Asha Bhosle – the dynamic singer of bollywood.

Asha Bhosle – the dynamic singer of bollywood.

Asha Bhosle can be considered as one of the most dynamic singers who had glorified bollywood for the last 60 years. She had shown her skills in singing any type of song including qawallis, ghazals, western songs, pop songs, light classical songs, etc. She had been successful to provide everlasting hits with major composers of bollywood.

When Asha Bhosle started her career in bollywood, already leading singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, and others were dominating the world of playback singing. She showed her charishma in the song “aiye maherba” in the film Howrah Bridge, which was picturised on Madhubala. She had also provided romantic andaz in the song “haal kaisa hai janab ka” with Kishore Kumar in the film Chalti Ka Naam Gaari. Raj Kapoor gave her a break in the film Shree 420, in 1955, where she sung “Mur Murke na dekh” composed by Shankar Jaikishan. In the earlier years OP Nayyar composed most of his songs for Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle.



She was also given quality songs by Khayyam and Ravi. In the 60s she had sung successful songs for leading actresses and hit films. In Mera Saya, her song “jhumka gira re”, composed by Madan Mohan and picturised on Sadhna was big hit. All her songs in Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, Phir Wohi dil Laya Hoon, Kashmir Ki Kali, Mere Sanam, composed by OP Nayyar were super duper hits along with the melodious performance of Rafi. She had made notable contribution in films like Waqt, Humraaz, where the tunes were composed by Ravi .

Asha Bhosle also had sung hit songs in Bengali films like Choddobeshi, where the songs “aro dure cholo jai”, “amar din katena”, composed by Sudhin Dasgupta became immortal. RD Burman had given her songs of different dimensions including “piya tu” from Karwa, to qawalli titled “hai agar dushman zamana” in Hum kisi se kum nahi, to “pal do pal ka saath hamara” in Burning Train.



In the early 80s Asha Bhosle sung probably the most romantic songs in her career in the film Umrao Jaan, picturised on Rekha where all the songs were composed on the background of mujra and all were very successful. It is very difficult to highlight the contribution of legendary singer like Asha Bhosle in a short article, but it can be said that she had been an institution in herself and the new generation can learn a lot from her use of classical skills both for eastern and western songs.

Article by By: Rumi Chatterji.

Mukesh - the passionate singer of the last century

Mukesh – The passionate singer of the last Century.

The 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s are categorised as the golden age of bollywood music and all the playback singers had made notable contribution for the success of the films made during that period. Mukesh had a sweet voice and his songs made notable contribution in most of the films of Raj Kapoor.

In the early 50s his songs in the film Awara, like “awara hoon,” “dum bhar jo udhar mu phere” were big hits. He had sung his major songs under the composition of Shankar Jaikishan as they had composed the maximum number of songs for Raj Kapoor. His other notable songs include “aja re”, “sub kuch sikha humne”, “ kisiki muskurahato pe ho nisar”, “ ai sanam jisne tujhe chand sa sura di hai”, etc. Salil Chowdhury also had liking for Mukesh. His songs include “dil tarap tarap ke kah raha hai aa bhi ja”, “ suhana safar” from Madhumati, 1958, “ kahi door jab din dhal jaye”, “maine tere liye hi saat rang ke”, etc., from Anand, 1970.


Other than singing in films of Raj Kapoor, Mukesh always made significant contribution in songs related to pathos, which were sung for different actors. Songs like “yeh mera diwanapan”, for Dilip Kumar, “sawan ka mahina”, for Sunil Dutt, “ taoba yeh matwali chal” for Manoj Kumar, etc., had a lasting impact even after 40 years of their creation. May be the passionate andaz of Mukesh use to touch the hearts of the listeners, and that was one of the reasons inspite of having nomajor classical background Mukesh’s songs ended up being major hits.


There was lot of truth in his voice and his singing which persuaded many composers and lyricists to compose songs for him. Songs like “chandan sa badan”, composed by Kalyanji Anandji,” “saranga teri yaad me”, composed by Sardar Mullick, “ aansoo bhari hai” composed by Dattaram, “bhuli hui yaaden” composed by Madan Mohan had the identity of being typical songs composed for Mukesh, where his realisation of the words and tragic spirit had helped him to do justice to the landmark creations. His other songs for Raj Kapoor include “ mera naam raju”, “ aa ab laut chale”, “ har dil jo pyar karega”, “duniya banana wale”, “ chalia mera naam”, “chale jana”, etc.

Mukesh also had made major contribution to filsm like Saathi, where for a change Rajender Kumar had given lips for his songs which were composed by Naushad. Khayyam’s soft tunes were given right expression by Mukesh in the film Kabhi Kabhi, 1975, in songs like “kabhi kabhi”, “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon’, etc.


It is very difficult to highlight the contribution of the singing legend in a small article who had made major contribution to bollywood films for over 30 years. But there is no doubt that bollywood music would have remained incomplete without the contribution of Mukesh, which had galvanised the golden age of music along with major contributions from Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood, Lata, Asha and others.

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.


Related Reading

• Immortal Ghazals sung by Mohammad Rafi.
• Awards received by Mohammad Rafi in his illustrious career.
• Mohammad Rafi- the greatest voice of the last century.
• Rahul Dev Burman’s immense respect for Mohammad Rafi.
• Laxmikant Pyarellal’s immortal relationship with Mohamand Rafi.
• OP Nayyar’s immortal relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Salil Chowdhury’s relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Ravi’s memorable combination with Rafi.
• Roshan's everlasting bond with Mohammad Rafi.
• SD Burman and Mohammad Rafi.
• Rafi’s pleasant memories with Madanmohan.
• Khayyam and Jaidev’s relationship with Mohammad Rafi.
• Kalyanji Anandji’s association with Mohammad Rafi.
• Naushad’s association with Rafi.

Sonu Nigam - the dynamic singer of bollywood

Sonu Nigam – the most dynamic singer of Bollywood.

When Mohammad Rafi died in 1980, a number of producers in bollywood were concerned about the fate of playback singing with respect to those stars like Dilip Kumar or Shammi Kapoor, who were indebted with Rafi’s voice. A number of playback singers Shabbir Kumar, Anwar, Mohammad Aziz, who used Rafi’s singing style tried to fill up the vacuum created by his untimely death, but the audience could not forget Rafi and the search for singers having similar amount of sweetness of voice never ended.

Sonu Nigam, born on 30th July, 1973, gained the attention of music lovers across the country with his popular music competition TVS Saregama featured in the Television which viewers in India and abroad enjoyed for a long period of time. He brought legendary composers like Naushad, OP Nayyar, Khayyam, etc., to the program and gained respectability in the minds of musical experts. At the age of 3 years, he joined his father Agar Kumar Nigam on stage in singing Rafi’s song “kya hua tera wada”. He learnt music from Ustad Maha Kanjar Naveed. He sang a number of Rafi’s songs in T Series and his song “accha sila diya tune mere pyar ka” familiarised his voice with the Indian audience.

He made the youth of the country spellbound with westernised tunes and romantic presentation in his private album titled Diwana. His prominent songs include “kuch tum socho, kuch hum soche”, “diwana, mai hu diwana tera”, etc. Slowly all the leading composers in bollywood showed faith in Sonum Nigam and he became a phenomenon. Gradually his other albums “Jaan”, “Yaad”, “Chandan ki doli”,

His songs in JP Dutta’s film Border and Refugee, composed by Anu Malik touched the minds of young and old, all sections of the society. Significantly, the lyrics written by Javed Akhtar were also meaningful. Popular songs include “mere humsafar, mere humsafar”, “panchi nadiya”, “hume jab se mohabbat ho gaya hai”, “sandese ate hai”, etc. His songs in the film Pardes, titled “yeh dil diwana”, song titled “satrangi re” from the film Dil Se, also attracted the attention of music lovers.

With providing hits one after the other he caught the attention of composer AR Rehman and made his presence felt in the minds of music lovers with songs “sathiya sathiya” from the film Saathiya, which not only gave him fame but also provided him the filmfare award for the best singer in 2002. He had inherent classical touch in his voice which wa well exploited by AR Rehman. His songs in the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum, titled “suraj hua madhyam”, film Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai titled “is pyar ko” entertained the audience. Just like Rafi, Sonu Nigam, provides very strong expression in the songs and by this period of time had evolved his own style of singing.

In 2003, Sonu Nigam again won the filmfare award for the best singer with the song “kal ho na ho” in the film Kal Ho Na Ho. He also won the national film award for singing in the same film. In recent years his television program Indian idol, which was based on musical competition, where he participated as one of the judges along with Anu Malik and Farah Khan had mesmerised viewers across India and abroad. In his statements towards young singers, he strongly expresses his respect for Mohammad Rafi, once he said to one of the participants “mera gana gana tumhare bus me hai, Rafisahab ka gana gaan tumhare bus se bahar hai”.

He also acted in a number of films and participated in programs organised on All India Radio. In the last few years his songs in most of the successful films of bollywood are memorised by the youth and many upcoming singers consider him as role model. His successful songs in the recent years include “pal pal” from Lage Raho Munna Bhai, “humko maloom hai” from Jan-e-Mann, “kabhi alvida na kehna” from Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, “piyu bole” from Parineeta, “Salaam-e-ishq” from Salaam-e-ishq, etc. Even in the middle of strong competition from different types of singers in bollywood, Sonu nigam has created a style of his own and is scheduled to make major contribution for bollywood films in years to come. The songs from his successful films should be restored for new singers who are interested to use the classical skills taught by major gurujis in India in both eastern and western songs.

Singers who had contributed for the RK Banners

Contribution of singers for the RK Banner:

RK Production contributed in the making of successful bollywood films for the last 60 years. Music had played a very significant part in the success of those films. Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle, etc., played a major role, although a lot of songs in these films were sung by other singers as well. Lata Mangeshkar in fact created her identity with the songs “jiya beqarar hai”, “hawa me urta jaye” in the film Barsaat, 1949, and continued her brilliance with songs like “dum bhar jo udhar mu phere” in Awara, 1951, “rajaki ayegi baraat” in Aag, 1953, “Jago Mohan Pyare”, in Jagte Raho, 1956, “ban ke panchi gaye pyar ka tarana”, in Anari, 1959, “woh basanti” in Jis desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, 1961, to name a few.

Mohammad Rafi, had sung very significant songs under RK Banner, which became hits and sometimes brought the climax of the films. In Shri 420, 1955, Rafi started the song “ramaiya vasta maiya” which was continued by Lata and was finished of by Mukesh. In the award winning film Boot Polish, Rafi’s song “nanne munne bacche tere muthi me kya hai” was very big hit. Rafi made the tragic end for the film Sangam, 1964, with the song “ki tum naraaz nahi hona”. Mukesh and Manna Dey matched Raj Kapoor’s voice and both had sung huge number of songs under RK Banner, including “awara hoon”, “sab kuch sikha humne”, “har dil jo pyar karega”, “jane kaha gaye woh din”, “dost dost na raha” etc. ( by Mukesh), “ pyar hua ikraar hua”, “mur murke na dekh”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, “dil ka hal sune dilwala”, “chalat musafir”, etc., (by Manna Dey). Geeta Dutt sung “bolo sha wai wai” in Jagte Raho, Asha Bhoshle had sung “mur mur ke na dekh”, in Shree 420, etc.

But as the span of production under RK Banner continued for more than 50 years, a number of singers died, composers died, resulting in fresh use of new talents under the RK Banner. Shailendra Singh made his debue in Bobby, 1973, with the song “mai shayar to nahi” and suited Rishi Kapoor along with Chanchal who made his debue in the same film. Other hit songs of Shailendra Singh include “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho”, “ge ge ge ge, mere saiba”, etc. Suresh Watkar, Ravindra Jain sung songs in films like Prem Rog, 1982, Ram Teri Ganga Maili, 1985, etc., and these voices evenly matched with Rishi Kapoor or Rajeev Kapoor, etc. As playback singing contributed a lot in the creation and nurturing of images of actors and actresses for the last 50 years, the suitability of singers with heroes and heroines had made notable impact on the liking of the films by viewers.

It is a tragedy that Raj Kapoor died in 1988, otherwise the 4th generation of his family, Ranbir Kapoor may have made a debue under RK Production. Although Ranbir Kapoor, has made his debue in the film Sawaariya, he has not brought forward the legacy of his family under a film produced under RK Banner. For the last 5 years competition in the world of playback singing is very stiff and the heroes and heroines are expected to have suitable combination with all singers. Only time can tell whether Ranbir Kapoor’s voice matches with Sonu Nigam, or Udit Narayan, or Himesh Reshamiya, etc. If Rishi Kapoor, produces any film in future under the RK Banner, he has to weigh the choice of singers who can suit his son’s voice and the acceptability of the songs will depend on that criteria.

In a nutshell it can be said that RK Banner, had shaped, carried forward the musical significance of bollywood films in the last century and the present generation of the Kapoor family has to rise up to the expectations of the filmlovers in India and abroad to maintain the rich standard of music that had been the hallmark of successful films made in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.