Sanjeev Rambhadran's first claim to fame was when he became the winner of the famous Saregama competition on Zee TV in the mid-90s. The program then was hosted by a young Sonu Nigam and the judge for the finals was none other than the doyen of Hindi film music- Anil Biswas.

Born and brought up in the US, Sanjee is now an acclaimed and much sought-after singer in the US program circuit. He is also a multi-instrumentalist. In this special series to commemorate Mohammed Rafi's 40th death anniversary, Sanjeev brings out various facets of Rafi's gaayaki through his songs with 40 different music directors. He also brilliantly pens his thoughts on these musical gems. Here is the eleventh one from the series.Over to Sanjeev Rambhadran for a musical treat!

DAY 11: After an auspicious beginning as a musician (notably the "been" of "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole") and a successful solo music direction debut, composer Kalyanji Virji Shah was joined for the 1959 film Satta Bazaar by his brother Anandji, forming the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. Over the ensuing decades, even into the 1990s, their music boosted a range of new and established singing and acting talents. and evolved regularly with rapidly changing trends.

While their early success was not solely dependent on Mohd. Rafi, the duo heavily exploited his versatility in a range of 1960s hits including the impassioned "Vatan Pe Jo Fida Hoga" (Phool Bane Angaare), the anguished "Akele Hain Chale Aao" (for the early Rajesh Khanna in Raaz), and the romantic "Dil Beqaraar Sa Hai" (for established star Joy Mukherjee in Ishaara).

In "Jab Jab Phool Khile", a rising Shashi Kapoor found his answer to big brother Shammi's "Yahoo" in "Affoo Khudaaya". "Pardesiyon Se Na Akhiyaan Milaana", "Yahaan Main Ajnabi Hoon", and the rest of the soundtrack paved the way for his unqualified stardom on the strength of Kalyanji-Anandji's music and Mohd. Rafi's vocals. A flurry of successes would follow, with films like "Aamne Saamne" and "Haseena Maan Jaayegi" further consolidating the position of this formidable team.

To kick off the second quarter of this 40-day journey, however, we take a different turn. Despite Mohd. Rafi being well-established as his "ghost voice" at the time of Kalyanji-Anandji's Bluff Master (1963), Shammi Kapoor also lip-synchs to the voices of both Mukesh and Hemant Kumar in this film. In the actor's next film with the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, however, it would be the dynamic Mohd. Rafi all the way. Launched in earnest by the success of "Himalay Ki God Men" and "Jab Jab Phool Khile", lyricist Anand Bakshi, now a regular with Kalyanji-Anandji, delivered this gem that Mohd. Rafi took to the nines like only he could.

#RememberingMohdRafi #40Years_40Songs_40Days_40Composers #Day11