Rafi saab was a combination of Elvis, Sinatra and Cliff Richard: Anil Kapoor
Did you know that actor Anil Kapoor has a deep connection with music legend Mohammed Rafi? To start with, they have the same birthday (December 24). Anil says with a modest smile, “I may share my birthday with Rafi saab, but not his greatness. For me, he was the combination of [singers] Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Cliff Richard.”
Kapoor also counts himself among Rafi’s innumerable fans. “I met Rafi saab for the first time as a kid at the recording of a song from Jab Se Tumhe Dekha Hai (1963), and immediately became a fan. My father (late Surinder Kapoor) was producing the film. I met him again during a recording for my father’s 1969 film, Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati,” he says.
The Mubarakan actor adds that Rafi wasn’t just an amazing talent but also a great human being. He says, “With his angelic face, good personality, and great voice, he was godlike. Also, he was such a versatile singer and could sing classical, semiclassical as well as mad, sad, and romantic songs.”
Kapoor admits that his loyalties were always with Rafi saab even when the late Kishore Kumar became a name to reckon with in Hindi film playback. “But I was also a fan of Kishoreda,” he adds.
Going back to Rafi, Kapoor recalls that the singer was quite a shy person. “Dad once told me that Rafi saab was very shy of talking about monetary matters. He was always like, ‘De dena kabhi bhi.’ So, my dad would leave the envelope with his manager or someone else. He was so shy that he wouldn’t even give interviews,” says Kapoor, who plays a big Rafi fan in his next film, Fanne Khan. He says, “That gave me an opportunity to revisit my love for him. I still feel that Rafi saab died very young.”