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Mohammad Rafi

Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi.jpg
Background information
Native name ਮੁਹੰਮਦ ਰਫੀ
मोहम्मद रफ़ी
محمد رفیع
Birth name Mohammed Rafi
Born (1924-12-24)24 December 1924
Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab, British India
(now in Punjab, India)
Died 31 July 1980(1980-07-31) (aged 55)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Genres Indian classical, Ghazal, Playback singing, Qawwali, Thumri, Bhajan, Western music
Occupation(s) Playback singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1944–1980

Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and one of the most popular singers of the Hindi film industry. Rafi was notable for his voice and versatility; his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans. He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor, lip-synching the song on screen in the movie. Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought after singer in the Hindi film industry. He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

Rafi is primarily noted for his songs in Hindi, over which he had a strong command. It is believed that he sang about 7,400 songs in many languages. He sang in other Indian languages including Konkani, Bhojpuri, Odia, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Magahi, Maithili and Urdu. Apart from Indian languages, he also sang songs in English, Farsi, Arabic, Sinhalese, Creole and Dutch.


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