Neither Here nor There: Rafi Sings for the In-Betweens

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When, to celebrate the birth centenary (on December 24, 2024) of the one and only Mohammad Rafi, I compiled this list of my favourite Rafi songs for the top leading men of the 1950s and 60s, I was uncomfortably aware that I wasn’t doing justice to Rafi’s oeuvre. Even though I had tried my best to bung in mentions (and links) to many other songs Rafi had sung for these men. Because there were many other Rafi songs I could think of, which he had sung for actors absolutely opposite to these: extras, or actors who had woefully short-lived careers—in many cases men whose entire career might be said to hinge around one fantastic song that Rafi sang for them. A second Rafi list, arranged actor-wise, was therefore in order.

But in between the stars and the entities were a host of other actors who had the honour to lip-sync to Rafi’s voice. These were often character actors, or men who acted as villains. Even, in cases like Sanjay Khan, Premnath and Ajit, men who did appear in a fair number of films in leading roles, but cannot be said to have ever reached the heights of popularity or success of, say, a Dilip Kumar or Dev Anand, or even a Biswajit. They were the in betweens: not at all obscure, but not the Jubilee Kumar types.

It is these men, and the songs Rafi sang for them, that are the focus of this post. One major criterion I wanted to stick to here (besides the fact that the songs should all be from pre-70s films that I’ve seen) is that the song should be a well-known one. A way of reinforcing the idea that some of Rafi’s most popular songs weren’t sung for the big stars.

In no particular order, then:

1. Woh hum na thhe woh tum na thhe (Cha Cha Cha, 1964): Chandrashekhar. Chandrashekhar was by no means a flash in the pan; he acted in over 200 films, and went on assist Gulzar in the direction of some of the latter’s 1970s films like Mausam, Aandhi and Parichay. But Chandrashekhar could never really get into the big league, despite turning producer and casting himself opposite Helen (in her first role as a heroine) in Cha Cha Cha. Cha Cha Cha had a fairly lacklustre story, but what stood out was its music, with the lovely duet Ek chameli ke mandve tale (with Asha Bhonsle) and two superb solos: Subaah na aayi shaam na aayi; and this one. A song of heartbreak and sorrow, of betrayal: Rafi’s voice lends so much pathos to this, yet never becomes shrill or melodramatic.

2. Tujhe kya sunaaoon main dilruba (Aakhri Daao, 1958): Shekhar. For a long time, I confused Shekhar with Chandrashekhar, so it seems logical that the next person on this list should be Shekhar. Like Chandrashekhar, Shekhar too was not an unknown: he did act as the leading man in a fair number of films, including roles that cast him opposite top actresses of the day, such as Meena Kumari (Chaandni Chowk) and Nutan (Aakhri Daao). He could never, however, make it big: perhaps he simply lacked the charisma and/or the looks.

But Shekhar lip-synced to Rafi singing this absolutely stunning serenade to Nutan. Shekhar, a lowly garage mechanic who’s accidentally ended up pretending to be a wealthy man in order to impress this heiress, finds himself at a picnic sitting beside her—and takes the opportunity to bare his heart. Nutan, despite having started off feeling embarrassed and annoyed, is looking with longing eyes at Shekhar by the time he’s midway through his song. I don’t think his expression is the reason; it has to be that voice, which is irresistible. How many less-than-stellar heroes wooed their women with Rafi’s glorious vocals?

3. Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega (Dhool ka Phool, 1959): Manmohan Krishna. And now a character actor: in fact, one of the most popular character actors of the 50s and 60s. Manmohan Krishna acted in a huge number of films, usually as the avuncular older man, wise and experienced. Dhool ka Phool was possibly the highlight of his career: his portrayal of the kind Abdul Rashid who adopts an abandoned baby and sacrifices his own comfort and peace to bring up the child earned him a well-earned Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. And it had him lip-syncing to this beautiful song, the ultimate anthem to secularism.

I always think that Rafi might have sung Tu Hindu banega na Musalmaan banega with a certain fervour: from all I’ve heard of him, he was a genuinely ‘good’ man, the sort who valued humanity, who saw all as equals. A Muslim who could sing a bhajan like Mann tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj with such emotion that it seemed more a spiritual experience than a performance.

(And I have to at least mention another favourite Rafi-for-Manmohan Krishna song: Basti-basti parbat-parbat from Railway Platform, also philosophical, also in praise of common humaneness).

4. Mohabbat zinda rehti hai (Changez Khan, 1957): Premnath. Premnath is certainly not an unknown; he was a leading man, and one, too, who acted in films opposite actresses as major as Madhubala and Nalini Jaywant. However, he somehow never came even close to attaining the sort of heights of his brother-in-law Raj Kapoor: Premnath got slotted fairly early on in fantasy/swashbuckling/period adventure films (Saaqi, Badal, Aab-e-Hayat) only briefly venturing into related crime/mystery films like Chaalees Din, Chaubees Ghante and Bus Conductor before making a far bigger name for himself as a villain, especially in the 70s.

Rafi sang several songs for Premnath, but this one from Changez Khan is easily the most famous. As Sherwa, the Tatar warrior who falls in love with Azra, the princess on whom the conqueror warlord Changez Khan has his eye, Premnath got to lip-sync to the iconic Mohabbat zinda rehti hai, a song that’s repeated in bits and pieces through a film that could not quite match up to the memorable-ness of the song. Changez Khan is long forgotten; the song remains a classic.

5. Mile na phool toh kaanton se dosti kar li (Anokhi Raat, 1968): Parikshit Sahni. The son of an illustrious father—Balraj Sahni, who passed on his acting genes to his son—Parikshit Sahni made his debut in Anokhi Raat (where he was billed as ‘Ajay Sahni’). His acting was good, he was handsome: but he didn’t really make his mark. It’s not even as if he didn’t get any more roles: there was the poignant Pavitra Paapi a couple of years later, in which he acted alongside his father; but beyond that, Parikshit Sahni mostly ended up in supporting roles, quickly becoming fairly avuncular.

But here, in his first film, he is a treat to watch. And he got to lip-sync to Rafi’s voice, in a song about sensitivity, about understanding the pain of those who are continually making sacrifices and compromises, learning to ‘make friends with thorns’ when they could not find flowers.

6. Raat bhar ka hai mehmaan andhera (Sone ki Chidiya, 1958): Balraj Sahni. Where there is Parikshit Sahni, could Balraj Sahni be far behind? Balraj Sahni is easily my favourite character actor from the 50s, and one of my favourite actors irrespective of popularity—like Dilip Kumar and Ashok Kumar, he too was able to make any character he played seem so very believable, so very likeable. But he was never a ‘hero’, really, not even in films (like Do Bigha Zameen, Seema, Black Cat, Mai Baap, etc) where he was cast as the male lead.

One song that Mohammad Rafi sang playback for Balraj Sahni has gone down in Rafi lore as an example of how deeply Rafi immersed himself in his music, how he allowed his emotions to come through. In Baabul ki duaayein leti jaa, Balraj Sahni’s character is bidding farewell to his daughter (played by Waheeda Rehman) as she leaves, a new bride, for her husband’s home. Rafi, whose daughter had just got married and whom he too had thus sent her way, imbued the song with the emotion he had felt when he was sending away his daughter.

I have to admit to not liking Babul ki duaayein leti jaa, despite its popularity; but here is another emotional, uplifting song that Rafi sang for Balraj Sahni. Raat bhar ka hai mehmaan andhera appears in two versions in Sone ki Chidiya, but this, the male version, is the main one. It’s inspiring, comforting, reminding one that the dawn cannot be held back: it will come.

7. Nanhe-munne bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai (Boot Polish, 1954): David Abraham. David Abraham Cheulkar, more commonly known as David, was one of the few (the only?) male Jews who became a familiar face for Hindi cinema goers. He acted in more than a hundred films, usually playing an avuncular character: the sort of kind-hearted man, good-natured and with a sense of humour, who came to the help of the beleaguered hero/heroine (there were  some films where he acted against type, but they are few and far between).

In Boot Polish, one of (supposedly, I’m not certain) three films for which Mohammad Rafi sang playback for David, David acts as one of his most memorable characters: John Chacha, the good-hearted, one-legged bootlegger who takes under his wing two orphans who are having a rough time. “John Chacha tum kitne achhe, tumhe pyaar karte sab bachche” (Uncle John, how good you are; all the children love you”) goes a line in the song Raat gayi phir din aata hai from Boot Polish, and it describes John very well indeed. Loving, gentle, kind to children. Large-hearted.

Here, in what is probably the most famous song from the film, Rafi sings (in tandem with Asha Bhonsle) for David. I love the affection, the sweetness of the soul that shines forth in Nanhe-munne bachche—and I can’t help but think that that, to a great extent, is Rafi’s own innate goodness that can be glimpsed here.

8. Chaman ke phool bhi tujhko gulaab kehte hain (Shikaari, 1963): Ajit. Ajit, born Hamid Ali Khan, had a career in some ways fairly similar to that of his contemporary Premnath. Like Premnath, Ajit too began as a hero (an early film of his, Dholak, I regard as one of Hindi cinema’s most satisfying comedies). He acted in lead roles in many films, mostly social dramas (Naastik, Beqasoor, Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan) or historical/period films (Halaku, Baradari) but—like Premnath—became pudgy and lost his good looks fairly quickly. Through much of the 60s, Ajit was relegated to acting in B-grade crime thrillers like Marine Drive, Delhi Junction, Opera House and Tower House. It was in the last years of the decade that he segued into the persona that made him immortal in the annals of not just Hindi cinema but also Hindi jokes: as Ajit, he was known to the saara shahar as loin.

But well before Ajit became a major onscreen villain, he had played hero, though he never came anywhere close to being a major star. And, as hero, he lip-synced to some wonderful songs—many of them sung by none other than Rafi. Le chala jidhar yeh dil nikal pade, for instance; or Bhula nahin dena (with Lata); Tu shokh kali main mast pawan (with Asha) and from Shikaari, Agar main poochhoon jawab doge and Chaman ke phool bhi tujhko (also with Asha). Rafi’s voice is so gorgeously mellifluous here, so romantic that I feel it’s wasted on a rather graceless Ajit, but still.

9. Tum arabon ka her-pher karnewaale Ramji (Chori Chori, 1956): Bhagwaan. Bhagwaan Dada ‘Bhagwaan’ was no star, even though he had acted opposite one of Hindi cinema’s leading ladies, Geeta Bali, in Albela (Bhagwaan also produced Albela, so that was why he got to play the lead there). It was for Albela that he lip-synced to some of his most famous songs (Shola jo bhadke, Kismat ki hawa kabhi naram, Dheere se aaja ri akhiyan mein), but all of those had Albela’s music director Chitalkar Ramachandra as playback singer.

Bhagwaan’s career, post-Albela, was mostly confined to comic roles in a slew of films. Chori Chori was one of these, and it gave him the opportunity to lip-sync to Rafi in this delightful duet with Lata. Tum arabon ka her-pher is fun and lively and Rafi’s voice suits Bhagwaan so well!

10. Waadiyaan mera daaman raaste meri baahein (Abhilasha, 1968): Sanjay Khan. One last item on this list, and that one which made me dither for a while, because I found it difficult to choose between Sanjay Khan and his brother Feroz. Both Sanjay and Feroz (not so much third brother Akbar) did fairly well in their careers in cinema, though I think Feroz was more popular and ended up in bigger budget ventures (including films he produced and starred in, in the early 70s in particular). So Sanjay it is, a handsome man who acted opposite several major actresses (Sadhana, Nanda, Mala Sinha) in the course of his career but could never really have said to have made it big.

But Sanjay Khan did have the distinction of lip-syncing to one of my favourite Rafi songs, this beautifully romantic one about surrounding the object of one’s affections with love: a love so intense, so all-encompassing, it envelops the loved one. Waadiyaan mera daaman raaste meri baahein appeared in Abhilasha in two versions, one by Lata and the other—this one, elevated to something beyond its lyrics and its music—by Rafi.

That, then, is my list. Which other songs of Rafi, solo or duet, would you add here? Which actors?

41 thoughts on “Neither Here nor There: Rafi Sings for the In-Betweens”

  1. If character actors make the cut, an obvious inclusion is Johnny Walker. Two songs readily come to mind.

    Ai Dil, Hai Mushkil (CID 1956)

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

    Sar Jo Tera Chakraye (Pyaasa 1957)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h4KqRe3604

    Can his friend Mehmood be left out?

    Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sadhu aur Shaitan 1968) (an old favourite)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah8NF7G86AU

    And yet another comedian who’s played both leading and character roles, but occasionally (he never wanted to act in the first place).

    Ajab Hai Dastan Teri Ai Zindagi (Shararat 1959)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2svsXJxTVVQ

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      • I see your point entirely re Johnny Walker. These categories do tend to elude precise definition, I agree.

        I’m surprised you accepted the third one without demur. Was pretty sure the fur would fly over classifying the ‘reluctant actor’ as neither here nor there.

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        • Arre, why would I not accept Kishore as ‘neither here nor there’? I think he fits totally. Not as a singer, but as an actor, definitely. It’s odd, you know – he acted in so many films, but most of them were such frightful films. :-(

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    • I don’t think Johnny Walker can be mentioned as just another “character actor” on whom Rafi songs were picturized. Rafi sang more than 150 songs for JW, second only to Shammi Kapoor. Some of Rafi’s most delightful songs were sung for JW.

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      • I had no idea the number of Rafi’s songs for JW were second only to those he sang for Shammi. Interesting – and believable. Offhand, actually, I cannot think of a single JW song that wasn’t sung by Rafi (and JW had a lot of songs picturised on him – he was one of those actors who invariably ‘sang’ in a film, even when he didn’t star in it).

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    • Ah! That must have happened because I dithered for a while between the two romantic duets from Shikaari before I finally settled on Chaman ke phool. Didn’t do a good job of editing the description after I’d changed my mind. :-(

      Thank you for pointing that out, have corrected it.

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  3. What a thoroughly satisfying post, Madhu. I loved the descriptions you added about the songs, the actors, etc. So, so deliciously effortless (though I know it must have taken quite a bit of effort). Lovely!

    And the songs, oh, the songs. What beautiful songs Rafi sang!

    Let me add to your list:

    Abhi Bhattacharya – Acted as the hero in quite a few films but was never one of the top stars. Rafi has sung quite a lot of songs for Abhi B. But this one, surely, is the most famous?
    Hum laaye hain toofan se kashti nikaal ke from Jagriti

    Jagdeep – Acted as the second hero/comedian in many films. He would fit, I think? And this song is a beautiful one.

    Chali chali re patang from Bhabhi.

    Anwar Hussain – would he fit your theme? He was never a lead actor, at least, I don’t think so, but he was a regular character artiste and appeared in a slew of films though it may not fit your theme of having to be a well-known song.

    Gareebon ka jeena bhi hai koi jeena from Nai Roshni

    Jeevan – An important name; played the villain from the 50s to the 80s. Not the type you would think would be singing songs, but hey, if Rafi is willing to sing for you, why would you not lip-sync to him? And such a fun song (in a dreary movie). But I don’t know whether it is a ‘famous song’.

    Yun chaal chalo na matwali from Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya.

    Krishan Dhawan – Again, would he fit, do you think? Because he’s neither hero nor unknown. He’s a well-known face in the films of the 50s and 60s, and had some wonderful songs picturised on him as well (I’m thinking of Chalat musafir from Teesri Kasam.)

    And this one is surely a very well-known song.

    Pagdi sambhaal jatta from Shaheed.

    Rehman – famous face, quite a well-known song.

    Mohabbat ke dhoke mein koi na aaye from Badi Bahen

    Vijay Anand – better known as a director, but he did act in several movies.

    Masti mein chhedke taraana koi dil ka from Haqeeqat

    Yaqub – quite a famous villain/character actor?

    Chun chun karti aayi chidiya from Ab Dilli Door Nahin

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    • And, Anu, what a satisfying comment! I loved your list, even more so because these were all – barring Vijay Anand and Abhi Bhattacharya (both of whom I should have remembered) – men I’d thought of when I was compiling this list. In some cases, I couldn’t think of a song I liked enough; in others, I didn’t think the song I thought of was famous enough.

      I’m glad you included Anwar Hussain in your list. He had occurred to me too, but offhand, I couldn’t think of any songs featuring him barring Chunari sambhaal gori udi chali jaaye re, and that, of course is Manna De, not Rafi.

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  4. One of my most favourite Rafi song was lip-synced by Feroze Khan- Jaag Dile-deewana from Oonche Log.

    Tum to Pyaar ho from from Sehra is another favourite filmed on Sandhya and Prashant.

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    • Both these songs fit this post so well – hugely popular (and they still are familiar to many people, even now) – but picturised on someone who was really a two-film wonder. I think Tariq acted in some other films post Yaadon ki Baaraat and Hum Kisise Kam Nahin, but those were the only two he’s known for.

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    • Would you call Shatrughan Sinha an in between actor ? Quite like Feroze Khan perhaps .
      And interestingly , in the various movies he was paired with Amitabh Bachchan , he was the one lip syncing Rafi and Amitabh to Kishore …

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      • And interestingly , in the various movies he was paired with Amitabh Bachchan , he was the one lip syncing Rafi and Amitabh to Kishore …

        I never noticed that! Interesting.

        I have to admit I had completely forgotten Mujhko mere baad zamaana; good one. And Shatrughan Sinha totally fits this list – well-known, acted in a lot of A-grade films, but not really a star.

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  8. Adding a few more ( the Rafi list can be endless..).

    This is a song I really like . I don’t think you have listed it yet .. maybe it is there lurking in some comment somewhere in the Rafi lists, but here goes

    Ehsaan mere dil pe tumhara hai doston from the movie Gaban

    What an exuberant song ! Captures the carefree attitude of youth in a very nuanced way !
    Would you call Sunil Dutt an in-between-er ? I like him in his earlier movies like Gaban and Sujata but the 70s Dutt Saab was a bit of a drag IMHO ..

    And I must tell you that this song has made a comeback in various weddings with live music . This is a song often played for the grooms friends !!
    https://youtu.be/BMEx4sORX-8?

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    • Oh, nice! This is a song I like a lot too (and I’d no idea it had become popular again at weddings. :-) Good, it’s good to see a not-extremely-popular song get the love it deserves.

      I have to admit I always think of Sunil Dutt as an A-lister. :-) He had lots of fairly successful films, even some (Sujata, Mujhe Jeene Do, Humraaz, Gumraah, Mera Saaya, Sadhana, etc) which are much-loved today as well. Plus, one of the few Indian actors to appear in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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  9. Wonderful post, Madhu. Loved all the songs featured in your list.

    Would I.S. Johar, Motilal, and Agha quality as mid-tier stars?

    I.S. Johar: Teri aankh mein woh kamal hai – Mr. India/G.S.Kohli/Jan Nisar Akhtar

    Motilal: Ab haal-e-dil ya haal-e-jigar kuch na poochiye – Ek Thi Ladki/Vinod/Aziz Kashmiri

    Agha: Sanam tum chal diya raasta – Maya/Salil Chowdhury/Majrooh

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    • Shalini, would you believe it, all three of these were on my long list? I wanted to post songs for IS Johar, Agha and Motilal, but couldn’t think of famous songs that had been sung for them by Rafi. Glad to see these ones!

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  10. What a fabulous list of songs. I went through all of them and want to add some more below:

    1. Suresh (Naseem Ahmed) was not a major star but he had the privilege of lip syncing a beautiful song “Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPNMFQDISIY
    2. Rafi singing for Prem Chopra “Tum Apni Saheli Ko Itna Bata Do” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4Jem9D7iZc
    3. Rafi giving playback for Rajendra Nath “Meri Sakhiyo Bolo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiVldqk_OE
    4. Another actor Bramhachari singing in Rafi’s voice “Rekha O Rekha” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnSRyB8NEmY
    5. Rare Rafi song for Johnny Walker “Kisi Ka Kuchh Kho Gaya Hai” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpWdHvh94os with amazing voice modulation in the middle of the song
    6. I think Navin Nischal was not a big star and so including his song “Is Dharti Is Khule Gagan Ka” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6c2R2pfUec
    7. Rafi singing for a South Indian actor (I don’t recognize) “Yahi To Din Hai” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk-p1xn-IbE

    I must stop here because my mind is filled with so many numerous songs of such kind

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    • Nice list! All of these men totally fit the profile (though as I mentioned in my reply to Abhik’s comment, right at the top, I beg to disagree about slotting Johnny Walker as an ‘in-between’. ;-))

      The songs, however – I’m not so sure. Suhaani raat dhal chuki of course is a classic, but the rest are, I think, hardly well-known songs. An important criterion for the post (as I’ve mentioned in the introduction to it) is that the song should be a well-known one – a way of highlighting that some of Rafi’s best-known songs (not the obscure, rare ones) are for actors other than the stars.

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    • Yes! Uttam Kumar certainly fits the bill for Hindi cinema. In fact, I would probably think that anybody who didn’t know anything of Bengali cinema might even class him as an unknown in Hindi cinema; Chhoti si Mulaqat was hardly one of those big hits…

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    • I’m glad you mentioned this one, Anitaji, because it had been on my shortlist – beautiful song, and Sudhir, though he was a recognizable face, didn’t make it as a star. Incidentally, one of my favourite romantic songs features him – Chaand bhi koi deewaana hai, though sung by Mahendra Kapoor with Asha.

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  13. I think it was mentioned in one of the Rafi blog posts that Teri galiyon mein na rakhein ge is the only Anil Dhawan song watchable , ofcourse sung by Rafi Saab .

    I would actually prefer this song :)

    Badi door se aayein hain from samjhauta and picture see again on Anil Dhawan ( and in-between-er)

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  14. And Kiran Kumar , quite like Premnath and Ajit , finding a space finally as a villain and a TV star , though he was reasonably good looking and talented but never made it as a leading hero ( (though he does have My heart for starting in one of the most goofball but little known comedies of Hindi cinema)

    But here he is , lip syncing to a fairly well known and farmaish-ed song on the radio , meri hasraton ki duniya.. from Gaal gulaabi nain sharaabi.
    https://youtu.be/2O2b1WXj-70?si=HJgG83xytnq-5gVi

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  15. And finally, I’d be totally stunned if this song has not been posted till now .
    tum jo mil gaye ho from hanste zakham

    Navin Nischol was another one of those actors who were kind of trapped in the in-between zone .
    Good looking ( chubby way ) , a good actor (Khosla ka Ghosla and Delh bhai Dekh ) and never made it big .

    But lip-synced to perhaps the most iconic Rafi song …

    And yeh maana meri jaan from the same movie is also so good . A different mood , tongue in cheek , and rendered flawlessly by Rafi Saab .

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  16. Om Prakash and Mukri – two other “in-between” but well-known actors who lip-synched Rafi songs (as someone said, the list is endless):

    Om Prakash

    “Eent ki dukki, pan ka ikka” from Howrah Bridge

    Eent Ki Dukki, Paan Ka Ikka (4K) Old Hindi Classic Songs : Mohammed Rafi Songs |Howrah Bridge (1958)

    “Chhuri ban kaanta ban” from Jaali Note

    Chhuri Ban Kanta Ban – Dev Anand – Madhubala – Jaali Note – Old Bollywood Songs – O.P. Nayyar

    Mukri

    “Hua tera mera pyaar fatafat” from Pardes

    Hua Tera Mera Pyar Fatafat – Shamshad Begum, Mohammed Rafi – PARDES – Madhubala, Rehman, Karan Dewan

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  17. Just came across this. By any yardstick Sujit Kumar makes the cut as a middle-of-the-roader. Rafi sang for him in a movie called Lal Bungla, when he was still being cast as leading man. Starring opposite him was Jayanthi, who had an extensive career in Kannada and other south Indian movies. Music by Usha Khanna, lyrics by Gulshan Bawra.

    To be honest, not a great song. Average composition, drab lyrics. The movie seems to be a second-tier production too. But still, fits the theme of this post I guess.

    Mohammed Rafi, ‘Haseen Vadiyon Fizaon Se Keh Do’ (Lal Bungla, 1966)

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

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