When the audience at the Berlin Film Festival mistook Devanand for Mohammed Rafi - Vinod Kumar

Mohammad Rafi was a singer who could easily match his voice with the personality of the actor and the scenes playing on the screen. Mohammad Rafi's voice had such breadth and diversity due to which his voice suited almost all the big and small actors of that time.

Mohammed Rafi's songs were such that after listening to them it felt as if the hero acting on screen had sung that song. There are many songs that people get confused after listening to that the song is not sung by Mohammed Rafi but by the same actor on whom the song has been filmed. Once after the screening of the film 'Hum Dono' at the Berlin Film Festival, the audience understood that the song 'Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya' from the film was sung by Devanand himself. Not only this, the audience started praising Devanand for singing such a melodious and excellent song.

Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya - Mohammed Rafi 

Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya (Photos)

The colored version of the film Hum Dono starring Devanand and Sadhna was premiered on 3 February 2011. On the occasion of that ceremony, Dev Anand said, "What a voice it was! Rafi Sahab used to create an atmosphere on the screen with his voice and made acting easy. His voice was as soft as silk, as wet as the morning dew, and as full of energy as a waterfall. ʺ

 

In the same program, Devanand said that in the year 1967, the film Hum Both was shown at the Berlin Film Festival where its songs were highly praised. We also put subtitles on the songs of this film and the people of Germany became crazy about this song. People there used to think that it was I who sang the song 'Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya'. They started congratulating me on how melodiously you have sung this song. When I told this to Rafi Sahab, he smiled and replied, 'If I sing this song in a live show in Berlin, then the Germans might consider me Dev Anand. At this, we both started laughing loudly.

Devanand had said that "Rafi Saheb was the embodiment of music. I give him the credit for the success of many of my films. From the song 'Jiya O Jiya Kuchh Bol Do' from the 1961 film Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai to the song 'Logon Ka Dil Agar Haan Jeetna Tumko Hai To Bas Meetha Meetha Bolo' from the 1980 film Manpasand, his voice remained with me."

Jiya O Jiya Kuchh Bol Do - Mohammad Rafi 

Logon ka dil agar han - Mohammad Rafi and Tina Munim

The film 'Hum Dono' was released in the year 1961 and since then the songs of this film have been on people's lips. The film was produced by Dev Anand while his brother Vijay Anand directed it. The film stars Dev Anand in a dual role and also stars Nanda, Sadhna, and Leela Chitnis. The film is also known for Jaidev's music and was a box office hit. All the songs in the film were written by Sahir Ludhianvi. The songs written by Sahir Ludhianvi are still hummed even today.

The songs of this film are as good as the story of this film. Made under Dev Anand's production house 'Navketan Films', this film is the story of two twin soldiers. When one of the two is killed in a border battle, the other person goes to inform the family. Then this is where the complications begin, presenting such a story at that time was quite new and unique.

Vinod Kumar is a film writer and journalist. Apart from the first biography of Mohammed Rafi, 'Meri Awaaz Suno', he has written several books on cinema.

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