Biography of Mohammed Rafi

Born: 24 December 1924, Kotla Sultan Singh
Died: 31 July 1980, Mumbai

The indisputable king of Indian film music, Mohammed Rafi had a voice with an incredibly tremendous range. His voice quality along with his unsurpassed range made him stand apart from his contemporaries.

Mohammed Rafi was born on December 24, 1924, in Lahore. He received his early training in singing from the maestro Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahab. In 1944, Rafi moved to Mumbai to become an actor! He even faced the camera in ‘Laila Majnu' (1945) and then two years later in Jugnu'. In 1952, Rafi made his major breakthrough with Naushad in the films ‘Baiju Bawra' and Aan'.

Rafi was extremely passionate about his singing. He even took pains to understand every inflection of poetry in his songs. His voice infused into his songs a soulful yearning and at the same time, he could also bring a light-hearted touch as evidenced in songs sung for Shammi Kapoor.

On July 31, 1980, this magical voice was silenced forever, as Rafi succumbed to a heart attack.