Till about five years ago, Muhammed Fahad was a familiar face, or rather voice, on Kozhikode’s stages. He was much in demand for his rendition of Mohammed Rafi’s songs. Then he left for Mumbai and then to the U.K. in search of greener pastures.
On Thursday, he would be performing in his hometown, for the first time in five years. Fittingly, it is at a show held in remembrance of Rafi, whose 34 death anniversary falls on Thursday, that he is performing.
“I have been a fan of Rafi ever since I was a kid and there were times when I used to sing only his songs,” says Fahad. “Though I sing songs of other singers such as Kishore Kumar these days, it is Rafi songs that I render more. From my experience as a signer I have found that it is Rafi’s songs most people want to listen to, be it in Kozhikode, Mumbai, or London,” he says.
He believes Rafi is so popular because of his sweet voice and his ability to sing even the most complicated songs in the most simple style. “I think only Yesudas and Latha Mangeshkar have that ability,” he says. “Among my most popular Rafi songs are ‘Kaise kaegi zindagi…” (an unreleased gem composed by Madan Mohan), ‘Tum jo mil gaye ho…’ ( Hanste Zakhm ), ‘Mere mehboob…’ ( Mere Mehboob ), ‘Abhi na jao…’ ( Hum Dono ), ‘Din dhal jaye…’ ( Guide ).
Fahad says Rafi shows are popular in the UK, among the Indian and Pakistani diaspora.
“I often do Rafi shows in London, where I have been living for the past three years, and other parts of England,” he says.
“We get good audiences for Rafi songs; I was once interviewed by BBC Radio (Asia Network) and many peopled had driven from distant places for my show because of that,” he says.
Fahad is all set to release his maiden single Aankhon mein teri…’ which he himself has tuned.
