Continuing the series on yearly review of Rafi’s Hindi film songs, today let’s visit the year 1950, the last year of the decade of the 40s.
Rafi was now a popular singer and was one of the first rung playback singers of Hindi cinema. He sang in 39 movies this year.
The highlights of the year –
- The top three composers with Rafi
Husnalal Bhagatram (7 films)
Hansraj Behl (6 films)
C Ramchandra (3 films) - While his association with C Ramchandra continued, the songs were less in number, only four songs and none was a solo. The forthcoming decade also saw a sharp decline in his songs with C Ramchandra
- Rafi’s songs with Naushad in Dulari (1949) were superhit and he sang for a couple of movies for Naushad, but he wasn’t yet the only choice. Babul (1950) was entirely offered to Talat Mahmood, Rafi got just one trio, while Dastan (1950) had three of his duets with Suraiya. So Rafi had no solo with Naushad in 1950
- His only solo for Beewee (1950) under the baton of Khayyam (billed as Sharmaji) was a hit
- He sang for Madan Mohan’s debut film Aankhen (1950) and it was a solo
- Though he also sang for Hansraj Behl in six films, due the commercial failure of those films, the combination wasn’t much talked about
- As for his duets, Lata Mangeshkar, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Surinder Kaur, all had their share of duets with him. A handful of his duets and trio with male playback singers were also released in the year, but none was memorable in my opinion.
The number of songs are mentioned as an approximate number in the following discussion, as there’s no documented number available as per my knowledge.
The total number of songs in the year was around 97. The most interesting aspect of this year was the split statistics of these songs. While the number of solos was around 25, the number of duets was more than double of the solos, reaching 55. He sang quite a good number of trios as well in the year.
So it’s not a surprise that today’s list has more duets (08 out of 15, that is more than 50%) and one each of trio and quartet. The number of solos is 5. The number of solos are in general less and in addition his duets are more popular than the solos from the same film. So these could be the reasons why we find more duets on the list.
Let’s now enjoy the songs.
1. Paas Aake Hue Hum Door – Meena Bazaar (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar / Husnalal Bhagatram – Qamar Jalalabadi
While my most favourite duet from this movie is ‘Mahi O Dupatta Mera De De’, I decided to go for this soulful duet as the former was already highlighted in ‘1950-Lata Mangeshkar’ post. A typical duet of separation, with a good tune. The song has a typical aroma of that era, with the characteristic orchestration and style of singing.
2. Humein Duniya Ko Dil Ke Zakhm – Aadhi Raat (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar / Husnalal Bhagatram – Asad Bhopali
I always confess that I am very much fond of duets of Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi sung under the baton of Husnalal Bhagatram. And this time I got an opportunity to add not just one or two, but four of their duets on today’s list. This is the second duet. Excellent expressions by both the singers.
3. Chhota Sa Fasana Hai – Birha Ki Raat (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar / Husnalal Bhagatram – Sarshar Sailani
After a duet in a blue mood, it’s time now for a cute romantic song. I mainly remember the song for its fast pace and long sentences, making it a bit hard to sing without getting breathless. But I absolutely love the gem.
4. Maine Kaha Babuji – Chhoti Bhabhi (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar / Husnalal Bhagatram – Qamar Jalalabadi
A very playful and lively interaction between a lady and her beloved, played by Nargis and karan Dewan respectively. What a cute conversation the song depicted! I’m fond of this song and it’s also my father’s favourite song. So I wasn’t going to miss it anyway. Listen to the excellent musical arrangement making it easy on the ear. Very sweet and melodious.
5. Door Se Ek Pardesi Aaya – Surajmukhi (1950) / Husnalal Bhagatram – Rajendra Krishan
While I was aware of the sad version by Geeta Dutt, I heard the Rafi version for the first time. It’s in a happy mood and seems to portray a vendor selling ornaments for ladies.
6. Ye Pyar Ki Manzil Se – Khiladi (1950) with Suraiya / Hansraj Behl – Rajendra Krishan
Rafi had a good number of duets with Suraiya in this year, the most would be the ones from Dastan. But this one, though not a popular song, is worth listening to.
7. Hum Dil Ki Dhadkan Ki Lay Par – Khamosh Sipahi (1950) with Surinder Kaur / Hansraj Behl – D N Madhok
Rafi had quite a good number of duets with Surinder Kaur in the late 40s and early 50s. This a bit slow paced song doesn’t attract you at the first listen, but grows on you slowly.
8. Sabse Bhala Rupaiya – Sargam (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar / C Ramchandra – P L Santoshi
Rafi sings for Raj Kapoor in this one, while Chitalkar sings for Mumtaz Ali. The song actually portrays Raj Kapoor’s feelings for Om Prakash, who plays his father in the movie. The song is nevertheless still very popular.
9. Tara Ri Tara Ri – Dastan (1950) with Suraiya / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
I am in love with this waltz rhythm based song. It’s very melodious and Rafi again sings for Raj Kapoor. One of my all time favorites.
10. Aankhiyan Milake Zara Baat Karo Jee – Pardes (1950) with Lata Mangeshkar / Ghulam Mohammad – Shakeel Badayuni
Pardes was produced by Madhubala in association with P N Arora. Ghulam Mohammad was called in for composing songs. Being an expert percussionist, see how wonderfully he has incorporated dholak in the song. It’s so melodious and foot tapping. The song became my instant favourite, the first time I listened to it . A beautiful Madhubala is the icing on the cake. The film was also a commercial success.
11. Jab Nain Se Nain Mile – Veer Babruvahan (1950) with Geeta Dutt, Amirbai Karnataki & unidentified male voice / Chitragupt – Anjum Jaipuri
What a beautiful song! Forget about the film, which may be looked upon as a ‘B grade’ mythological film. Chitragupt was sincere enough to score a sixer for this one as well. The melody flows smoothly, soothing the mind and ears.
12. Akele Mein Woh Ghabrate To Honge – Beewee (1950) / Sharmaji (Khayyam) – Wali Sahab
This was one of the first popular songs by Khayyam, when he was still to find his feet. He was composing under the pseudonym of Sharmaji. The song is a treat to ears and has a rhythm that sounds like Matka rhythm. This song can be taken as one of Rafi’s popular solos of the year.
13. Aaja Aaja O Janewale – Sabak (1950) / A R Qureshi – D N Madhok
The song may not be popular, but I liked it when I heard it for the first time while researching for the post. Tabla maestro Qureshi composed for a few Hindi films, though unfortunately he couldn’t make it to the first rung of composers. But this beautiful melody is good enough to showcase his talent as a composer.
14. Jalte Deep Bujh Gaye – Jalte Deep (1950) / Sardul Kwatra – M A Taj
A meaningful song with heart touching rendition by Rafi. The lyricist, M A Taj wasn’t well known, but he has penned a good song without using complicated or heavy urdu words. Sardul Kwatra also wasn’t very popular, but a few of his songs with a distinct Punjabi flavour were popular.
15. Hum Ishq Mein Barbad Hain – Aankhen (1950) / Madan Mohan – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
And to end the list, let me present Rafi’s first song with Madan Mohan. Later they had a long and successful association, mainly in the 60s. A soulful song picturised on Shekhar. Here’s a link for a good audio song.
That’s the end of today’s list. As mentioned in the beginning, duets outnumbering solos is a rare scenario. But it happened to Rafi in 1950.
Would you like to add your favourite by Rafi from that year?
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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.