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. […]
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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Ashu, Rafi was voted as best male playback singer of last century. KK was nowhere in the picture.
vipul.
My last blog can be read as:
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Vipul, who proved and when that Rafi is superior.. Everytime i opened ur closed eyes by showing bitter truth, and still u r repeating same line.
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sudip,
I was out of india, so i could not reply you. sorry for that.
Here u wrote:
I do not blame you for not recognizing Rafi saab. Even I have the same problem. With lot of his songs, I think how could ANYONE, for that matter, sing those. And those are not necessarily commercially popular numbers. Yesterday I listened to this at least 15 times and yet could not figure out how it is humanly possible to render such emotions:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PyobVfNiVXs
In the simple yoddelling case (which even college singers perform)
My reply:
Most of so called tough songs from Rafi and Manna Dey sung by almost all contenstant in reality show. i.g. Aabhash (VOI), Ankit (Sa Re GA MA)…So if i follow ur analysis then all those songs are not great 🙂 .
You said ,College singer can perform yoodelling 🙂
Great.. can you record yoodeling in ur voice and send mail to “kkfan@gmail.com”. Pls. don;t steal like rafi;s punjabi song.
Aur ha…You can’t blame me for recognizing Rafi’s voice because i know i will never go wrong in recognizing him. You are absolutely right that you had problem in recognizing voice. I don;t have any doubt that sometime you will fight with me on song “Hum se ka bhool hui” 🙂
Sudip, u gave example of “Main Kahi kavi na ban jaao”. I saw “Neeraj” interview on Doordarshan where he was talking abt SDB. He said Dada used to compose different tune for antata and mukhada, and his fav. in that was “Sokhiyon me ghola jaaye phoolu ka …..” aur ha i can give thousands of examples of kishore where every single word in the antaras was sung differently.
I am eager to give one example now:
Song from Teen Deviyaan….”Arey yaar meri yum bhi ho gajab”…Kishore sang same line 4-5 times….Everytime he sang same word in different style and managed to reach to soul.
Vipul, who proved and when that Rafi is superior.. I believe aftre 5 to 10 yrs. Everytime i opened ur closed eyes by showing bitter truth, and still u r repeating same line.
IF YOU WANT TO COMPARE MOHD RAFI JEST DO LIKE THIS
There are so many Rafi’s; the Rafi of Man tadpat darshan and Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare, the Rafi of Suhani raat dhal chuki and Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare, the Rafi of Tumhare zulf ke sayen mein and Jaane kya dhoonti rahati, the Rafi or Baharon phool barsao and Tere mere sapne, the Rafi of Madhuban mein radhika and Naache man mora magan dhikna dhiki dhiki, the Rafi of Yeh ishq ishq ishq and Parda hai parda, the Rafi of Yahoo chahe koi mujhe jungle kahe and Cuckoo mast baharon ka main aashiq, the Rafi of Aaja aaja main hoon pyar tera and Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche,…. The list is endless. He started so many genres in playback singing; it’s simply mind-boggling! Ultimately, Rafi can compete only with Himself.
Many of us are not aware that Shanker Jaikishen used Rafi Sahab for almost 364 films and LP for 373 films. Infact another surprise for me was that pre Aradhna SDB used Rafi Sahab for 90 films out of 120 films
From
P. Haldar Says:
May 19th, 2007
Jayanta, I’m not going to discuss the MM-Rafi combo here because that requires a special set of ears. I’ve maintained time and again that RD-KK was a special combination; they were made for one another. What I objected to was what you said about MM switching more and more to Kishore. The truth is that MM never switched. Just a couple of songs here and there for Kishore does not mean much. Rafi sang more than 100 songs for your loRD, but we can still ignore them. For Rafi, take out Naushad and SJ, you’ll have SD and OP. Take all these four out, you will still have Madan Mohan and LP. Take all these six out, you’ll have Roshan and KA. Now let’s focus only on SD; I know the media keeps talking about SD-Kishore all the time. They produced some wonderful tunes, no doubt about it. But are you sure that SD-KK was better than SD-Rafi? I’ll just list 10 compositions of SD for Rafi and I’ll let you judge for yourself.
1. Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai (Pyasa)
2. Jinhe naaz hai Hind par o kahan hai (Pyasa)
3. Dekhi zamane ki yaari (Kagaz ke Phool)
4. Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye (Kala Pani)
5. Saathi na koi manzil (Bambai ka Babu)
6. Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar (Tere Ghar ke Samne)
7. Nache man more magan dhikna dhiki dhiki (Meri Surat Teri Aankhen)
8. Din dhal jaye (Guide)
9. Tere mere sapne (Guide)
10. Mera man tera pyasa (Gambler)
I can list 10 more but for the time being these should suffice. Why Kishore, has any singer sung such a variety of high-class songs for any composer? If you want ghazals, select nos. 4 and 8. If you want soft romantic songs, select 9 and 10. If you want an intoxicating feel with the voice melting into the sound of a flute, select 6. If you are in the mood for a classical song, select 7; the tabla accompaniment was by Pt. Santa Prasad and you’ll find out how Rafi’s voice deftly does jugalbandi with the tabla. If you are in a blue mood, listen to 4 and 5. If you want songs that no other singer dare tread, select 1, 2 or 3. And I haven’t even listed “Khoya khoya chand”, the song that gave Dev his debonair image. Also, I haven’t included the numerous duets Rafi sung with Lata, Geeta and Asha, an art that the old man specialized in. But I’d recommend one from MSTA: Tere bina sooni nayan hamare.
As regards classical songs, you are wrong about Manna being better than Rafi. In my ranking I would put Manna a close second, followed by Lata and Asha. Remember “Madhuban mein radhika nache re,” the most celebrated classical song from Hindi films? How about “Man tadpat hari darshan ko aaj”, the best exposition of Malkhauns to date? If you like SJ, try “Radhike tu ne bansri churayi”. This song for whatever reason didn’t get the fame it deserved; it’s a wonderful composition and see how easily Rafi glides through the difficult notes and still maintains his vocal quality. If you like OP, try “Anchal mein saja lena kaliya”; this song took even someone of the stature of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan by surprise. And if you ever heard Rafi at a concert singing “O duniya ke raakhwale” you’d have marvelled at how he used to deliver the “Mahal udas aur galiya sooni” part; I call this a song within a song, composed by Rafi himself to hit your heart with such a force that tears will come out in a second.
Rafi is the “ustadon ke ustad”. Sudhu sudhu torko kore ki laabh?
Sudip, Some ppl just do not have any understanding of music and there is no point talking abt music with suc ppl. So my advice will be to ignore such messages………
In a report carried on July 1 by Jallandhar based Hindi daily,Punjab Kesari,well-known ghazal singer Peenaz Masani has stated that ghazal has a lasting impact while pop music is ephemeral.Ghazal is for the ear while pop is for the sight.She praises Begum Akhtar for holding her own in primarily a male bastion.
I expected her to mention some great ghazal singer as her favourite singer.But lo and behold!Her favourite singer is the greatest singer ever in any genre:Mohammed Rafi.
Sudipji,
That Rafi is monotonous and lacks variation is just so much bunkum and not worth any attention.He is the only one among all the singers whose each song has variation.only we need to be properly attuned to it.This quality of his has been testified by many of the greatest maestros.
Himanshu wrote:
“Rafi was melodious but I find monotony in his voice as if the same song is being sung again and again.With Kishore you will find difference with every song.”
-Very subjective dude. I have the reverse problem with Kishore.
With Rafi, I find variations in every word, let alone every song.
Listen to “Main kahin kavi na ban jayoo”.. Every single word in the 3 antaras is sung differently..I can cite hundreds of these examples. Maybe they do not appeal to your ear.. And I appreciate it; just that it is very subjective.
Nature blesses some with its divine qualities and those who have it will be better than the rest no matter how much you crack your head.Specificaly Kishore is miles ahead of rafi.Rafi was melodious but I find monotony in his voice as if the same song is being sung again and again.With Kishore you will find difference with every song.
Ashu:
I do not blame you for not recognizing Rafi saab. Even I have the same problem. With lot of his songs, I think how could ANYONE, for that matter, sing those. And those are not necessarily commercially popular numbers. Yesterday I listened to this at least 15 times and yet could not figure out how it is humanly possible to render such emotions:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PyobVfNiVXs
In the simple yoddelling case (which even college singers perform) you thought it was stolen from someone else; in the above song I thought GOD has actually sang and Rafi just lip sync’ed.
post 1130 – Mr. Japani
I do not know what you are saying. If you want to bring into line all unknown singers, then I can say that I also sing better than others. The singers which you mentioned, are they connected with playback singing of indian cine field. Bring forthnames of rafi, kishore, ghantasala, manna dey, mukesh, spb, yesudas etc. who are indian playback singers. But who are these shanti sharma and others. Never heard of the names. Could you pl. clarify.
Asha Bhosle’s interview with Subhash K Jha:
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.indian.misc/2008-06/msg00270.html
SKJ: Don’t you get disheartened by the dearth of inspiring co-singers?
Asha: Very much. You ask Didi also, we’re absolutely depressed.
Sometimes when I am standing in the recording room I feel Rafi or
Kishore will appear from nowhere. You won’t believe this, but some
composer recently said that Rafi, Kishore, and Mukesh refused to let
go of their positions! Composers who felt they had been orphaned when
Rafi Saab died now find the present-day voices equally good! Rafi’s
voice is permanently etched in my ears, just like Didi’s voice. I
can’t tolerate others trying to imitate them. So many memories are
associated with Didi’s voice. It’s my life! To me those singers are
the pinnacles of excellence. I miss their maturity of voice. Among
the current signers I’m comfortable singing with Suresh Wadkar and
Amit Kumar. With Amit it’s almost as if his father has entered his
soul.
All these hearsays about Asha and Rafi are pretty much baseless.
I like both rafi saheb and kishor kumar..
But rafi saheb is quite ahead than kishor kumar..
just hear song tum bin jahau kha..
song was sung by both the greats..
you will get it..
Dear Vipin,
You are absolutely correct.
Dear Sudip,
Pls. don’t take personal. I want healthy discussion here.
I must say, I am proud of my knowledge….In the night 2 o’clock, if you ask me to recognize Kishore, Rafi and Mukesh voice. I am sure i will never go wrong.
Pls. ask “Dilraj kaur” abt yoodelling part. Pls. touch ur heart adn answer this. If you think Rafi had sung this yoodelling, i am OK but truth is he not.
Anyway, i don’t want to continue arfument on this song, because i am sure yoodeling was sung by somebody else 🙂
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Usi6sJrGszE
Can KK sing a song like this one? does it mean rafi is better than KK in classical songs? Ashu, your comments? Please do not bring otthers in comparison.
We hve already proved Rafi’s superioirty over kk in patriotic songs category. Time to move on with classical songs and then we will move into other types…
Ashu:
Kindly refresh your knowledge… The song is pasted is sung entirely by Rafi. The first time I came to know of this song was from Dilraj Kaur’s interview in a Bengali magazine. Then I asked for the song in Hamara forums and got it in my collection. If it was not sung by Rafi, people would have caught it before you (Hamara forums also has KK fans).
The recording is done in 2 tracks…That is why it sounds that way. The whole song is Rafi’s.
All dear blogers,
Both Rafi and Kishore are like diamonds. Who are we to compare them?
Both are like day and night, can’t be caompared. both have their own taste and beat the either one when compares in the virtue of its plane.
So not to fight any more and just listem their magical voices dear.
rafi is grate and kishore is aslo great…
That’s all.
my dear friend Prabol,
Prabol, shayad aapne mera blog thik ne nahi padha..I have mention “Laila Majnoo” not AAA because it was multi-starrer movie.
Kishore sang for Amitabh
Rafi for Rishi (Muslim character)
Mahendra Kapoor and Mukesh for Vinod Khanna.
FYI, one line in parda hai parda was sung by Lasmikant himself….Pehle apna knowledge pakka kar lo phir likho or muh kholo… 🙂
sudip,
i had wrong view abt u. I thought u r one of among few real rafi fans who understand rafi and his voice.
i feel very sorry abt me abt u.
Regarding the given link, Yoodleling was not done by Rafi, it was done by somebody else…(might be stolen from one of kishore’s yoodle 🙂 )..
Though song was good…I am sorry to say that Rafi’s voice was not suited to this song at all…female voice sound better than him.
Another Rafi yodelling:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AZTRUWalYfk&feature=related
Dear All,
I may not have much knowledge of music but I am sure that here you are not discussing great music or the greatest singers of all times but your personal likings. Something that you like the most in music becomes best for you and around that only moves your thoughts and ideas. And if you say that particuler singer is admired the most and that is why he or she is the best then dont forget Hamesh Reshamiya(The gretest hit of all times).
You might have heard more of Kishore Da and less of Rafi Sahib. That is why you may like Kishore Da more than any other singer and Vice Versa. And if you have heard both of them eqully well then it depends on what kind of voice,tone,tunes etc impress you.
Anyway, if you have not heard of Nasir Aminuddin Khan Dagar,Shanti Sharma etc then stop arguing anymore. Because even you dont know much about music then.
Regards,
Japani
my dear friend sudip,
u wrote:
If you take that factor out and assume that Rafi would have sung in Ek Duje Ke Liye, Ek Hi Bhool, etc, the balance tilts a lot towards Rafi..
my reply:
It was good anlaysis by Ajay and u should appreciate it, and again u r trying to defend Rafi. Don’t defend him dost (Rafi is great as other singerS), Ajay wrote the fact which is almost correct.
Sudip:
u wrote:
Don’t forget the fact that Kishore lived for another 9 years after Rafi’s death. During this time, Kishore sang for LP in Jeevan Dhara, Andha Kanoon, Meri Jung, Mr. India, Qatl, All Rounder, Akalmand……
my reply:
I would like to correct u here…Rafi died on “July 31, 1980” and kishore dies on “October 13, 1987″…so i believe difference is approx. 7 yrs, not 9 yrs :).
Kishore sang more songs than u mentioned.
for e.g. Ghar Ek Mandir, Praar ka mandir”, Avtaar (brilliant music), Nazrana (my fav…Isse Pehle Ke Yaad Tu Aaye) and many more……
Manna’s latest interview:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/being-manna-dey-the-modest-musical-maestro/66376-19-p0.html
He mentions Kishore and holds him in high regard (“Great artist”).
But unsolicited, he mentions only one singer:
Manna Dey: The other singers who were in the running were better than me, definitely. Oh yes, they were better singers than me. Even at the height of my career I would say Mohammad Rafi was a better singer than me. He was such a great singer and I used to listen to him, awestruck. His rendering of certain things – I could never do it.
KK sang for LP after Rafi passed away, so the stats have to take that into consideration as well. On July 31’st 1980, Rafi would definitely be leading by a wide margin for LP. For KA, Rafi would be leading as well. For RD, KK had some 330 odd songs compared to Rafi’s 125 odd. RD made a huge mistake in ignoring Rafi for a few years (72-75) and he realized his mistake after. For Rajesh Roshan, the stats would be pretty even. We could list a whole number of MD’s and most would have many more Rafi songs than Kishore songs.
According to ASHUJI “I mean to say that in late 70s most of the Rafi great songs were duet….”
-So true.. Even Parda Hai Parda was a duet.. It had one line by Kishore..
My dear Ashu
I solicit your comment on what I have observed.
Kishore’s songs sung for Dev Anand are exquisite and so are most of his songs picturised on Rajesh Khanna (my latest favourite being Hawaon pe likh do,hawaon ke naam).But his songs sung for Amitabh are not of the same high quality(leaving aside a couple of them).Perhaps the best song picturised on Amitabh is Kabhi kabhi meire dil mein khyal aata hai.Incidently,I have a CD containing about 150 top songs of 70’s titled Kabhi kabhi meire dil mein,giving the impression that it is the best song of the 70’s.I am a great fan of Mukesh but I don’t think Kabhi kabhi is the best song of 70’s or is the best song sung by Mukesh.Which song in your opinion qualifies for that honour?If you don’t agree with my observations I am subject to correction.
Meanwhile I believe injustice was done to the songs of Kanhaya.Mukesh deserved Filmfare award for the songs of that film.
Dhaniji (Refer to your post 1110):
Thanks for the compliment and sharing your email id.I find your posts very reasonable with compelling arguments.I understand and respect your
reservations for Kishore’s music. But yes a whole lot of folks do find
that music very interesting and appealing and we have to respect that.In
my case, I like Kishore’s earlier output of fifties and early sixties both
as an actor and singer. In general I don’t have strong penchant for music of seventies and eighties. As far as Rafi is concerned I am in love with the voice but yes between Rafi’s earlier output and latter output,I would chose the earlier. Finally pleasure would be all mine if I can keep in touch with a knowledgeable person like yourself.
Ashuji (ref your post 1110 and part of 1122)
First of all , thanks for acknowledging and appreciating my point of view which I had tried to base on facts. I don’t dis-agree that anyone could have rendered those numbers mentioned by you better than Kishore. In a similar vein , no one could have bettered hundreds of Rafi songs or Mukesh songs either.Coming to your argument that Kishore was more versatile singer while you mention pop et al I want say that no one can challenge Kishore’s position vis-a-vis singing comedy ,western-like,pop like genres but to say he was more verstaile is little far fetched because of his very limited contribution in other genres that people often discuss.On the other hand you may want to consider that Rafi too had an outstanding contribution and influence in the genres related to western or comedy.The first rock-and-roll chartbuster in HFM was Rafi’s Lal Lal Gaal from Mr X in 1957 .The same year Kishore came up with ever popular similar tuned Eena Meena Deka. Do you know Lal Lal Gal was No 3 on Binaca in 1957. Again Sar Jo Tera Chakraye,a comedy genre song was No 2 on BGM in 1957. Songs of Teesri Manzil,Gumnam,Janwar,Mr and Mrs 55,Prince,Bramchari etc have been chartbusters from Rafi in the genres that Kishore is widely known for.
As an aside time permitting I will sometime send you a link of an English song that I found very close to Main Hoon Jhum Jhum. The yodelling there is also excellent.
Finally I completely agree with your following statement in post 1122.
“Singers will just try to do justice to the song composed by MD and wrote by lyricist. Credit for qaulity of music goes to our great legends like Majrooh, Sahir, Anand Bakshi, Kaifi azmi, SJ, SD, RD, MM, Salil choudhary and many more…”
Thanks
Naveen
My dear Ashu
I admire you for several reasons.You have kept all of us Rafians on tenterhooks singlehandedly.Actually I had never given a thought to the comparative merits of singersA good song sung by any singer appealed to me.I have liked and still like many of Kishore’s songs,particularly pre-Aradhna lot.But as it happens the songs I like most are overwhelmingly Rafi’s.I was drawn into the current debate by the force of your arguements in defence of Kishore.It made me go over the musical interestsal basis to my tastes in music.So though I have had some very hot exchanges with you,I have at the same time come to love you.This debate has been a big distraction for me from main preoccupation in life.Now that I have said whatever I wanted to say I intend to quit.You and I and all others who have participated in the debate are lovers of music,our tastes and perceptions notwithstanding.Because of your strong advocacy of Kishore I have heard him several times recently.Some old favourites that had slipped from memory have surged back like Chali re chali re gori pania bharan ko.What a song! And who could have sung it so well but for Kishoreda? I agree with you that a song is created by the joint effort of the lyricist,music director and singer.Now I find that in Kishore’case where there are a large number of very great songs which only he could have sung with such aplomb,there are many more which are very ordinary.You may differ with me but that only shows how different we all are as human beings.I like that wise saying of Mao,whom otherwise I abhor,”Let many flowerw bloom.” Both Rafi Sahib and Kishoreda were fragrant flowers of the garden of music.Our good fortune is that we can make our pick.
So I regard you as my very dear friend.We have been on this site together for more than eight months now and it has been a thrilling experience for me and now listen to music with greater understanding.One day I may l may develop a great liking for Kishoreda and for that credit will go entirely to you.However,Rafi will always remain for me the greatest ever singer.We have our choices.I am also grateful to the fans of Ghantasalaji.I had never heard him before he was fortuitously pitchforked into this debate.But now hear him a lot.In fact my mornings begin with listening to devotional songs sung by him.
So I invite you Ashu to write to me.I would like to hear from all those who have participated.Some have already written to me.I am awaiting response from others.
(Submitted unedited.Pl condone errors)
DHani Ram ji..
Thanks for appreciating and admiring my spirit.
U wrote:
You are only saying that Kishore dominated Hindi film music for a certain period,that he dethroned Rafi.This says nothing about the quality of music
My reply:
I wrote above line in the context of duration or period dominated by greate legends. I also wrote abt quality of music. I believ u will agree to me that singer doesn’t have any stake in creating quality of music as actor doesn’t have any stake in creating good movie. It was MD and lyricist who are responsible for creating quality of music.
Singers will just try to do justice to the song composed by MD and wrote by lyricist. Credit for qaulity of music goes to our great legends like Majrooh, Sahir, Anand Bakshi, Kaifi azmi, SJ, SD, RD, MM, Salil choudhary and many more…
I think we spoke abt singing talent..How easily one singer can sing the complex song and how easily song reaches to listener. How one singer can make feel ordinary guy that anyone can sing taht song.
u wrote:
In the 20th century under attack from T.S.Eliot and F.R.Leavis,Milton was dethroned for a time by John Donne but when the fad vanished Milton again regained his pristine position.
my reply:
Why are you going so far? we have in-house example. Amitabh and Rajesh Khanna…
Rajesh Khanna rules the industry in early 70s..Amitabh dethroned him comletely. Early 80s, Rajehs khanna gave 2 major hits like “Avtaa” and “Amrit”…Media and People started comparing Rajesh with Amitabh. Samething true in case of Rafi…Rafi was completely dethrone by Kishore after in 70s, but he bounced back well in 76 (credit goes to RDB, LP and MM)…but everyone knows that he could not regain the same position. I have already posted my commnets with evidence on all doubts raised by Rafians….One more fact that Rafi was never considered as solo singer for hero in late 70s except few movie like “Sargam”, “Laila Majnoo” and few more. I mean to say that in late 70s most of the Rafi great songs were duet….
One more thing….thanks for ur email id:
Ajay:
If you purely consider the common period that Rafi and Kishore sang, I believe with LP Rafi/Kishore ratio would be approximately the same as Kishore/Rafi under Kalyanji Anandji.
Don’t forget the fact that Kishore lived for another 9 years after Rafi’s death. During this time, Kishore sang for LP in Jeevan Dhara, Andha Kanoon, Meri Jung, Mr. India, Qatl, All Rounder, Akalmand……
If you take that factor out and assume that Rafi would have sung in Ek Duje Ke Liye, Ek Hi Bhool, etc, the balance tilts a lot towards Rafi..
But I think you are by and large correct..
Ref – 1119
I find the LP/KK combo if not better but certainly equal to the RD/KK combo. But the saddest part is that not many people acknowledge the LP/KK combo contribution.
In the year 1987 when KK passed away, KK sang more song for LP and RD. LP were loyal to KK, therefore after his death they always opted for Amit Kumar, even when Kumar Sanu was a hit during the late 80s.
Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s 383 Songs with KISHORE KUMAR
Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s 370 Song with MOHAMMAD RAFI
Is telling us the truth that LP were balalnced and unbiased music directors when it comes for the singer selection of KK and Rafi..
Even if you campair the no of super hit songs of KK/LP and Rafi/LP comes to the equal numbers…
Laxmikant-Pyarelal were unbiased and balanced in terms of singer selection. LP used to give equal importance to both Kishore and Rafi..If the film is Rafi Dominated than LP will make sure they will have one good song for Kishore… Just to give few examples..
“Do Raaste”..1969..Rafi sung majority of the song..But the KK has also one good solo… Mere naseeb Main Ai Dost Tera Pyar Nahin..
“Mehaboob Ki Mehandi”..1970..Rafi sung majority of the songs .But KK has also good solo …Mere Deewane Pan Ki Bhi Dawa Nahin…
“Amar Akbar Anthony”.1977..Rafi dominated film.KK’s solo..My Name Is Anthony Gonsalwis…
At the same time when it used to be a Kishore Kumar Dominated film LP has give one one good solo for Rafi..Few examples..
“Hathi Mere Sathi”..1971..Kishore Kumar has sung majority of the song..Rafi has one good solo..Nafarat Ki Duniya Ko
“Karz”…1980…KK dominated the songs..But one good solo for Rafi..Darde Dil Darde Jigar..
This was when KK was in full demand..
LP has given full justice to Kishore Kumar before “Aradhana”..
“Mr. X In Bombay” 1965…Mere Mehaboob Quyamat Hogi, Chali Re Chali Re Gori Paniya Bharan Ko..Khoobsurat Haseena Jan-e-ja Jan-e-man…”Hum Sab Ustaad Hai”…Ajanabi Tum Jane Pehachane Se,,Kya Teri Zulphe Hai, Pyar Batate Chalo,,,Suno Jana Suno Jana..and “Shreeman Fantoosh”..solo ..Ye Dard Bhara Afasaana…Sultana Sultana Tuna Ghabarana…Kishore Kumar has acted excellently in all these three films…I dont know why these films are not given media attention..
I have starated one topic on Kishore Kumar with Laxmikant-Pyarelal it can be read on the following link.
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=29942&tid=2567796747598638809
I believe genuine music lover would have seen “Ye Shaam Mastani” program on SONY TV.
Last episode singer was “Raahat Fateh Ali Khan”…
When Mini mathur asked who is his fav. from India…He said he would prefer to hear Kishore/RDB, noonly he but also his family is very much fond of duo.
Above all, he sang couple of great composition from RDB..
1. Chingari koi bhadke
2. E jo mohabbat hai
Ashu Sir
Ref 1109 addressed to Samitha.You say:Have a faith in history.It was not created by you or me. Precisely.And if you knew the cultural history of mankind you would never bring up this kind of argument in defence of Kishore.You are only saying that Kishore dominated Hindi film music for a certain period,that he dethroned Rafi.This says nothing about the quality of music.Such arguments are plausible but not substantial.History of mankind is replete with examples of men of inferior talent ruling the roost.If you are familiar with the history of English literature,you will know that during the restoration period playwrights like Congreve dethroned Shakespeare.
In the 20th century under attack from T.S.Eliot and F.R.Leavis,Milton was dethroned for a time by John Donne but when the fad vanished Milton again regained his pristine position.
I recommend to you a reading of Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gassett’s famous book The Revolt of the Masses.You will understand the shallowness of your arguments and gain depth and maturity.
Again what I have said above doesn’t affect the merits of a singer.It is only the question of what kind of arguments,and at what level, we adduce.
With best wishes and regards.
PS: I don’t agree with most of what you write in your posts still I appreciate and admire your spirit.You seem to have a passion for music.And from your posts I can make out that you are quite young.I would like to know you personally and will be happy to hear from you on my e-mail address already given and I repeat it here below:
dogra_suresh@yahoo.co.in
Hereunder I give a list of some songs which I believe are incomparable in range and quality of singing.This is only a small sampling from a very wide and deep repertoire.Why do the likes of Rahman,Yesudas,SPB and Kishore have shown such abiding respect for Rafi?It is because they possibly can’t imagine a singing human voice surpassing that of Rafi.Rafi has everything that makes one the greatest singer of all times.Or can anyone describe what an ideal singing voice is like?
And now the list:
Suhani raat dhal chuki
Hum bekhudi mein tum ko pukare chale gaye
Tum ek baar mohabbat ka imtehaan to lo
Main apne aap se ghabra gaya hun mujhe ai zindagi deewana kar de
Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hun
Lagta nahin hai dil mera ujade dyar mein
Kabhi khud pe kabhi haalat pe rona aaya
O door ke musafir hum ko bhi saath le le
Ya meri manzil bata ya zindagi ko chheen le
Mohabbat zinda rehti hai mohabbat mar nahin sakti
Meiri kahani bhoolne wale tera jahan abad rahe
Yeh dunia agar mil bhi jaye to kya hai
Kahin se maut ko lao ki gham ki raat kate
Zindagi bhar gham judai ka hamein tadpae ga
Main yeh soch kar uske dar se utha tha ki woh rok le gi mana le gi mujhko
Baazi kisi ne pyar ki jeeti ya haar di
Tukde hain mere dil ke ai yaar tere aansu
Din dhal jaye par raat na jaye
Kaliyon ne ghoongat khole
Maine shayad pahle bhi tumhen dekha hai
Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahaan hain
Jaag dile deewana
Tujhe kya sunaun main dil ruba
Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Phir voh bhooli si yaad aayi hai
Tu meire saamne hai teri zulfein hain khuli main bhala hosh mein kaise rahoon
Karvan guzar gaya gubar dekhte rahe
Raaze dil unse chhupaya na gaya
Zulf lehrai teri aur meri taqdeer bani
Zindagi bhar nahin bhoole gi voh barsaat ki raat
Ai baharein baage dunia chand roz
Tu ganga ki mauj
Parvar digaare alam tera hi hai sahara
Aankhon mein tumhare jalwe hain hothon pe tumhare afsane
Is bhari dunia mein koi bhi hamara na hua
Tum chali jaogi parchhaian rah jayengi
Main zindagi mein har dam rota hi raha hoon
Zndagi mujhko dikha de raasta
Aanchal mein saza lena kaliyan
Accha hi hua dil toot gaya
Yeh aansu meire dil ki zubaan hai
Nagri nagri parbat parbat gaata jaye banjaara
Aaye bahar ban ke lubha kar chale gaye
Waqt se din aur raat
Mohabbat ke dhoke mein koi na aaye
Hue hum jinke liye barbaad
Chirag dil ka jalao ki gham ki raat dhale
Guzre hain aaj ishq mein hum us muqam se
Hum ne jafa na seekhi un ko wafa na aai
Roshan tumhi se dunia raunaq tumhin jahaan ki
Yeh zindagi ke meile dunia mein kam na honge
Apni ankhon mein basa kar
Yeh zulf agar khul kar bikhar jaye to accha
AAj kal mein dhal gaya din hua tamam
Yeh wadian yeh fizayen bula rahee hain tumhein
Mili khak mein mohabbat jala dil ka ashiana
Maine chand aur sitaron ki tamanna ki thi
Aa ja ke intezaar mein jaane ko hai bahar bhi
Sun le tu dil ki sada
Toote hue khwabon ne humko yeh sikhaya hai
Khamosh zindagi ko awaz de rahe ho
Tu Hindu banega na Mussalman banega
Daman mein daag laga baithe
Chal ud ja re puncchi
Dunia na bhaye mujhe
Jaane bahar husan tera bemisaal hai
Itani haseen itani jawan raat kya kare
Respected Mr Murthy and Mr Siri,
There is absolutely no intention on my part or on the part of any Rafi fan to denigrate any great singer.If some people consider Ghantasalaji to be the greatest singer ever,we have no problem.In my posts I never mentioned Ghantasalaji in the first instance.Only when Ghantasalaji was persistently pitchforked by some participants to belittle Rafi,I hit back.And if you have read my previous posts carefully,you will find that before saying a word against Sri Ghantasalaji,I cautioned his fans not to make him a scapegoat by unnecessarily pitting him against Rafi.
Even now we can have truce.I have no objection to your singing paeans to Sri Ghantasalaji’s virtuosity.He may be your favourite singer.It hurts when one’s favourite singer is attacked just as attack on Ghantasalaji has hurt you.But please do unto others as you would have others do unto you.Don’t attack Rafi.I have heard lots of Ghantasalaji.I love to hear him.I would prefer him anyday to Kishore Kumar.He sings in a style that I love.In fact I begin my morning each day by listening to him,M S Subulakshmi and Jesudas.For that matter I love a number of South Indian singers.I love Hindustani classical equally.Therefore I love,let us say,Rajan Mishra Sajan Mishra no less than South Indian giants.I love Ustad Amanat Ali Khan immensely as well as Mehdi Hassan,Jagjit Singh,Salamat Ali Nazakat Ali,Nusrat Fateh Ali,Sabri brothers etc..If we are to look for an equal of these colossuses in the world of film music,it is Rafi and Rafi alone.Why I rank Rafi above them is because each of them can sing only in a grove while Rafi has no such limitation.He is all of them rolled into one.We can say about Rafi what Matthew Arnold said about Shakespeare:
Others abide our question,thou art free.
I requested you to give your views on Ustad Amanat Ali Khan of Patiala gharana but you have chosen to remain silent.Unless you speak about him,may I request you not to accuse others of lack of knowledge.
There is a tremendous female ghazal and Sufi singer from Pakistan,Abida Parveen.In an interview recently she praised Lata to the skies.The reason is while Parveen can sing only ghazals and sufi kalam,Lata can sing everything with ease.The same is the case with Rafi.
Sri Siriji,in response to your statement that Rafi is being spoken ill of by some people on this forum,I can think of several reasons.But I must say it to the credit of South Indian audiences that they have refined tastes in music.In an article in The Indian Express a couple of months back I read that very few people turned up for a free concert of classical music in Delhi whereas the hall was packed at a concert in Chennai where the entry was by ticket.The kind of musical stuff that is being churned up by Bollywood films these days and is being lapped up by people speaks volumes for debasement of tastes.Ghantasala has escaped cynical attacks because he is neither heard nor understood in certain regions.May I request you to do a simple exercise:Go through analytically some of the posts on this forum and decide for yourself whether Rafi fans or Kishore fans write and argue at a higher intellectual plane.Intellectual calibre of the participants in respective camps as reflected in the quality of the posts will reveal the level of aesthetic sensibility.
Dear Ghantasala fans:
I have absolutely no problems in accepting the fact that Ghantasalaji was indeed a great singer, personally I find him very good especially in classical compositions.
However let me ask you why he’s been dragged into this debate? I suppose this is not a platform for attacking Rafisahab with whatever weapon one finds; or is it? On one hand we have arguments here like classical singing is no big deal, on the other hand certain others are hailing a singer because of his greater (?) classical background. So what’s the conclusion? That someone is better than Rafisahab in ‘light’ songs and therefore he’s better and at the same time someone else is better in ‘heavy’ songs and therefore he is better? So ultimately who is better/ best?
Coming to SPB sir’s and K J Yesudas sir’s preferences, let me tell you that no amount of lecturing from anyone can save the day for Ghantasalaji. I have heard with my ears both these giants declaring that for them Rafisahab is the ultimate. I have also read these opinions with my own eyes. And what do you excpect these two to say when asked to comment about Ghantasalaji? That he couldn’t sing? And do you suppose SPB sir who grew up lstening to this singer fail to appreciate his talents (which offcourse he had in plenty)? Isn’t it amazing that these two greats (with their typical Carnatic classical tastes) are more fond (or as fond going by your verdict) of some one singing another form of music (Hindustani)? Does it prove something?
Good night and happy listening… (I’ve been listening to ‘pal pal dil ke paas…’ as I was typing this piece and ‘aaj mausam…’ just prior to that)
Mr. Dhaniram, your post 1101 pl.
Sir, i am sorry you are not correct. As far as my experience and knowledge goes, mohd. rafi and ghantasala are the greatest awe inspiring legends equally revered by the music lovers and other playback singers respectively for rafi in bollywood and for ghantasala in the south. Even today, after so many years of their demise, same is the situation. I am again sorry to request you to stop making comments against great legends without possessing adequate knowledge about them. For your views, i want to affectionately bring to your kind notice sir, that you please personally contact sri a r rehman or any other playback singer or musician from the south for knowing about sri ghantasala, you will see what you will hear from these musicians about sri ghantasala.
I personally feel, we are just fans and followers of the greatest playback legends, and our duty is to upgrade our knowledge only by listening to the comments of other playback singers and musicians on these legends. Personal likes and dislikes are different from the opinion of the majority, which is quite common in human beings. I have seen many hindi people (in this site only for example), who are not in favour of mohd. rafi, but i have seen very very few people from the south who are against ghantasala on his greatness (i refer to only ordinary fans pl. and not musicians or other playback singers who acknowledge only sri ghantasala as the greatest in south) The truth is of majority opinion. Majority have revered voices of these legends as fascinating and everlasting.
Mr. Anil – your post 1104
I am sorry to refer my above views to you also. You are not aware of the relationship between spb and ghantasala. Both have been extremely close and continue to be. There is no programme by spb in which he does not mention ghantasala master, needless to say more than mohd. rafi to whom spb has equal regard and respect as he has for ghantasala.
Mr. Anil – post 1104
Like Mr. MYK, pl. do not try to post views without having proper knowledge pl. SPB was involved in a telugu serial paaduta teeyaga and paadalani undi (1 hour programme where at least 4 singers are introduced), which together have completed some 1000 episodes for the past 8-9 years. In each of the episode, there was a mention of the great ghantasala by spb. You know spb has clearly stated that he was influenced only by two singers, one is the great mohd. rafi and the second is ghantasala master. Pl. know that spb is a disciple of ghantasala though he had a great regard for rafi. spb was selected by ghantasala as his successor in 1965 mr. anil.
Sri MYK and Mr. Anil also.
Here is the speech by k j yesudas on sri ghantasala for brushing up your knowledge on who was the great southern singer (Mr. MYK – i hope you will not contradict k j yesudas’s views also like you did not respect rafi ji’s view on ghantasala earlier and you quoted your own likes and personal views.)
I have reproduced this in original from the site sur aur taal.com on sri ghantasala. For more details you can visit the site.
Simply A Legend — Ghantasala Venkateshwara Rao
A Great Musician
by K.J.Yesudas
Sri Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao, I have no hesitation to say, was a great Musician who was held in high esteem by all especially the music lovers of the south. His reverberating and fascinating voice was indeed a great cause for many a South Indian Film to embrace Popularity and fame. Special mention has to be made on the rendering of his Suprabhatam and many other devotional songs. His dedication and constant devotion to music and application were quite commendable.
Music, as I firmly believe, is Godly and has boundless power and scope to penetrate into the human minds and fill them with happiness, cardinal virtues and make people of all kinds to come together and love and like each other and finally be close to the Almighty. There is a saying that even Snakes and Babies enjoy music with absolute attention because of its glory. All our prayers, Hymns, Psalms and supplications to God will be effective when presented in musical form. That is what is observed and practiced by all religions.
I know Sri Ghantasala, as he was known popularly all over, and was very close too. He was very unassuming and had an outstanding quality of giving due respect and appreciation to other musicians. That had helped him to earn good number of friends and wellwishers in the field.
It should be the bounden duty of every one of us to cherish and perpetuate his memory.
Rafi fans and kishore fans,
We have very great regard for rafi saheb and kishore saheb as both are great bollywood legends and i am not a person who simply land in comparing great musicians. The problem here is hindi friends are under a false impression that only rafi is the greatest singer and no singer greater tham him can exist, which fact is humbly submitted with love to all rafi fans, that it is not correct. As rafi fans cannot imagine a singer greater than rafi, telugu people also do not accept anybody greater than ghantasala. This is true. Only the above views by spb, jesudas etc. can confirm this fact. This is only to enlighten our hindi friends of this great talent from the south and nothing to do with any comparisons pl. Hopy my hindi friends take my message in true spirit.
Naveen Z
I must compliment you in the strongest terms for your 11o6.You have summed up the crux of the entire debate in your post.I entirely agree with you.Hats off to you for saying in one short post what we have been struggling to convey through our long-winded arguements.
Nevertheless I have my reservations about Kishore Kumar.But I don’t need to press them if we can have a consesus over what you have said.
I would like to know a wise and sensible man like you personally.Will you please write to me to my e-mail address:
dogra_suresh@yahoo.co.in
All those who participated in this debate are welcome to write to me.I would like to know all of them.
Smitha,
Have a faith in history. It is not created by me or you. It is created by time which already past…..History says that Rafi was dethroned by Kishore, though he did well in 77 to 80. I have already published a link of 80s movie, someone in this site claimed that Rafi had many hits n rafi sang almost double songs than Kishore….
It was a great joke, but my link revealed the truth….
Naveen Z,
I appreciate ur view….But Kishore was the only singer who was more versatile, because he could sing pop, classic etc. Rafins always introduce patriotic, qawaali and etc. when they short of words..
Vishal(vishal-Shkhar duo) said in “Jo Jeeta wo SuperStar” that singer should sing with feeling, and it should touch the heart. And this is 100% true in case of Kishore…
simple logic:
I feel all songs can be sung by any professional singer….May be he can’t do 100% justice. But there are few songs, noone cansung:
1. Na koi dil me samaya
2. Main hu jhumjhum jhumaroo
–One of my friend from this site said, anyone can sing kishore’s song. I can say anyone can sing Rafi;s songs because it is complete technical. Kishore songs has his own modernization, so very very difficult to sing.
True words, Mr.Navin.
Let me add that Mukeshji wasn’t called to render run-of-the mill stuff, generally. Hence it could be almost taken for granted that whatever he sang would become popular. Rafisahab (throughout his career) and Kishoreda (esp. in the ’70s) were made to sing mediocre songs in dozens and scores. Actually some of those songs reached ‘tolerable’ status only because of some extra-ordinary singing.
Since we are debating who among Rafisahab and Kishoreda was more popular/ produced greater quality songs, why don’t we get the actual statistics and compare. I am sure many of the knowledgable people here can come up with the necessary data. Let’s segregate songs into 3 categories: 1. Popular but not necessarily quality songs (‘Kaike paanbanaras wala….’ kind of stuff) 2. Both popular and quality (‘O sathi re…’, for instance) 3. Quality songs not hugely appreciated at the time of release of the movie (‘Kahin ek masoom nazuk….’ for example) and let’s take a year-wise comparison starting from 1970.
All,
Please note that vocal quality is just one aspect of a song. We should also give weightage/importance to other aspects like lyrics and music.
I mean song like Na kisi ki ankh ka noor hun may not be that popular but those lyrics are soul touching and also the voice.
The same thing could be said about
— Yeh zindgi ke mele duniya main kam na honge
— Fir na kije meri gustakh nigahon ka gila
— tum mujhe bhul bhi jao to yeh haque hai tumko
— Woh Dil kanha se laaoun teri yaad jo bhula de
— Humse aaya na gaya
and many more…. Thank you all…
Lets also remeber thos writers too without whom we cant even think about such heart touching songs! Thank you Sahir saab, Kaifi Aazmi, Javed Akhtar, Shilendra and rest.
Ashuji,
Refer to my 1096 and your 1102:
It seems you didn’t disagree with my post #1096.It is definitely not
prudent to disagree with the matter of fact.Personally I don’t own the
facts presented in my post.Facts are ownership neutral.
Yes you are spot on when you say Mukesh’s hit percentage was the best.More importantly Mukesh’s output was consistent and had the critical mass too.It is not like Shalider or Bhupinder whose hit ratio may be even better but they don’t have all that critical mass.Mukesh was a darling at the box-office (translate it to charts) and that is why despite low output he richly is in the same league as Rafi and Kishore. Mukesh even topped BGM
in 1975.
There are various parameters on which one could measure these stalwarts .It must be an objective analysis of so many factors put together that one can conclude something. Factors such as popularity or mass-appeal,class-appeal,ability to sing across genres,quantity of work,collaboration with tunesmiths, awards and recognition,peer reviews and so many other tangible and intangibles combined that determine who is the best.It is a multi-dimensional as opposed to one dimensional problem. You are right Kishore topped BGM in 1959 so yes it does say that on popularity parameter he scored that year,but not necessarily other factors . But that does not take away the fact that his was the number one song on BGM that year. Credit must be given where ever it is due.In the same token we must give credit to Narender Chanchal for winning best male playback in 1973 or Rafi and Kishore being in the nomination list for the same year.
Anyways I will not use the term “best” when I mean “most sought after”, or “most popular” or “most critically acclaimed”. I think all of them are indicative of different things. Rafi,Kishore and Mukesh are our three greatest playback singers each one does have their unique strength and scores over the other in some areas.Rafi emerges as the best(or greatest) among equals when you use a multi-dimensional approach and that is what some of the Rafi fans are trying to bring that home. If we take any one dimension and argue on that basis results definitely will vary.
Take care
Naveen
Smitha
You are absolutely right that there was an effort to deliberately belittle Rafi in his life time also.No male singer ever questioned Rafi’s supremacy.They acknowledged Rafi’s superiority ungrudgingly.It must be said to Kishoreda’s credit that he held Rafi in the highest esteem.If it were not so why would he use his voice for himself as well?He didn’t utter a word all his life against Rafi.Only Kishoreda’s fans are wiser than Kishore himself and know that Kishore was wrong in his admiration of Rafi.Rafi was a problem for Lata Mangeshkar mainly because she has the same range,same style of singing,same classical base etc.Rafi was in competition with her for the top slot and therewith arose the bitterness between them.You know the story of how their quarrel about royalties was only a manifestation of their rivalry as singers.At the recording of a song she found fault with Rafi’s singing and the music director sided with Lata.Rafi felt humiliated.Lata even refused to sing with Rafi.Why should she have done that?Lata was too powerful a person for Rafi to cope with.Her power is reflected in being a Bharat Ratna and having been a member of the Rajya Sabha.Rafi had only his singing to commend him.The rivalry between the two singers was such that when Lata’s name featured in Guinea’s book for singing the largests no. of songs Rafi challenged it.Rafi had only his singing to commend him and in that he had absolutely no equal,except great Lata.Lata is very very great indeed as a singer,greater than any other singer but only a little less than Rafi.Luckily we have Lata still with us and unluckilly Rafi had an untimely end.Fate didn’t favour him.Rafi lost the battle of power.
Vested interests have predominated.Rafi hasn’t got the kind of official recognition that he deserved.No Padma Vibhushan,no Dada Sahib Phalke etc.And yet Rafi is the uncrowned emperor of the world of music.Anybody who has some understanding and appreciation of music knows that there has never been nor probably will be his equal in singing with the sole exception of Lata.A.R.Rahman is the latest addition to the greats who have saluted Rafi as the greatest singer of all times.
Mr.Murthy:
SPB has categorically stated that Rafisahab is his idol. He places K J Yesudas in the immediate next rank. As far as Ghantasalaji is concerned, SPB speaks about this singer only when asked to do so…
BTW, I can’t see the logic/reason why Ghantasalaji’s been brought into this debate and it really amazes me that several KK fans have started hailing this South Indian singer, because in my opinion he (and not Rafisahab) is the anti-thesis of KK.
Dhaniramji:
Yes, Rafi is the problem. This I have found out from all these posts here and the “mohdrafi.com” site. Once he is out of the picture any one can become a contender. I understand that the effort was there when he was alive also. It is a pity that these attempts are being continued some 30 years after his death.
Naveen Z,
I have already posted a blog on 76 to 80s era music.
Regarding mukesh, He was the only singer whose hit percentage is better than other legends Kishore and Rafi.
Is it mean he is greater than other 2?????
If this is the case, then Kishore was best singer of 59 and 65 onward…..
Murthy
A.R.Rahman is a child in music because he doesn’t endorse your biases.I have heard Ghantasala and I see absolutely no reason to change my opinion about him vis-a-vis Rafi.Circumstantial evidence also doesn’t place him in the highest slot even in South Indian music.Yesudas,M.S.,K.S.Chitra are strong contenders for the post.Please don’t resent my bringing in female singers as we are debating music and not gender,and moreover,if there is insistent compulsion to compare Ghantasala,a mere regional singer, to Rafi,a national singer,why shouldn’t we broaden the base of comparison.It is only on this forum and the sister Mohd Rafi forum that Ghantasala has gatecrashed with a bang.Otherwise I have never heard him getting such accolades in any big quarters.It is not only Rahman I have never heard Bhimsen Joshi or others mention him.The great Pakistani ghazal maestros Ghulam Ali and Mehndi Hassan paid tributes to Rafi but never even mentioned Ghantasala.They were his contemporaries and they didn’t even know him.Such is the stature of Sri Ghantasala.In a previous post and here again I request the fans of Ghantasala not to offer him as a scapegoat for their own whims.You can enjoy his songs even having to compare him with Rafi.Rafi is not in competition with anybody.We,the fans of Rafi,simply love to listen to him.We have absolutely no interest in downgrading the favourites of others.And it were not we who dragged Ghantasala into any controversy.We were only fending off the onslaught of Kishoreans who also can’t live in peace with their beloved unless they have pulled Rafi’s leg.In any case,my friend MYK has given a decisive blow to attempts to catapult Ghantasala to the summit.And now I request you,Mr Murthy,to listen to Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and give me your opinion about him.Also tell me what you think about Atta-ullah-Khan,Wadali brothers and above all Nusrat Fateh Ali.According many,including Hans Raj Hans,Nusrat is the greatest because he has sung sufiana kalam wonderfully.Actully,Rafi is the problem.He is by far the greatest.The fans of other singers in order to overcome their own complex have to attack Rafi so that their icon may not be considered second to him.MYK raises the pertinent question:Why is it that the fans of other singers always compare their idol to Rafi.The answer is simple.Once Rafi is pulled down from his pedestal,every singer will become a contender for the first place.
Smitha
You have made a very valid point.When Kishore loses the debate,Ghantasala pops up to deflect the debate.The protagonists of Ghantasala have made it clear that not Kishore but Ghantasala is capable of locking horns with Rafi.They have tacitly acknowledged the unsuitability of Kishore.Even for Ghantasala fans,Rafi possesses most of the virtues that the former had albeit to a lesser degree.They build their case on the classical style of singing of Ghantasala.Rafi too had that.What about poor Kishore.He is obviously down and out.