On Mohd Rafi OPN said this in 1957 in an article in Filmfare:
Well it was the 70s…
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It is now evening, and as the orange sun dips into the ocean, the call of the muezzin is heard in the distance summoning all to prayer. A Muslim answers it with the strange words, “Mun Tadapat Haridarshan Ko”. I am swept away by the full-throated melody of the singing. but that is not surprising, for it is the voice of Mohammed Rafi. I salute this simple and unassuming man, whose humility seems only to grow with success. It is not possible for me to express in mere words how much I owe to this great singer. Like all true artists, Rafi is the personification of modesty and actually has the largeness of heart
to admire ardently the work of fellow-singers. More, he is genuinely interested in promoting fresh talent, and has brought many a newcomer to me for voice tests.
After Saigal, Rafi is the only singer who is at home in any mood – tragic or comic , sentimental or hilarious, mellow or boisterous. He has range and expression to suit precisely the artists for whom he sings from Dilip, Raj and Dev to Ashok and Bharat. There is depth as well as volume in his voice, and his mastery of the classic modes is
well known in the film world and outside it.
There are times when I fee I would be lost without him. The music director may tire of rehearsing a song, but not Rafi. His capacity for hard work is infinite, the mark of this genius. The number of songs Rafi has sung for me is legion, but I will mention particularly the duets in CID, “Garib Jan Ke” in “Chhoo Mantar” and “Yahaan Hum Wahan Tum” in “Shrimati420” Rafi is his own severest critic and genuinely admires rivals like
Talaat, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar.
o p nayyar
It is typical of him that he works with equal ardour for successful and for struggling music directors.
The personification of plain living and high thinking. Rafi wears a smile as easily as he does his achhkan, and is always exuding warmth and bonhomie.
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Here is the wonderful song he referred to…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_0Umxyv7o0
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