Rafi – 1948 – Mehfil Mein Meri

Continuing yearly review of Rafi’s Hindi film songs, today I’m presenting 1948. It was his 5th year in the Hindi film industry and he sang around 55+ songs in the year. In contrast to 1947, where the songs were 28, the number directly doubled.Slowly he was gaining popularity, though he was still to achieve the ultimate place amidst the male playback singers. But the foundation of his future kingdom was certainly started in the late 40s and if you take a look at the songs on the list, you will surely agree with me that it proved to be a crucial year for him.

Image Courtsey – YouTube

Highlights of the year –

Rafi had sung for Shyamsunder in 1945 and he sang for him again in 1948. The songs got extremely popular and are now considered iconic

Rafi sang for Husnalal Bhagatram for the first time in 1948, which was a solo in Pyar Ki Jeet. And it was his only song for Husnalal Bhagatram in that year. But the breakthrough success of this song resulted in a long, popular and successful association in the later years

Rafi’s only film with Master Ghulam Haider was also in 1948, where the song with marching rhythm became popular and is still considered one of his most popular songs

His association with Naushad, C Ramchandra and S N Tripathi continued in the year with a few hits

This time I’ve a dozen songs to present. Let’s begin the journey……

I’ll start the list with a couple of solos from Actress, which was a love triangle between Prem Adeeb, Rehana and Meena Shorie, the latter playing the elder sister. Both the songs are still popular, the first one perhaps a bit more popular than the second. But my personal favourite is the second song.

1. Hum Apne Dil Ka Fasana – Actress (1948) / Shyamsunder – Nakshab JarchaviA soulful ghazal sung with beautiful expressions. It’s certainly the most popular song of the movie. Shyamsundar has used a typical presentation style of a ghazal as indeed the song is picturised as a stage performance by Prem Adeeb. I didn’t add the video because of poor quality. The song was one of the most popular songs of Rafi in his initial years.

2. Ae Dil Meri Aahon Mein – Actress (1948) / Shyamsunder – Nakshab JarchaviPrem Adeeb performs the song again on a stage with his eyes bandaged. His wish is to see Rehana in front of his eyes when he opens them after the operation. The song has a mixture of sadness & excitement and Rafi has given full justice to it. This song is also a ghazal styled composition.

Naushad was the one to offer Rafi his first Hindi playback song, in Pehle Aap (1944). He later offered Rafi a few songs, though Rafi wasn’t the main male voice for him. Naushad seemed very much inclined to Mukesh. In the 1948 release, Mela as well, Mukesh was the main voice for Dilip Kumar which he later continued in Andaaz (1949) as well. Rafi had in Mela which was picturised on a supporting character and was in two parts.

3. Ye Zindagi Ke Mele – Mela (1948) / Naushad – Shakeel BadayuniThough Rafi didn’t sing for Dilip Kumar, the theme song of the movie, which was also the title track of the movie, was sung by him. The two parts of the movie were picturised on Dilip Kumar, but the actor lip syncing to Rafi’s voice is Rafique Arabi. The two parts actually show the leap as the characters in the movie grow old.

4. Ek Dil Ke Tukde Hazar Hue – Pyar Ki Jeet (1948) / Husnalal Bhagatram – Qamar JalalabadiThe situation in the film is very critical when Rehman sees Suraiya marrying someone else, while he was to marry her. He falls prey to the evil done by the villain. Rafi scores a sixer with this soulful song as he aptly portrays despair.

5. Watan Ki Raah Mein – Shaheed (1948) with Khan Mastana & Chorus / Ghulam Haider – Raja Mehdi Ali KhanThe song ignites patriotism! The rhythm of marching also boosts those emotions. Khan Mastana was a popular singer in the 40s, but here Rafi superseded and sang most of the song.

Rafi’s innings with C Ramchandra continued with a couple of films in 1948. I’m adding one song from each film.

6. More Raja Ho Le Chal – Nadiya Ke Paar (1948) with Lalita Deulkar / C Ramchandra – B A MotiWhat a beautiful melody it is! And fabulously sung by the singers, one of the best known songs of Lalita Deulkar. It’s said that Rafi who was then a newcomer was nervous at the recording, but Lalita Deulkar reassured him and boosted his confidence. She was already a popular singer then. The chemistry between the singers is as excellent as the one between the on-screen pair.Dilip Kumar rowing the boat, and look at his realistic efforts as he pushes the oar to row the boat in the beginning. He looks very young and the chemistry between the two of them is amazing. Kamini Kaushal says a lot with her eyes.

7. Qismat Hamare Saath Hai – Khidki (1948) with Chitalkar, G M Sajan & Chorus / C Ramchandra – P L SantoshiAbsolute fun to listen to this qawwali styled song! A war of genders it sounds like! The song was in 2 parts on both sides of the 78 rpm record. Perhaps it was a full song in the movie with ladies answering back with equal vigour. The female part was sung by Shamshad Begum, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohantara Talpade.

8. Madhur Ram Ka Naam – Ram Bhakta Hanuman (1948) / S N Tripathi – B D MishraRafi sang four songs for this movie and I immediately adored this beautiful bhajan. The song is lip synched by S N Tripathi, who was also the composer for the movie. The film was directed by Homi Wadia with Trilok Kapoor as Ram and S N Tripathi as Hanuman. Later they played the same characters in a few more movies.

9. Ae Dil Tujhi Ko Neend Na Aayi – Shahnaz (1948) / Amirbai Karnataki – Akhtar PilibhilitiShahnaz was the only movie Amirbai Karnataki composed for and it had Rafi’s solos and duets with Amirbai herself. While I had almost finalised a fast paced qawwali styled duet for today’s list, I heard this solo and immediately liked it. It’s a wonderful ghazal like composition sung excellently and the tune is catchy too.

10. Mera Dil Ghayal Karke – Satyanarayan (1948) with Beenapani Mukherjee / Hansraj Behl – Surjit Singh SethiA few songs of this movie also featured in the 1949 movie, Bhikhari. The song has a catchy rhythm and it’s a bit fact paced. A sort of faux fight between a couple. Quite a fun to listen to it! And that reminds me of my wish to explore Hindi film songs by Beenapani Mukherjee. Will do it soon.

All of us know about the song, Nigahen Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai from Dil Hi To Hai (1963) by Asha Bhosle, written by Sahir and composed by Roshan. But songs with the same opening line have appeared on the silver screen. Not on one occasion, but twice, both in the late 40s. The first occasion was in 1948 by Rafi which is there on today’s list. The second occasion was in Karwat (1949), when it was composed by Hansraj Behl as a tandem song by Paro Devi and Satish Batta, written by Saifuddin Saif.Let’s listen to the first occasion in Hindi cinema,

11. Nigahen Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai – Parai Aag (1948) / Ghulam Mohammad – Tanveer NaqviBeautiful rendition of this ghazal by Rafi. Must listen to it if you haven’t already.

12. Rutho Na Tum Bahar Mein – Rang Mahal (1948) with Suraiya / K Datta, V Balsara – Shiv KumarThe songs of this movie are jointly credited to K Datta and V Balsara. This is a very different song if you consider the era which it belongs to. Quite different from the other songs! The song seems to have an amalgamation of different styles. It sounded so interesting that I couldn’t resist adding it. I hope you enjoy it too.

And, I end today’s interesting journey with this Hatke Song. Would you add a Rafi’s song from the year?

Disclaimer –Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs vests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.