Deifying Rafi
Anupama Srinivasan
Mohammad Rafi: God’s Own Voice by Raju Korti and Dhirendra Jain Niyogi Books, 2016, 364 pp., 795
March 2017, volume 41, No 3

One thing is apparent; the book, Mohammad Rafi: God’s Own Voice has been written by two earnest fans and ferocious defenders of the renowned playback singer Mohammad Rafi (1924–80). The book allows the reader to hear a plethora of voices—music directors, actors, colleagues and bhakts (fan seems too modest a word to describe the devotion of these individuals)—sharing impressions of Rafi and stories of interactions with him and his music. We are taken through a range of moments and incidents narrated by composers such as Naushad, O.P. Nayyar, R.D. Burman, Pyarelal (of the Lakshmikant-Pyarelal duo), Anandji (of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo), Khayyam, Ravi, Ravindra Jain, C. Ramchandra, Usha Khanna, Chitragupt, and Omi (of the Sonik-Omi duo); actors, Shammi Kapoor and Sanjay Khan; Rafi bhakts like Arvind Solanki, Dr. Suhas, Sanjeev Dixit, and Indrajit Singh Nischol; and Rafi’s daughter Nasreen.

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