Mohammed Rafi centenary: Shahid Mallya and Armaan Malik get nostalgic on the legend: "We are all students of him"

The entire music fraternity remains in awe of Mohammed Rafi. Come Udit Narayan (who has even recorded with Rafi), Sonu Nigam or KK, they all find the legend unforgettable and omnipresent in their memories and influences. As for those whose voices resemble Rafi’s tenor, both in cinema and in the outside world of film music-based live shows, their kitchens run on what they earn by delivering Rafi hits to the world.

Bollywood Hungama spoke to two artistes who have had amazingly long emotional, mental and family associations with Rafi: Shahid Mallya and Armaan Malik, even though they never met him.

Shahid Mallya’s father, Krishnakumar, was a well-known singer who had a close association with Rafi in the 1970s. His mother too was a devotee of the iconic giant and, even today, Shahid sings Rafi for at least an hour before he goes to bed!

“My papa had once asked him what my name should be if a son was born to him, and he gently replied, ‘Mere bete ka naam de dijiye (Christen him after my son Shahid)’!” says the singer. “I have always grown up hearing Rafi-saab like a staple diet!”

The ‘Rabba main to mar gaya’ (Mausam) and ‘Kudmayi ke din’ (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani) singer also reveals that when his father told Mohammed Rafi that he did not have a good harmonium, the late singer asked him to take whichever of his 4 or 5 harmoniums were lying around! “I think that Rafi-saab’s blessings came with it as I have won many competitions after doing my riyaaz on it!” exulted Shahid, for whom the prized possession remains invaluable.

He added, “People always ask me why I sing Rafi whenever asked to do so rather than my own songs, but I tell them that they are the only ones jo sunane laayak hai aur sunne laayak hain (that are worth singing and making people hear)! Hopefully, my songs will be played by others! The andaz (style) and adaayagi (nuances and expressions) in Rafi-saab’s songs would create an entire scenario, and he could sing every kind of song! If that ehsaas and those emotions in his singing can be reproduced even up to ten percent, it will be enough for me along with my father’s genes and the saaransh (summary) he has given me of Rafi-saab’s singing genius!”

Shahid agreed with composer Amit Trivedi that his songs ‘Rubaiya’ and ‘Shouq’ from Qala saw him get praise for their Rafi-like feel. His own top-of-the-mind favourites include ‘Jaanewalon zara’ (Dosti), ‘Ab kya misaal doon’ (Aarti) and ‘Meri awaaz suno’ (Naunihal).

“I think that the Naushad-Shakeel Badayuni-Rafi combination was amazing! Usske baad I love his work for Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Madan Mohan in particular,” he declares.

For Armaan Malik, Mohammed Rafi means “Every drop of sur in the ocean of music!” He added, “It’s beautiful that you are even asking me to talk about him!”

Armaan has been raised on “So much download of old songs by my grandfather (composer Sardar Malik) and my father, and though I heard all the singing legends, I found myself gravitating towards Rafi-saab, and I identify myself most with him maybe because of his softness. From a young age, I was already into music, responding to sound, and I was listening to his sound through his songs!”

Armaan added that by the time he was about 10, he had become a huge fan of Sonu Nigam. “And listening to Sonu was like an echo of Rafi-saab, for he came from the same school! Sonu too considers Rafi-saab as his guru and I related to that kind of song. When I was singing jingles, I was influenced by Rafi-saab’s soft and intimate singing that had both innocence and a delicate texture. I believe that was also pretty similar to what Rafi­-saab was as a person.”

Added Armaan, “I play a part also in the playlist that my father (composer Daboo Malik) makes when he has his shows of retro gems, and though my knowledge of old music is nowhere as vast as my dad’s, if I like any song especially, usually my dad tells me that it was originally Rafi-saab’s number! The DNA of the man, the chhaap (imprint) he has left on this world, and the bar he has set for playback and music is simply unsurmountable! We are all students of him.”

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