Famous songs, Not-so-Famous Faces: The Magic of Mohammad Rafi

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Some days back, in celebration of the birth centenary of Mohammad Rafi, I posted a list of ten Rafi songs, picturized on ten different actors. Each of those men—Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, even Johnny Walker—were immediately recognizable. Big names in their own ways (yes, even Johnny Walker, whom I personally think of as the greatest comedian to have lit up the Hindi silver screen). But even as I was compiling that list, I was thinking of all the many other times I’ve listened to a Rafi song, and have been unable to put a name to the man who’s lip-syncing to his voice.

The songs in this list are those ones: well-known songs that Rafi sang for relatively obscure actors. Some (like M Kumar) had once managed to make a fairly respectable name for themselves in Hindi cinema, but have been since mostly forgotten. Others, like Sudhir Kumar, had a promising debut but fizzled out quickly. Some were extras, familiar faces but mostly unknown by name.

But Rafi sang for them, and sang beautifully. Listening to these songs, it struck me all over again how he seems to have poured his soul into each song, giving it his very best, no matter whom he was singing for. If he could sing a mad, effervescent Ai aiya karoon main kya Suku Suku for Shammi Kapoor or a Duniya paagal hai for Joy Mukherjee, he could also immortalize Herman Benjamin with Jaan-pehchaan ho. Almost all the songs in this list are songs I had heard long before I saw them; and I remember visualizing who might be the ‘hero’ singing them… only to sit up in surprise when I actually got around to watching the song.

Here, then, are the songs, all from pre-1970 Hindi films that I’ve seen. In most cases, I’ve been able to identify the actor who lip-syncs to Rafi’s playback singing; in a couple of cases this hasn’t been possible, so I would appreciate any help you might be able to offer on that front.

These are in no particular order.

1. Hai kali-kali ke labh par (Lala Rukh, 1957): Lotan. Based on a poem, Lalla Rookh (published in 1817) by Irish poet Thomas Moore, this film starred Talat Mahmood as the king who dons a disguise to woo the princess he’s betrothed to. Given that Talat was the male lead, of course, all the songs he got to sing onscreen were sung playback by him too (and they were good songs, including the romantic Pyaas kuchh aur bhi bhadka di). It’s ironic, then, that perhaps the most well-known song of the film happens to be a Rafi number: Hai kali-kali ke labh par.

The actor here is Lotan. I know nothing about him other than that, not even which other films he featured in. But in Lala Rukh, as an inebriated and happy man hosting a dinner party for his friends, he’s quite a bit of fun, even giving in to their pleas to sing a song while the dancing girl he’s hired shows off her moves. A deliciously melodious song, the tune (by Khayyam) lilting and performed superbly by Rafi.


2. Tu shokh kali main mast pawan (Main Suhaagan Hoon, 1964): Kewal Kumar. Main Suhaagan Hoon was a painful film about a self-sacrificing, long-suffering woman, Shanti, whose husband is presumed dead in the war, but who—like all proper pativratas—refuses to believe it. When I watched this film some years back, in my notes, this is how I ended my mini-review of Main Suhaagan Hoon: ‘Stupid film, and Shanti is an irritating, self-sacrificing, seriously misunderstood moron. But at least the music is good’.

Yes, the music is good, and one of the best songs here is Tu shokh kali main mast pawan, sung by Rafi. This song appears in two versions: one as a duet with Asha Bhonsle (picturized on Mala Sinha and Ajit); and this, a solo picturized on Kewal Kumar.

Kewal Kumar, according to IMDB, seems to have been also the producer of Mere Humdum Mere Dost and Pyaasi Shaam, as well as the assistant director of Chalte Chalte; but whether it’s the same Kewal Kumar, or another, I have no idea. He appears to have acted in just two films, Main Suhaagan Hoon and Pyaar ka Bandhan (1963), but it’s for Main Suhaagan Hoon that Kewal Kumar has whatever claim to fame he commands, and that a result of this song.

3. Lagta nahin hai dil mera ujde dayaar mein (Laal Qila, 1960): M Kumar. As I mentioned in the introduction to this post, M Kumar was no mere extra, no non-entity. Born Syed Ali Hasan Zaidi, he had debuted in Hindi cinema (then working under the stage name of Ali Meer) in the 1930s. Director Debaki Bose, when he cast Kumar in the lead role of Puran Bhagat (1933) changed Ali Meer’s stage name to Kumar, which stuck. Kumar (or M Kumar, as he was also known) married the Jewish star Pramila; worked in many films, even produced and directed films in India before migrating to Pakistan in 1963. For audiences familiar with cinema of the 50s and 60s, Kumar’s most visible role was as the sangtaraash, the stone carver, of Mughal-e-Azam (in which, of course, he got to lip-sync to Zindabad zindabad ae mohabbat zindabad).

Despite a far from obscure career, M Kumar’s fame has not endured. Today, most people would be hard put to be able to put a name to the sangtaraash, or even to the man who played the doomed, lonely Bahadur Shah ‘Zafar’ in Laal Qila. In this film, Rafi sang two of Zafar’s poems for M Kumar: Na kisi ka noor hoon, and Lagta nahin hai dil mera. The latter, especially, is a song that never fails to give me gooseflesh: Rafi’s voice brims over with the pain and despair of the emperor.

4. Mere dilbar mujhpar khafa na ho (Dharamputra, 1961): Baalam. Dharamputra, one of the finest films about secularism that I’ve ever seen, had two songs that both featured star cameos: Rajendra Kumar (otherwise not in the cast of the film) lip-synced to Yeh kiska lahu hai kaun maraa, and Shashikala danced to Mere dilbar mujhpar khafa na ho. Shashikala, being a familiar face, probably stole the show here in this song, but the man who lip-synced to the song (sung by Rafi) is not an unknown face either, though most people might not recognize him. … which is sad, because (rather like M Kumar), this was a man who had once been a big name.

Baalam, or Master Nissar, was one of the first singing actors of Hindi cinema. During the 1930s, he was immensely popular, and starred in hit films like Shirin Farhad (1931) and Kisan Kanya (1937). His career declined in the late 1940s, and the story goes that Sahir Ludhianvi, having discovered him begging on the streets of Bombay, helped him back into the industry. Baalam went on to play character roles in the late 50s and 60s, often appearing as a qawwal, especially in Barsaat ki Raat and Dharamputra (where he also appears in Kaabe mein raho ya Kashi mein).

5. Jaan-pehchaan ho, jeena aasaan ho (Gumnaam, 1965): Herman Benjamin. Now this is one man whom a lot of people may not be able to put a name to, but—almost completely on the basis of this Rafi song—he became part of a cult classic. Herman Benjamin was not just one of the leading dancers of Hindi cinema in the late 50s and through the 60s, but also a choreographer: among the early films for which he did the choreography were Chalti ka Naam Gaadi and Dil Deke Dekho. He is also seen onscreen in many songs—especially the popular ‘club songs’ of that period—such as Neele aasmaani poochho toh yeh naina babu; O babu o lala; and Teen-kanastar peet-peetkar.

But it is this song that made Herman Benjamin so much a known face (even if the overwhelming number of people who’re familiar with this song still don’t know his name). In 2001, the American director/writer Terry Zwigoff’s black comedy Ghost World had its credits playing against a backdrop of Jaan-pehchaan ho, and the sheer energy of the song so caught the imagination even of Westerners who had never before seen a Hindi film, it became hugely popular, to the extent that in 2011, Heineken created a commercial centring around the song.

And how fabulously Rafi sings it! That verve, the pizzazz, the sheer energy: unbeatable.

6. Dhalti jaaye raat keh le dil ki baat (Razia Sultana, 1961): Harbans Lal Pape (?). Possibly Harbans Lal Pape; I cannot say with any certainty. I am only going by a comment on this post about the song, on Atul’s blog. The commenter seems very certain, so I am assuming that it is, indeed, Harbans Lal Pape—about whom I have been able to find absolutely nothing beyond this mention. Is he the same Harbans who is credited in Teesri Kasam? (For there is no Harbans or Harbans Lal listed in the very brief cast credited in Razia Sultana). I think I’ve seen him in other films as well, but I can’t be sure.

Asha and Rafi’s voices meld beautifully in a stunningly romantic paean to the night and to love, and I cannot help but marvel at the soothing softness Rafi manages to imbue his words with: as if he’s this man, this lover caressing his beloved with his words. Wonderful.

7. Aana hai toh aa raah mein kuchh der nahin hai (Naya Daur, 1957): ? Here is a famous song, often regarded as one of Mohammad Rafi’s best—but I’ve not been able to find out who the actor lip-syncing to Aana hai toh aa is. It isn’t easy to identify this man, because he is dressed as a sadhu, and that heavy beard and moustache and the flowing locks obscure his features a good deal. What’s more, he’s never shown up close: all we see is his figure from afar, standing outside the main gate of the temple, exhorting devotees to enter. The camera never homes in on his face.

Nevertheless, an outstanding song by Rafi, one that can be counted among the many great devotional songs he sang in the course of his career.

8. Jaanewaalon zara mudke dekho mujhe (Dosti, 1964): Sudhir Kumar Sawant. Dosti was a film about two differently-abled teenagers whose friendship becomes the mainstay of their lives. With three blockbuster hit songs (Raahi manwa dukh ki chinta kyon sataati hai; Chaahoonga main tukhe saanjh-savere, and Jaanewaalon zara mudke dekho mujhe) written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (who won their first Filmfare Award thanks to the score), Dosti also won accolades otherwise: it was the third highest-grossing film of the year, a big hit which also won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. It would have been expected to have cemented the careers of Sudhir Kumar Sawant and Sushil Kumar, who played the leads.

However, the one person whose career endured was Sanjay Khan, who played a relatively minor character in the film; both Sushil Kumar and Sudhir Kumar would end up not going too far in the industry.  Sudhir Kumar did act in a few other films, both Hindi as well as Marathi (he starred in Sant Gyaneshwar, 1964), but his career tanked quickly. Today, while the songs of Dosti are still remembered, Sudhir Kumar’s name is by and large forgotten.

This song, though: immortal. How beautifully Rafi sings it, infusing in Majrooh’s poignant lyrics all the pain and the loneliness of one who is always ‘othered’ by society. 

9. Swapn jhade phool se, meet chubhe shool se (Nai Umar ki Nai Fasal, 1965): Rajeev. A somewhat boring film (Deepa Gahlot describes it as ‘wishy-washy’ in this article, and I couldn’t agree more) about student politics, Nai Umar ki Umar Fasal was directed by R Chandra, the brother of Bharat Bhushan. The film was fairly lacklustre, though what it is today mostly remembered for is its music, composed by Roshan to lyrics by Neeraj, of which the most memorable is the brilliant Swapn jhade phool se (kaarvaan guzar gaye, ghubaar dekhte rahe). Neeraj’s poetry here is superb, and Rafi’s beautifully modulated rendition does it complete justice.

But Rajeev is the one here who doesn’t quite make it. One would have expected that he might have an advantage, given that he was the son of director R Chandra and therefore the nephew of Bharat Bhushan (to whom he bears a remarkable resemblance, both in features as well as voice and general demeanour)—but while Bharat Bhushan was a pretty major actor, Rajeev’s career as an actor was forgettable.


10. Ek tera saath humko do jahaan se pyaara hai (Waapas, 1969): Ajay. According to several online sources, Ajay Verekar (though he’s credited only as ‘Ajay’ in the film). This actor seems to share the same name with a present-day art director, thanks to which there are many mix-ups online. However, he looks very familiar—I’m quite certain I’ve seen a much younger version of him, possibly as a child actor? He is listed, at least on IMDB (which I will always admit is not completely reliable), as having appeared in Gyaarah Hazaar Ladkiyaan, Seema, Haqeeqat and Taqdeer. All are films I’ve seen, but a cursory glance through them doesn’t show me a face I recognize as Ajay’s. In any case, this just proves my point: Rafi sang some fabulous (and famous) songs even for extremely obscure actors.

Ek tera pyaar humko do jahaan se pyaara hai appears in two versions: as a happy duet (with Lata), sung when a newlywed couple celebrate their love for each other; and, set several years in the future, a sad solo when misunderstandings have driven a wedge between these two and led to their separation. Both versions are excellent, but I like Rafi’s solo just that little bit more: the way he’s able to infuse the sorrow and the pain of distance and loneliness is very special.


I had initially thought I would do just one post to celebrate Rafi’s centenary. Then, even as I was finishing that post, it occurred to me that I hadn’t done justice to Rafi by leaving out all the many songs he had sung for obscure actors. Now that this post is done and dusted, I’m realizing that I have left out the ones in the middle—actors who weren’t obscure, but who weren’t major stars, either. They may have been character actors; they may even have played the hero in a few films, but they weren’t in the same realm as a Shammi Kapoor or a Dev Anand.

That post, up next, and then I’ll give Rafi Sahib a break… perhaps.

44 thoughts on “Famous songs, Not-so-Famous Faces: The Magic of Mohammad Rafi”

  1. Anu,

    I especially thank you for ferreting out information about the unknown actors for whom Rafi sang some great songs. I had no clue at least about half of them – Ajay, Rajeev, Aana hai to aa; Harbans Lal Pape, Lotan.

    AK

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    • I was waiting for this since you teased the possibility in your previous post, Madhu. Lovely to see such well-known songs here; I think it was Laxmikant who said that Rafi never asked if he was going to sing for the hero. Neither did he worry about whether he was singing all the songs or just one song. I mean, think of Mela and Andaz, where Mukesh sang all the songs for the hero. At least in Andaz, Rafi’s duet was picturised on Raj Kapoor; in Mela, the song, Ye zindagi ke mele was picturised on an obscure actor named Rafiq Arabi.

      From your list, Lagta nahin hai dil mera is such a favourite. And so are Jaan pehchaan ho and Swapn jhade phool se. Which brings to mind yet another of Rafi’s great talents – the ability to sing such varied genres of music.

      Some of the other songs that were picturised on unknown faces:

      Apni aankhon mein basaakar from Thokar, picturised on Baldev Khosla.

      The beautiful Taqdeer ka fasaana jaakar kise sunaaye from Sehra, picturised on Prashant.

      Then, there’s a pleasant LP composition from a film called Wapas – Ek tera saath, picturised on someone called Ajay. The duet version is the more popular one.

      Mujhe tumse mohabbat hai from Bachpan, picturised on Salim Khan (yes, of Salim-Javed fame).

      Tum humein bhool gaye from Balam, picturised on Wasti may not count since he’s not exactly ‘unknown’?

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      • Yes, indeed: Rafi was so adept at singing (and so believably) in such a wide range of styles and genres. Look how completely ‘with it’ he is in something like Suku Suku or Jaan-pehchaan ho – and he comes across equally at ease with bhajans or naats. Or meltingly romantic songs. Or whatever; there seems to have been nothing where he doesn’t sound completely comfortable with the style.

        Thank you for the songs you mention – I especially love Taqdeer ka fasana: beautiful.

        And yes, Ek tera saath humko do jahaan se pyaara hai is on the list. :-) The last song.

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  3. You probably missed the 4th beautiful DOSTI song… Mera toh jo bhi kadam hai Woh tere raah mein hai.

    Sadness, despair, anguish of separation oozes out of Rafi ‘s vocals.

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  4. All lovely songs and didn’t make any difference who potrayed them on screen. That was the wonder called Rafi. He could have sung for a rock and it would be a hit.

    Incidentlly, one of those rocks, Sudhirkumar was from my village and I have heard stories about how famous he was after movie Dosti.

    My favorites from the list are Hai Kali Kali ke Lab Pe & Swapn Zhare Phool Se.

    I would add a few.

    Now wouldn’t call Kabir Bedi as little known actor but he is barely recognizable here plus it’s Rafi who, for me, subdued Sharada enough to like this song. So Jab Bhi Yeh Dil Udas hota Hai

    Neither is Kanwaljeet unknown but he didn’t make it big in bollywood.
    Hence Kahin Ek Masoom Najuk Si Ladki

    Deepak Parashar I feel is one or two film wonder. So worth mentioning
    Tu Is Tarah Se. I hate background music for Rafi’s version but Rafi is sublime as usual.

    For Mahipal Woh Jab Yaad Aaye

    Chun Chun karti Aayi Chidiya for Yakub

    Iconic Tu Hindu Banega Na Musalman Banega for Manmohan Krishna

    Parbaton ke Pedon par for Kamaljeet (Shashi Rekhi)

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    • He could have sung for a rock and it would be a hit.

      Hehe! Well said, and I agree completely. (Which makes me think: I could just as well have a list of background songs sung by Rafi – I think there should be a fair number of those too).

      From your list, I like all your suggestions – especially Kamaljeet, who I think fits perfectly in this list (and Parbaton ke pedon par is a lovely song). When it comes to Manmohan Krishna and Mahipal, I beg to differ: I don’t think either of them was an unknown. Instead, I’d put both of them into the bracket of ‘neither unknown nor a star’: Manmohan Krishna was one of Hindi cinema’s greatest character actors, and Mahipal had pretty much made the period film/fantasy genre his own – I’ve lost count of the number of films of that type (including some classics like Parasmani and Zabak) in which he starred.

      (Watch this space. :-) Next up is a list of songs Rafi sang for these ‘beech ka bandars‘).

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      • Yes. Manmohan Krishna was definitely very good actor. I put him into this category only because he was neither hero material nor did he get protagonist roles (in typical bollywood sense) and I had to mention ‘Tu Hindu Banega’ because that’s what Rafi’s voice was – it was above everything else.

        Never knew Mahipal was such a big hit because I rarely watched his movies/movies of genre he owned, but I do remember dance off in Parasmani.

        Eagerly waiting for ‘Beech Ke Bandar’ post :)

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    • Yes, I thought of Phir tumhaari yaad aayi ae sanam too, since it’s picturised completely on extras who are singing, but since Rafi is only one of several singers, I decided to drop it. Regretfully; it’s one of my favourite songs.

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  9. Hi Madhu

    Rafi is my absolute favorite singer and trust you to find another interesting category!  I found a couple – hopefully they qualify. For some reason I was unable to add the links to the songs.

    Film –  Kya ye Bambai hai – the actor is probably Maruti

    Ye Bambai shehere ka bada naam hai

    Film – Kaun apna kaun paraya – Waheeda with Vijay Kumar (Johnny Walker’s brother)

    Zara sun haseena e nazneen

    Film – Jugnu – Rafi singing for himself (0:56 on the link I found)

    Voh apni yaad dilane ko

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  10. Do duets make the cut? If so, then surely Shyam Kapoor ought to qualify as a not-so-famous lip-syncher.

    Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar (CID 1956):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvL3q9o7s0E

    Then there’s this serenader whose name I am utterly clueless about. I’m not even sure he has a role in the movie outside of the song, or if his name’s included in the credits.

    Sabhi Kuchh Lutakar (from the Bengali film Indrani 1958 – bet you didn’t see that coming!):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI-L4siLfRY

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    • Duets absolutely make the cut (see Dhalti jaaye raat, above) – and I’m wishing I’d remembered Leke pehla-pehla pyaar: so apt for this list!

      And thank you for Sabhi kuchh lutaakar. :-) I have been fascinated by that ever since you wrote about it.

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  11. Dear Madhu,

    Re. I am so much in awe of your prolificity !

    As also that of all who write back in response!

    I was trying now to send a response _along with a LINK to a song..) to the theme just posted by you, but felt some glitches creeping in… (I’m quite technologically challenged!)

    If some of the procedures to be followed while replying are changed p[ease do let me know via Email: praba.mahajan@gmail.com

    Will attempt to try once more with feeling, tomr. morning

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    • (Take 2 …….)

      Hi Madhu,

      Here is a song that I had wanted to post about, on one or more of your earlier posts, where the theme came to be “really close” (but not quite the right one! ) — for instance, ‘several’ versions of the same song in a film” etc. but refrained from doing so.

       In part, this was because the visual for this version was not appealing…

       (to say the least), as will be obvious when you click on the LINK given below…

      The song is:

      ‘Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein shamil hai, jahan bhi jaaon yeh lagta hai teri mehfil hai’, sung in three different moods, by Mohammad Rafi, Manhar and Hemlata, for a little known film:“Aap To Aise Na The” (1980)

      I have loved the lyrics of this song- written by Nida Fazli–  from the time that I first heard it, and have never tired of listening to it as also seeing the version sung by singer Hemlata, (picturised on actor Ranjeeta in the film).

      But I digress….,

      To get back to your theme this time, I dithered so long over posting this version by Mohammed Rafi, (it not being visually appealing to say the least..) this song that it is no surprise that  AS beat me to listing it, with an appropriate comment as well! Thanks!

      Here it is, warts and all.

      Hope I am forgiven for this!

      Viewing the video on YouTube now, it almost feels uncanny, that Mohammed Rafi, at 55, at the peak of his incomparable career, should have so generously sung for a young Deepak Parashar (then, a model aspiring to be an actor)  for the film “Aap To Aise Na The” (1980) –. (duly noted in the Comments section). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEXG222vqA0

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      • What an apt inclusion for this theme! Thank you so much for this, Praba. I have to admit I hadn’t realized (until now, in retrospect) just what a flash in the pan Deepak Parashar was. I remember seeing him in a couple of films (Nikaah was one, Shradhanjali another) as a child, but I think beyond that – and perhaps a couple of other films, like this one – he fizzled out. But Tu is tarah se meri zindagi mein remains a classic which has far outlived his career.

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  12. On this theme, I believe I can post hundreds of songs, because when I started thinking about it, the list seemed to be endless so I’m just limiting it to a few songs below. I apologize because I don’t know the names of most of these actors:

    Bolo Ji Dil Loge on Shyam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcAalA0iSC8

    Aao Ji Aao Na Dil Mein Samao Na on unknown actor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVC_r0zaDnA

    Phir Wo Bhuli Si Yaad Aayi Hai (The video song is broken so providing the link of vinyl record) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi3x4-wO2oI

    Paas Aakar To No Yoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDnAenNpFKc

    Rona Tera Ghadi Ghadi Mujhe Rula Na De https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kmqBQFMydg

    Duniya Hai Badi Zalim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GmA_K1BTuk

    Even though Jagdeep is a major actor but since I see a song on Yakub which too was a major actor of 1940s and 1950s so I’m just posting very rare songs of Rafi on Jagdeep (not the one like Chal Ud Ja Re Panchhi)

    Apni Apni Pasand Hai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY4KlX56PgM&list=RDNY4KlX56PgM&start_radio=1

    Khwab mein Kahan Milogi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K592YZB8hY

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    • The actor in Aao ji aao na dil mein samaao na is Dilip Raj, son of P Jairaj. Phir woh bhooli si yaad – Sailesh Kumar. Paas aakar toh na – Sudhir Kumar (who was also one of the stars of Dosti). I don’t know the others, I’m sorry.

      The theme of this post is ‘famous songs’ so some, at least, don’t really fit, because they’re obscure songs, even if they’re good songs.

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  14. Thanks for the wonderful post .Rafi’s greatness stems from the fact he never ever bothered as to who was/were his co-singer/s or for which music director he was singing . He had sung for almost unknown composers like Ghanshyamji, Sharada etc . He had sung with obscure singers too. The world may see another voice similar or better than Rafi’s, but it is doubtful whether it will see another Rafi, the person .The song “Dukh Sukh Ki Har Ek Mala” from the movie Kudrat is a classic example of Rafi’s altruistic attitude & solicitude for others. Rafi was more unique than other geniuses & there lay the secret of his undimming greatness

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    • The world may see another voice similar or better than Rafi’s, but it is doubtful whether it will see another Rafi, the person.

      Beautifully said. I think that is the crux of my special love for Rafi. There are many singers whose voices I truly love and admire, but from all I’ve heard, Rafi was such a genuinely good person – and that makes me like him a little bit (or a lot more) than any of his contemporaries.

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  15. Perhaps hundreds of wonderful songs were sung for little known actors or odd characters in old Hindi films by Mohammad Rafi. It is as if the whole background environment to most films, and I don’t mean background songs only, but songs sung by beggars, vendors, just strangers happening to pass by at the critical moment were all sung by Rafi. Perhaps because the music directors loved him, as I heard recently someone saying, with Rafi singing you didn’t have to bother about range, genre, about anything. Perhaps also because Rafi was never egoistic enough to demand he would sing only for the hero/ protagonist. I am linking one such song from the film Chhaya. I don’t know the name of the actor who is shown as singing the song. Ya keh de hum insaan nahin. https://youtu.be/aSy1qBuAZCE?feature=shared

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    • Perhaps also because Rafi was never egoistic enough to demand he would sing only for the hero/ protagonist. 

      True! He was indiscriminate in that sense, wasn’t he? He sang for pretty much everybody – and poured in all the emotion, all the dedication, that he would have done for the top stars he sang for too.

      I also don’t know who the actor in Ya keh de ke hum insaan nahin is, but it’s a good song. Thank you for this.

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  17. Also love the song Hai bahaare baaghe duniya chand roz from the 1962 film Bombay ka chor. Have not watched the film primarily because I find Kishore Kumar irritating in large doses, but this song and the scene is moving and Rafi’s voice and words echo in the mind long after the song has ended.

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    • Have not watched the film primarily because I find Kishore Kumar irritating in large doses

      I agree completely! There are many films I haven’t seen simply because Kishore is the male lead. He was a wonderful singer, but his brand of comedy I find mostly very irritating. Thank you for the song, though – beautiful.

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  19. Not sure Madhu ji if anone mentioned this song from Shree 420– Ramaiya Vastavaiya.

    The singer who sung for Rafi is totally unknown to me.

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