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 third one from the series.Over to Sanjeev Rambhadran for a musical treat!
DAY 3: As Mohd. Rafi’s career progressed from the 50s into the 60s, the sincerity of rendition remained, but the early guilelessness and even hints of rawness faded away, replaced by the smooth, suave, and debonair sound that became a must-have for any aspiring hero.
Composer Iqbal Qureshi’s work with Mohd. Rafi includes both film hits and memorable non-film gazals. The film Cha Cha Cha is filled with plot twists (believable or otherwise) leading up to the climax, where Rafi-sahab seals the deal with “Subah Na Aai, Shaam Na Aai…Jaise Bhi Ho Tum Aa Jaao”. While it is hard to resist his fervent intensity in that rendition, my favorite from this soundtrack is the song shared here. Rafi-sahab works a different kind of magic and his controlled delivery of lyricist Neeraj's sophisticated poetry, punctuated by just the occasional burst of intensity, creates a pensive tension without ever becoming melodramatic. This is just one example of the unprecedented stylizing he brought to playback singing that we now almost take for granted.
Kesariya Balam
