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Rafi: The Voice that Launched 1000 Romances

Ranked #15,055 in Music, #419,561 overall

Voice that drips romance

Late 1950s saw a transformation in the nature of leading men in Hindi Films. Bollywood heroes were now handsome men capable of romancing their leading ladies, wooing them with melodious songs, and at the same time capable to thrash the villain to protect their respective lady love. There was an urgent requirement of a voice that could drip romance. That's where Rafi came in. His old Hindi film songs are stuffs of legends.

Here's a list of old Hindi songs by Rafi for your online viewing pleasure. The lens showcases Rafi's phenomenal voice as he sings for 5 Bollywood stars: Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Rajesh Khanna, Raj Kumar, and Amitabh Bachchan.

And don't miss my favourite 5 Rafi songs at the end.

Rafi Sings for Shammi Kapoor

Every actor has a voice. Mukesh was the voice of Raj Kapoor. Kishore was the voice of Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan. Rafi was the voice of Shammi Kapoor. Songs inspired by Rock & Roll dominated the Bollywood dance scene. Melody dominated serenading. Rafi was versatile enough to straddle both worlds.

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Rafi sings for Dharmendra

Dharmendra was tough on the exterior and soft inside. And Rafi gave him the voice to express his soft side when romancing those beautiful ladies.

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Rafi sings for Rajesh Khanna

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Rafi sings for Rajkumar

Raj Kumar was as much mouth as he was muscles. His dialog delivery is legendary. And so are the wonderful songs he sand on the silver screen. Once again it was Rafi who lent him his voice.

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Rafi sings for Amitabh Bachchan

And finally, Amitabh Bachchan, the personification of the Angry Young Man. He had/has deep voice and Kishore's voice suited him the best. The songs Rafi has sung for him can be counted on fingers. Here are 5 of those. Enjoy!

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The song 'Diwane Hai Diwanon Ko Na Ghar Chahiye' does not strictly qualify as Rafi-Amitabh combination. In the film Zanjeer, Amitabh does not sing. Yet when his emotions had to be expressed the director chose Rafi to sing through a street singer. The effect is magical.

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My Favourite Rafi songs

Here are my favourite Rafi songs. It is collection of romance and philosophy. Unfortunately it also includes the hatred-spewing "Mere Dushman ... Never has hatred been expressed so musically. Let me know if you like these"

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by

Amitabh1702

Film music is an integral part of Indian Culture. Indian Films evolved from ancient Sanskrit Drama form that emphasised music as the means of expressi... more »

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