Remembering Rafi- 6 (R.D. Burman)
Author: Dr. Mandar V. Bichu
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 sixth one from the series.Over to Sanjeev Rambhadran for a musical treat!
DAY 6: June 27 is the birthday of a musical icon that cuts across generations, composer R.D. Burman. He showed early that he could create with the best of them in the established modes of the time, before opting to carve a different path.While other singers come more readily to mind when considering the R.D. Burman anthology, Mohd. Rafi played a critical role in the success of a very early experiment called "Teesri Manzil". Many of their further collaborations are largely "under the radar" but even at the tail end of Mohd. Rafi's career, some of his biggest hits were with R.D. Burman.
For me, the choice of song today was very clear, but I confess I was only clued into it some years ago by a dear friend who is at least as ardent a Mohd. Rafi fan as I am. It takes us all the way back to R.D. Burman's maiden effort, where Mohd. Rafi's silky smooth vocals are reminiscent of the sound so heavily leveraged by the senior (S.D.) Burman. Even at this early stage, however, it is evident in the composition that something different is afoot.
By this time, Mohd. Rafi was an old hand at matching rendition to on-screen characterization, to the extent that he deliberately pronounced certain words in a childlike manner to go with the lead character's makeup. Even without this feature (which I have omitted in my rendition), however, his rendition of poet Shailendra's plea to the Almighty is so moving and leaves you wondering what cold-hearted callousness could possibly have left it unanswered.
Kesariya Balam
