10 lakh people attended Mohammed Rafi's funeral: He had told his sons to join the film industry only if they could become a bigger singer than him

There have been many artists in the film world who have won everyone's heart through their art. One such name is that of Mohammed Rafi. The magic of Mohammed Rafi's voice was such that even today his songs never seem old.

He sang about 28,000 songs in his career. Rafi sahab married twice and had seven children. These include 4 sons and 3 daughters.

This artist of music bid farewell to the world on 31 July 1980 at the age of 55.

On the 44th death anniversary of Rafi Sahab, Dainik Bhaskar spoke to his son Shahid Rafi and playback singer Udit Narayan.

While Shahid shared some interesting facts about Rafi sahab's life with us, Udit Narayan told us that he got a chance to sing with Rafi sahab in his very first film.

Udit also said that he can never forget his first meeting with Rafi Saheb. Nor will he ever forget the day when Rafi Saheb left this world. 10 lakh people attended his funeral that day.

Abba was very down to earth

Shahid Rafi remembering Mohammad Rafi said, 'What can I say about him, he was a very humble person. He was also very down to earth. At home, we never saw him from the perspective of how great a personality he was, for us he was just our father. To tell you the truth, when he died, we realized that he was a very great personality. People used to worship him. People used to tell us that he was God, he had Saraswati around his neck.'

He was fond of houses and cars

'Abba was very fond of cars and houses. He was fond of such cars which were not even launched in India at that time. In 1979, he booked a Honda Accord car from abroad which reached India in June 1980. This car was brought to India by ship and the customs officials were also confused as to what duty to impose on it because at that time Honda used to make only bikes and the car was ordered on special demand of Rafi sahab.'

These three songs were sung in every concert

'Rafi sahab never mentioned which of his songs he liked the most but from what I know, he used to sing three songs in every concert which always made me think that those three songs were his favourites. According to me, 'O Duniya Ke Rakhwale' from the film 'Baiju Bawra', 'Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki' from the film 'Dulari' and 'Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re' from the film 'Kohinoor' were his favourite songs. Whether a request came or not, I always heard him singing these three songs in every performance of his. All his songs are immortal.'

ran away from parties

'Many people used to come to the house to meet Abba but he never allowed us to meet anyone. He kept us away from the film industry and did not want us to enter the film industry. He himself was a very private person. He was family oriented and apart from work, he liked to give all his time to the family. He was a family man and did not like to be social at all.

Even when he went to someone's wedding or a function, he would present a bouquet or a gift and then leave immediately. He did not like going to parties at all. He did not talk much either.

We used to go to the bungalow in Lonavala on weekends. No matter how busy Abba was with work, he would still come to spend a day with us.

When Udit Narayan impressed Mohammad Rafi

Talking about Rafi sahab, Udit Narayan said, 'I consider myself one of those few lucky singers who got a chance to sing with Rafi sahab. I came to Mumbai in 1978. One year after that, I got a chance to sing with Rafi sahab in the film '19-20'. The lyrics of that song were 'Mil Gaya Mil Gaya'.

The recording and rehearsal of that song took place for a total of 2 hours in Famous Studio. I can never forget the moment when I met Rafi sahab before that song. He got down from his Fiat car. He was wearing a safari suit and had a smile on his face.

As soon as I saw him, I fell at his feet. He hugged me and said, 'Don't worry, Barkhurdar. I too used to sing in the chorus once.' His words dispelled my nervousness in 2 minutes. He was such a great personality, but he had no ego.

Music director Rajesh Roshan got the song recorded once again for safety. Rafi sahab did not refuse. He recorded it again. I did too. Rafi sahab liked my work. He said, 'You sing well. Are you learning to play the guitar? Learn it. If you sing on stage with the guitar, you can steal the show.'