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Golmaal and Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate


Golmaal and Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate:

By: Souvik Chatterji.

Rishikesh Mukherjee had experimented with a number of comedy films in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. His film Golmaal, released in 1979 was a major hit. The story involved a middle class character played by Amol Palekar who had to take the recourse of falsehood to get a job in Urmila Traders Co. His superior officer played by Utpal Dutta, maintained strict rules of discipline in his office. The entire film had serio-comic flavour and the story revolved around the incidents relating to Utpal Dutta and Amol Palekar.

Amol Palekar had to play double roles of the character Ram Prasad and Laxman Prasad, one with moustache and the other without it to satisfy his boss. The elder brother maintained old values and satisfied his boss with his orthodox language. The younger brother went to his boss’s house to teach music and got involved in an affair with his daughter. Ultimately while doing the acting his moustache fell of and led to drama.

Very significantly, the story did involve real life situations and the audience associated themselves with the characters. There were continuation of the same series of films titled Naram Garam and Jhoot Bole Cowa Kate. After Naram Garam, Utpal Dutta died and Rishikesh Mukherjee had to change his team with Amrish Puri and Anil Kapoor in the follwing film. This film also revolved around the same sense of humour associated with lies and recourse to falsehood. Anil Kapoor had to pretend to be a character which was not true to impress Amrish Puri to marry Juhi Chwala, his daughter. There is intellectual humour. But unlike the previous films it was not as successful inspite of good music composed by Anand Milind and songs of Udit Narayan.

This year, 2007, mainly the seriocomic films had become major hits and it proves the point that Indian crowd due to their stress at workplace and tensions admire the comedy films more than other type of films. Comedy is existent in every part of life and laughter can help us to forget our anxieties for the short period of time. One of the good qualities of Rishikesh Mukherjee involved strong script which can inspire new directors to make similar films. Present directors can make films on witty subjects that everybody enjoy. In the new year 2008, Indian audience expect films made on these types of subjects which everybody can enjoy.

Has the filmfare awards done justice to all the celebrities?


Has the filmfare awards done justice to all the celebrities?

By: Souvik Chatterji

Although the film fare awards given to different celebrities for their contribution to Indian films for the last 50 years had provided smiles in the faces of some of the recipients, it never rewarded some of the actors, composers, etc., throughout the years. In respect of the actors Guru Dutt, Rajender Kumar, Dharmender, Pradeep Kumar, never won a single award in the category of best actors. May be there was strong competition from Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor, but it is quite strange that Guru Dutt with his performance in Pyaasa or Kagaz Ka Phool, could not qualify for a filmfare award under the best actor category. May be the jury had recognised him as a greater director or producer than an actor. Similarly Rajender Kumar with his performance in Dil Ek Mandir, Mere Mehboob, did not receive any filmfare award for best performance in a lead role. Pradeep Kumar’s performance in Taj Mahal, Bheegi Raat, Bahu Begum, and Dharmender’s performance in films like Satyakam, Guddi, all went unnoticed. Even Jeetender’s performance in Parichay, Khushbu, Kinara, did not impress the jury.

While some of the composers bagged a number of awards, others like Madanmohan with his extraordinary tunes having ghazal orientation did not receive any single award for best composition inspite of providing immortal tunes in Jahan-ara, Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saya, Mausam ,etc. Again those composers who had bagged film fare awards one after the other were not recognised for life time contribution to bollywood films. Shankar Jaikishan had bagged film fare awards nine times in their entire career, yet they did not receive Dada Sahab Falke award for life time contribution unlike Naushad, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, who had received these awards under different categories.

In respect of awards for the category of best actresses Sadhna’ s performance in Parakh, Asli Nakli, or Madhubala’s performance in Mughal –i-azam, Barsaat ki Raat, went unnoticed. Actresses in the 90s like Meenakshi Shesadri inspite of providing powerful performances in films like Damini, Ghayal, seldom could impress the jury to qualify for the award in the category of best actress.
In the early 50s, film fare awards were given for best singers and at that time separate awards for male singers and female singers were not given. That deprived Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar from getting more awards at a period when they were dominating the world of playback singing. Rafi had received only 6 filmfare awards as best singer, which dies not reflect his dominance in the 50s and 60s. Manna Dey did not receive filmfare award on the major classical songs he did sing in the notable films including “sur na saje”, “laga chunari me daag”, “kaun aya mere man ke dware”, etc. Sometimes the singers were surprised to get awards on less known songs when the legendary failed to fetch them any award.

May be for the actors, composers, directors, etc., who did not receive any filmfare award, the success of the films had provided incentive for better performance in the future. The Indian audience can answer the question whether the filmfare awards had really done justice to the major celebrities who had contributed to Indian films.

GP Sippy - A legendary filmmaker

GP Sippy: A legendary filmmaker.



GP Sippy, born in 1913, who had died recently, in 2007, can be considered as one of the legendary filmmakers who had the vision of producing films which were rich in content and also addressed the popular tastes of film lovers of the country. Most of his films were directed by his won son Ramesh Sippy.

The notable films include Seeta Aur Geeta, Andaz, Sholay, Shaan, Saagar, etc. His films had a wide range of subjects including the story of two twin sisters in Seeta Aur Geeta, where one of them was oppressed by family members and the other took revenge against such oppression, to story of a widow who required company of another person whose wife died previously in Andaz, 1971. not only that he had produced films which had given the Indian industry huge revenue and stand as one of the most hit films being produced in the entire century, but the different aspects of the films are well appreciated and act as trendsetters for the future generation.

Very significantly GP Sippy, did not cast the same actors in all his films and justified his casting based on the requirement of the story and capability of the actor. For example, Amzad Khan acted as Gabbar Singh in Sholay, and became a role model of all the villains who tried to show the cruel features of dacoits and bandits who operated on the northern part of India. There was a different presentation of his villain in the film Shaan, in 1980, where Shakal acted as industrial giant who operated from abroad. A very polished state of affairs followed in that film. Besides the action sequences in most of his films were very much related to story and formed part of the film.

When films were produced on romantic subjects, the treatment became totally different. Kamal Hassan showed all his choreographic skills and sense of humour as opposed to Rishi Kapoor in Sagar, who was shy and conservative in approach of their own presentation before Dimple Kapadia. Besides, he had shot the sequences in very colourful locations in most of the films.

Another significant part of the films of GP Sippy include very successful music. Shankar Jaikishan had provided very quality music in the film Seeta Aur Geeta, in 1971. After that film Jaikishan died, and RD Burman contributed to the major films produced by GP Sippy and directed by Ramesh Sippy. Even music played a significant role in Shahrukh Khan’s film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman in the early 90s.

There was another hallmark of all these films in the matching of performances by legendary actors. Big B, Shatrughun Sinha and Shashi Kapoor did not find it difficult to act in the same film in Shaan. Dharmender, Big B and Sanjeev Kumar, all played their individual roles in Sholay with variety and composure. Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan had also done well in their respective roles.

GP Sippy’s films should be preserved and restored for producers of the modern generation to learn how to make the best use of resources made available to them.

Kishore Kumar - the master entertainer of bollywood


Kishore Kumar – the master entertainer of bollywood.

By: Souvik Chatterji.

Kishore Kumar can be considered as one of the immortal entertainers of bollywood who had remained alive in the minds of his numerous admirers across the world. Different TV Channels these days conduct programs on Kishore Kumar and nurture new talents who exhibit singing styles similar to that of Kishore Kumar. His contribution to Indian cinema range from his acting skills to dancing capabilities, singing style to production, direction, etc.

In the mid-50s Kishore Kumar was mainly associated with the Navketan Banner where he provided playback in major films of Dev Anand and his songs like “jeevan ke safar me rahi”, “dukhi man”, etc., which were big hits. His own performance in films like Chalti ka naam gaari, Jhumru, Half Ticket, etc., were very significant. In Chati Ka Naam Gaari, where he acted along with his brothers Ashok Kumar and Anup Kumar, the story showed the life of a car mechanic who had his own garage and unearthed the unlawful deeds of KN Singh in the film. The different sequences in the film were dealt with comedy, including the scene where he wins a car race with his defective car, and at every part of the film Kishore Kumar improvised with his acting skills. His songs with Asha Bhosle including “haal kaisa hai janab ka” was very successful. Half Ticket showed the character of a grown up person whose mind was not matured to that extent. Kishore Kumar almost made the viewers jump out of their seats when his uncle played by Pran, had forcibly put him in mental asylum or when dogs chased him within the film and when he rode on top of a bulldozer and kicked a ball which entered the goal in football stadium in Kolkata. Kishore Kumar also suited himself with the westernised composition of Salil Chowdhury in songs like “aankho me hi tum hi tum ho”.

Kishore Kumar showed his immense comedy skills in other films like Dilli Ka Thag, Mr. X in Bombay, Padosan, and Bengali films like “lukochuri”, “dushtu projapoti”, etc. In Padosan, he performed the role of an actor in nautankis and trained Sunil Dutt to sing songs and sung them in his place to impress the next door neighbour played by Saira Banu. H faced a music competition against Manna Dey in “ek chatur nar” where his non-classical improvisations bewildered the classical notion of Manna Dey. In the 70s , Kishore Kumar concentrated on singing and by the 80s he became the most popular singer of bollywood.

He could soften his voice for the playback of Rajesh Khanna and deepen his bass for the playback of Amitabh Bacchan and it appeared to the viewers that it was the actor who was singing. His composition for his own film Door Gagan ki chaon me, in songs like “bus pyar hi pyar fale” shows his skills in the other fields.

Besides he had provided a number of songs in sombre mood, which had touched the souls of many listeners like “o sham kuch ajeeb thi”, “ teri duniya se”, “ zindagi ka safar”, “pal pal dilke paas”, “hum bewafa hargis na the”, “ mera jeevan kora kagaz”, “tere bina zindagi me shikwa”, “sagar kinare,”, etc. Although lack of classical training raises questions on the singing capacity of Kishore Kumar, his co-singers like Asha Bhosle had neutralised the argument by saying that he could imitate different persons, and his capability of modifying his voice to suit the sequence of the films had made him immortal in playback singing history. Just like the way different singers like Shabbir Kumar, Anwar, Mohammad Aziz were tried when Mohammad Rafi died in 1980, as composers could not understand how to replace to Rafi, similarly, Kumar Shanu, Abhijit, Babul Supriyo all made major contribution when Kishore Kumar died in late 80s, because he provided playback for all the leading actors at that time. Till today huge number of singers of the modern generation imitate Kishore Kumar and he is alive in his numerous songs and performances. It is a big debate whether Kishore Kumar was a greater actor or a greater singer. In fact all his acting skills were embedded in his singing and that is why he could sing either like a drunkard, or like a happy person, or show the different emotions of different actors, etc. His films and songs should be preserved to show that playback singing requires the understanding of the emotions of the actors and if the singer is an actor like Kishore Kumar, then songs become realistic, melodious and lively.

Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor – the versatile actor of the 80s and 90s.




Anil Kapoor can be considered as one of the most versatile actors who had glorified bollywood films during the 80s and 90s. His initial films like Woh Saat Din caught the attention of film lovers. He also got scope of acting with big stars like Dilip Kumar in films like Mashal in 1984. His transformation by Dilip Kumar from a law breaker to a reformed journalist had made a lasting impression in the mind of filmlovers. He used the tapori language that is spoken by street peddlers in Mumbai in the first part of the film. He ultimately became a journalist and used hi pen to unearth the evils of society. His performance in the multistarrer Subhash Ghai titled Karma is also worth mentioning. Dilip Kumar used the prisoners who were facing life mprisonment and death sentence and all the prisoners Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff and Naseeruddin Shah helpedDilip Kumar to destroy the terrorist establishments in India.

In the early part of his career hisperformance in the film Meri Jung is worth mentioning. He acted as a lawyer and conducted a trial in the ideal way a trial is conducted in courts f law. In 1986, his film Mr. India based on fantasy made him a superstar. He got the formula by which a person can be invisible and used the formula to take revenge from Amrish Puri who acted as an underworld don who used his troops for unlawful activities. Amil Kapoor’s sense of humour amused the viewers and many viewers started comparing him with Raj Kapoor with his comedy skills.

Gradually Anil Kapoor started performing in all types of films, in films where he depicted an innocent person like Iswar, films where he showed his anger against the society which was dominated by corrupt individuals like Tezaab, and other films like Ram Lakhan. Most of his films had Madhuri Dixit as the actress opposite him and her choreographic skills added flavour in the blockbusters. He also acted in pure comedy films like Jamai Raja, where he smashed the ego and dominance of her mother-in-law played by Hema Malini. The reply were given through comedy and there was action at the end of the film.



In later years Anil Kapoor acted in significant films like Pukar, Lajja, etc. He received the national award for the best actor for performing in the film Pukar, where he playedrole of a patriot. He joined the army but was thrown away from there for false charges that were put against him by Madhuri Dixit. Ultimately he proved himself innocent and prevented a big destructive attempt made by the terrorists.

Anil Kapoor showed his immense personality in films where the character required them. He poured all his composure in the film Nayak, where he became the Chief Minister of the State of Maharashtra only for 1 days, but showed the standing CM played by Amrish Puri that if there is a will a lot of reformation can be done even in one day. He dismissed all those officers and government servants who were not working and brought in work culture. Amidst his action films he also acted in romantic films like 1942-a lovestory. His lips in the songs like “ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga” and “kuch na kaho, kuch bhi nakaho” composed by RD Burman became superduper hits. He depicted the romance with Manish Koirala at the backdrop of India’s freedommovement.


Even during the days of new actors dominating bollywood, Anil Kapoor comedy impulse in seen in films like No Entry. In a span of 25 years, he has acted in around 100 films and showed his skills in different spheres. His films should be restored to show the new generation that for being a successful actor, comedy, tragedy and personality has to be displayed.



Anil Kapoor Photogallery

Vaijayantimala - the dancing legend of bollywood

Vaijayantimala-the legendary dancer of bollywood.





Vaijayantimala can be considered as one of the greatest dancers of bollywood films who had glorified the films she has acted with her serene performance and notable creative art of choreography. Among all the South Indian actresses, she was probably the path-breakers who blended her acting capabilities with the mudras of Bharatnatyam and other forms of eastern classical dances and inspired the bollywood directors to make films based on those subjects.

She kept her mark in the film Nagin in 1955, opposite Pradeep Kumar, where her performance in the song “man dole” sung by Lata is worth mentioning. She played the role of Chandramukhi in Bimal Roy’s epic film Devdas opposite Dilip Kumar, in 1955. She tried to reform Devdas by preventing him from taking recourse to alcohol for forgetting Parbati whom he loved and was married to another person. The same role was played by another established dancer Madhuri Dixit when Sanjay Leela Banshali remade Devdas in recent years. Vaijayantimala received the film fare award for the best supporting actress in Devdas, and she refused it saying that her role was even more important than that of Parbati. In fact Parbati had led to the death of Devdas, on the other hand, Chandramukhi tried to give him a new life, although she could not succeed in her pursuit.

In Bimal Roy’s Madhumati, in 1958, Vaijayantimala exhibited her class of dancing opposite Dilip Kumar and showed her innocence in a role related to women of hilly region of India. Her performance in songs like “aaja re pardesi”, “dil tarap tarap ke keh raha hai a bhi ja”, composed by Salil Chowdhury had impressed the film lovers, and they lamented her death shown in the film. She also displayed her choreographic skills in the film Katputli, where songs like “bol re katputli” composed by Shankar Jaikishan became big hits.

In the early 60s she displayed the role of village girl in the film Ganga Jumna. She adapted herself to the bhojpuri accent used in the film. If the other films had marked her dancing capabilities Sangam marked her acting potentiality. She had an affair with Rajender Kumar, yet Raj Kapoor married her not knowing her liking, and at the frag end of the film, when Raj Kapoor wanted to sacrifice his love, she questioned his authority to take decision about her, because from the time she married him she fulfilled all the responsibilities of a hindu wife. Rajender Kumar sacrificed his life by killing himself. Vaijayantimala received the film fare award for the best actress for performing in the film Sangam.

At the same time she had acted in female oriented roles like Amrapali, where she depicted the role of a devdasi who performed her art in Indian temples.

Her films opposite Rajender Kumar including Zindagi, Aas ka Panchi, Ganwar, Suraj, Saathi, etc., were very successful. She played a very significant part in Vijay Anand’s crime thriller Jewel Thief in 1967. Her brother was kidnapped by the Jewel Thief played by Ashok Kumar and throughout the film she cultivated an image of a character Amar who never existed. Her lips in the song “rulake gaya sapna mera” is worth mentioning.

She also performed well in the film Choti Si Mulakat opposite Uttam Kumar which was based on child marriage. They were married together when they were infants but some of the family members did not accept the marriage. Later when they met each other not knowingly to be spouses, they entered into affair and the child marriage stood in their way. Them their identity was disclosed. Vaijayantimala almost acted with all the leading actors of the golden age of Indian cinema. He married Dr. Bali and left films in early 70s. Her success had paved way for other notable South Indian actresses like Hema Malini, Jaya Prada, etc., who made significant contribution to Indian films. Her films should be restored for cinematic, musical and choreographic landmarks they were created during that age.

Bhupinder Singh - the passionate singer of bollywood


Bhupinder Singh: The passionate singer of bollywood:



Ghazal singers in India and other parts of the world have very limited number of audience, as the lyrics are very meaningful and require knowledge to appreciate them and the tunes also bear slow and soft image. In Indian films ghazals were used in the 50s, 60s by the thoughtful composers of that period including Madanmohan, Jaidev, Naushad, Khayyam, Shankar Jaikihsan, Roshan, etc. and sung in most cases by Mohammad Rafi and Talat Mehmood.

Bhupinder Singh, started his career as playback singer in the film Haqeeqat, in 1964, composed by Madanmohan, where he also acted as one of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in India’s war against China. The song “hoke majboor mujhe usne bulaya hoga” was sung by Bhupinder Singh along with Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Manna Dey. Bhupinder Singh had played important instruments like different types of guitars, etc., for composers like RD Burman.

As his deep voice having intoxicating appeal suited the criteria for singing ghazals, he made major contribution in refined commercial films where tunes were not composed for commercial requirement but to impress the music lovers. If any director had done justice to the young ghazal singer it was Gulzar and Bhupinder Singh got recognition in singing important songs for his films in general.

His song “dil dhoonta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din”, in the film Mausam , 1975, is one of the most soft ghazals Madanmohan had composed in his career. Sanjeev Kumar recollected his past while his car crossed the roads towards Darjeeling and the song was played in the background. His songs in Parichay, 1972, picturised on Sanjeev Kumar, including “mitwa” and “bite na bitay raina” exhibits his strong command over classical songs.

His two songs in Gharonda, 1977, including “ek akela is shahar me” and “do diwane shahar me” picturised on Amol Palekar, had the flavour of urbanised folk song and he was successful to blend his voice with the remote style of composition of Jaidev. There was excellent use of the violin in the song “ek akela is shahar me”. The philosophical words of Gulzar like “in umrase lambi sarko ko manzil pe pahuchte dekkha nahi, is anjabeesi shahar me jana pehchana dhoonta hai” was given right expression by Bhupinder Singh and carried the essence of the phrase the sweetest songs are those which carry the saddest thoughts. Bhupinder also brought out the pensive mood of Jaidev’s creation in the songs “zindagi, zindagi, o mere ghar ana zindagi” and “zindagi me jab tumhare gham nahi the” in Uttamkumar’s Dooriyan in 1980. He also sang a notable ghazal titled “karoge yaad to” composed by Khayyam in the film Bazaar.

Bhupinder Singh also sang notable classical songs in the film Kinara, 1977, composed by RD Burman and picturised on Jeetender and Dharmender, including “naam gum jayega”, “ek hi khwab kaibaar dekha maine”, “meethe bol bole”. The other ghazal which was successful in the early 80s included “huzur is kadar bhi na itrake chaliye” picturised on Naseeruddin Shah in the film Masoom, where Suresh Watkar accompanied Bhupinder Singh. Excepting few ghazals sung by Jagjit Singh including “tumko dekha to yeh khayal aya” picturised on Farooq Sheikh and ‘tum itna jo muskura rahi ho” from the film Arth, the use of ghazals in bollywood films almost became extinct from the mid-80s.

Bhupinder Singh restricted his passion for ghazals in his private albums. Excepting Mohammad Rafi, no other classical singer could shine above a limited level, because the mass are attracted towards popular music which in major cases include non-classical compositions. That was the reason why Manna Dey having immense control over ragas, had lesser songs than he deserved in his career. Bhupinder Singh’s songs should be restored to honour the classical and ghazal andaz of the singer that had been exhibited in refined commercial films of bollywood.

Did Rafi face any competition in bollywood films?

Did Rafi at all face any competition in the golden age of bollywood films?



Whenever the golden age of Indian films are revisited, one of the most notable personalities, Mohammad Rafi, comes into our mind automatically. Much had been written about the maestro and yet not everything has been written. If Rafi had sung around 26,000 songs within a span of 35 years, then the obvious question hovers in the mind of music lovers is that did Rafi at all face any competition during the golden age.



Before answering the question, the other singing personalities should be referred, among female singers Lata Mangeshkar, Samshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Suman Kalyanpur, Sudha Malhotra, were the dominating figures, while Manna Dey, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, were the male singers contributing to playback singing in Indian films. Mukesh mainly contributed to films of Raj Kapoor and Manoj Kumar, although he had sung hit songs for Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, specially when they were composed by Shankar Jaikishan or Salil Chowdhury. Talat Mehmood was mainly associated with Dilip Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar were associated with Dev Anand, Manna Dey was associated with Raj Kapoor, Mahendra Kapoor contributed to Manoj Kumar’s films and BR Chopra’s films.

In respect of female singers Shamshad Begum faded away in the 60s and Geeta Dutt, after the death of Guru Dutt, did not make major contribution to Indian films. Asha Bhosle initially was associated with compositions of OP Nayyar and Ravi, but sang under most of the big banners from the 70s. That leaves us with the nightingale of India that is Lata Mangeshkar. If Rafi had faced true competition from any singer then it was Lata all the way. The statistics of around 440 duets being sung by Rafi and Lata, provides the picture that the film industry was equally dependant on Lata Mangeshkar as they were dependant on Mohammad Rafi.



Very significantly those composers who were obsessed about Rafi, the same composers had liking for Lata. Shankar Jaikishan had provided immortal duet songs for Rafi and Lata and Asha like “itna hai tujhse pyar mujhe”, “ kaise samjhayun bari nasamajh ho” in the film Suraj, in 1966. Naushad’s composition “do sitaron ka zamee par hai milan aaj ki raat” for Rafi and Lata, in the film Kohinoor, in 1960, bolsters his liking towards both the singers. Roshan had experimented with the title song in Barsaat ki raat, in 1960, with both Rafi and Lata. He also asked Rafi and Lata to sing the song “dil jo na keh saka” in the film Bheegi Raat, in 1965, separately at different times in the same film. Laxmikant Pyarellal had composed the duet song of Rafi and Lata titled “woh jab yaad aye bahut yaad aye” from the film Parasmani, in 1963.

Besides Kalyanji Anandji, composed the song “akele hai chale ayo” for both Rafi and Lata who had sung it at different times in the film Raaz in 1968. Besides if Madan Mohan had tremendous liking for Rafi with songs like “tum jo mil gaye ho”, “tumhari zulfoke saye me sham karlunga”, he had equal love for Lata with songs like “tu jaha jaha chalega”, “zarahsi aahat hoti hai”, etc. Besides he composed the same song “teri aankho ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai” for both Rafi and Lata in the film Chirag, 1968. Ghulam Mohammad had provided immortal duet for Rafi and Lata titled “chalo dildar chalo” in the film Pakiza in 1971.

Excepting mid-70s, when Kishore Kumar had sung for leading actors like Amitabh Bachhan, Vinod Mehra, etc., Rafi never faced any competition from any male contemporary singers. Even in that age, Rafi was preferred by those composers like Madan Mohan, Naushad, who had classical affiliation and never compromised with class. Manna Dey faced Rafi in musical competitions with his versatile classical orientation in songs like “yeh isq isq”, from the film Barsaat ki raat, composed by Roshan. The debate relating to Rafi’s competitors can go on, and some of the music lovers highlight the song in Amar Akbar Anthony, in 1977, “humko tumse ho gaya hai pyar”, where Rafi sung for Rishi Kapoor, Kishore Kumar for Amitabh Bacchan and Mukesh sung for Vinod Khanna, to emphasis the fact of equal popularity of Mukesh and Kishore Kumar with Rafi. But if the interviews of leading composers, lyricists, producers and directors are studied, there is no second opinion that Rafi was given separate consideration and given added honour without disrespecting any of the other singers who also had made significant contribution to the world of playback singing in bollywood films.


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