catered to a much larger population (this last reason itself doesn’t make one artist better than the other - but you’ll see where i’m going with this). these two together combine to increase the want for a change of voice every now and then. the fact that rafi remained supreme for so many years while kishore, prime mukesh, prime manna, a still active talat were around in the 60s - goes to show how great rafi was.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:45 am
ashish: you wrote: “the fact remains that Kishore was the king of emotions”
that’s called an opinion. i diametrically disagree. kishore had his strengths in certain types of emotions - no doubt. overall, he was an amateur compared to rafi when it came to expressing emotions.
i entirely agree with sudip’s singularity approach.
kishore sounded flat and with little emotion compared to rafi in dostana.
as for kishore “dethroning” rafi - i’ve already shared my views on this.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:43 am
myk,
It will be really nice to compare Rafi and kk from 1977 till 1980 with information from Geet Kosh. We all know that Rafi bounced back very well and he was at par with kk.
Assuming kk was considered number 1 from 1971 to 1980, Rafi was right there at close number 2. However when Rafi dominated from 1947 till 1970, kk was nowhere in the picture! (just an observation based on true facts i.e. numbers)
May 7th, 2008 at 1:42 am
why do you guys waste your time arguing with someone who makes points like:
“I can’t imagine Rafi singing without orchestra…First of all his voice resemble faminine, without orchestra, , it would difficult to recognize who is the singer..is it Rafi or Suman kalyanpur”
end
this is only the latest of a hit list. my favorite one was where suresh wadkar can do justice to most of rafi’s songs.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Ashish wrote
Rafi no doubt was technically brilliant in his singing, but his voice lacked emotions. He also tended to get repetitive and flat while singing,
Reply - Do you know what is called flat singing? I think you don’t.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Ashu, Everyone has different taste of music. People like Rafi and people like kk. But facts are numbers.
As per numbers I mentioned in my previous post, Rafi was ahead of KK from 1946 till 1970 (25 years) and KK was ahead from 71 to 80. (10 years).
So as per stats, Rafi is far ahead than KK. I hope everyone (all kk fans) agree.
Ashu, Now if you want we can re-discuss the second topic that we already discussed lots of time. VERSATILITY. Do you want to go into that?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Few lines from RDB interview:
No doubt Rafi was No. 1 then,” conceded Pancham. “But I’d rehearsed Rafi so often for Dada that I could go along with him so far, no further. It was so tough to get Rafi to amend something you’d already taught him!”
“Take my breakthrough Asha Rafi Teesri Manzil duet - Aa jaa aa jaa,” recalled Pancham. “Rafi wasn’t able to grasp the nuances of Aa jaa aa jaa at all!
How Rafi struggled as Asha so exemplarily stretched the crucial Aaha-ha aa jaa aaha-ha aa jaa notes. Give me Kishore any time - he would’ve latched on to it in a trice!”
Difficult Task
“Easy to say that 25 years after it happened,” I noted. “Didn’t it all happen because you never were patient with Rafi - like O P Nayyar was with Asha - to be able to draw the most resonant results from the man who sang Tum ne mujhe dekhaa for you in the same Teesri Manzil! ?”
“Only I know how I got Rafi to do Tum ne mujhe dekhaa! ” insisted Pancham. “With OP, remember, Rafi was on his home Punjabi ground. I don’t agree I was more patient with Kishore, not so patient I was with Rafi, he slipped into the same vocal error - time and again.
Kishore - you had to teach him but once, he was onto it like a shot. See the feel Kishore brought to Chingaree koii bhadke. But that’s straight Bhairavi even for Kishore.”
May 5th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Mr. MYK
Sorry to oppose your statements sir. But i want to tell only one point. As you rightly said, spb and yesudas had great regard and respect for rafi sahab. I want to clarify you that both of them had equal admiration and respect to shri ghantasala also. you can see many commentaries of spb and yesudas wherein they treat ghantasala as their guru. Yesudas says in one of his speeches that ghantasala was the light of the south indian film music. Spb says you cannot find singer like ghantasala in the past, present or future. You know sir, once a tamil producer asked illayaraja to compose songs for a film wherein all the songs will be hit. Illayaraja immediately replied, only ghantasala is the singer who can give such a guarantee. So MYK sir, i am sorry to oppose your views, but after hearing above commentaries, I hope you will change your personal views.
I am not contradicting rafi’s greatness neither i am opposing your views of spb and jesudas on rafi, but i wanted to simply clarify the views of spb and jesudas on ghantasala. Ghantasala is regarded as the master by all these singers of the south. SPB and Jesudas are far behind sri ghantasala in rendering different ranges. Sir, ghantasala’s voice is one of the rarest and greatest melodious voice. You would not have heard some rare songs of this legend. If opportunity arises, i will make you listen those songs. I assure, you will forget mohd. rafi also after hearing them.
Most important point pl.
Sir, sri ghantasala reigned like a colossus and king for nearly 3 decades without any competition and opposition winning best playback singer award for all the 3 decades. No other singer including mohd. rafi had such long and illustrious career or achievements. Rafi at best could have 20 years or so before kishore kumar challenging him and snatching the best playback singer award. Nor spb or jesudas enjoyed such popularity. Ghantasala’s songs continue to enjoy millions of andhraites fan following even after his demise more than 34 years ago. There is no telugu home in which bhagavad gita of ghantasala is not found. The Bhagavad gita of sri ghantasala is played everyday at Tirumala temple. What more can be said of the great ghantasala. A south indian critic of music, by name vak ranga rao, who has most gramophone records in india, in his possession says, ghantasala voice is the most majestic voice in india (see encyclopaedia on ghantasala). So sir, sorry again to oppose your views, but above are only a small piece of information on sri ghantasala. Govt. of Andhra pradesh recommended padmavibhushan to sri ghantasala, but only on sheer political bias, because mohd. rafi was given padmashri, ghantasala was also given padmashri in 60’s despite strong protests by govt. of A.P. There is much more which we shall discuss if time permits. Only point is since ghantasala belonged to south, he was fondly called as mohd. rafi of south. But i personally feel, Ghantasala possessed a voice which was more melodious than rafi and any other singer and he contributed only in lines as prescribed by musical scriptures and there he perfomed completely perfect. Whatever he sang was perfect. YOu know sir, any song which ghantasala sings, other singer can sing the song only to the extent of ghantasala or lesser than him. On the other hand, other singer songs, give it to ghantasala and see that ghantasala definitely pours a special life into it and creates a edge. Moreover, He did not attempt any special items like yoodle yo or anything like kishore etc. because strictly speaking they are outside the puview of true music according to him.
The above has nothing to do with rafi’s greatness. RAfi sahab is a wonderful legend in his own field. Rafi sahab was a king for a period of 20 years (50-70) subsequent to which the kishore wave started and rafi has to take a back seat. This fact has to be accepted. Though rafi was there in the field, it has to be accepted that he faced stiff challenge from kishore kumar, and kishore kumar had a great fan following. Rafi was thus definitely lesser in the enjoyment of status which was enjoyed by ghantasala who died like a king without a challenge. On the other hand kishore also died like a king without a challenge because he was great at the time of his death. So one way raj is correct.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
All your replies accepted. But the fact remains that Kishore was the king of emotions. Rafi no doubt was technically brilliant in his singing, but his voice lacked emotions. He also tended to get repetitive and flat while singing, especially during his later years. So Rafi fans, sorry, but Rafi is no patch on Kishore!
May 5th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
“MYK,don’t give any importance to Yodelling.Such things are mere gimmicks and don’t add any worth to the art of singing.Music in the real sense captures your imagination and enters deep into your mind.For this reason I don’t fancy much even Rafi’s songs sung for Shammi Kapoor”
-Dhani: I disagree with you on this point. Here we are judging film music and not standalone songs. Film music can take certain liberties because they are built on a stupid, silly premise in the first place. If you can accept the fact that a hero can sing a love song in public to his heroine, there is no point rejecting the gimmick part of it. If you take a pure art form, Rafi, Kishore, Lata should not exist in the way we know them in the first place. No classic Satyajit Ray or Ingmar Bergman movie will have songs in the first place.
I listen to Hindi film songs as “Hindi film songs”- part of a silly breed of music which have been developed to make movies more colorful and stupid..This is the reason why Kishore would even be compared to Rafi..
Can there be a middle ground: where music in Hindi films is not dissociated from pure art forms? Most likely yes…And that’s why I like Rafi and Lata..
May 5th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Ashu ji:
Aapka farmaish maine rakh li. Maine aapko teen Rafi ka yoddeling (pardon my Amrican spelling) wala gana bheja..
Dosti ke khatir aap mujhe aab Kishore ka ek Thumri bhej dijiye..