MUMBAI: Google on Sunday, paid tribute to the legendary playback singer and Padma Shri awardee Mohammed Rafi with a doodle on the occasion of his 93rd birthday.
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and one of the most popular and successful 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-syncing the song on screen in the movie.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.
Mohammed Rafi remains to be remembered as one of India’s greatest singers who lent his voice to Bollywood megastars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra and Dev Anand in his career as a successful playback artist.
Mohammed Rafi died at 10:25 pm on 31 July 1980, following a massive heart attack, aged just 55.His last song was for the movie Aas Paas, which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The last song of Rafi was “Shaam Phir Kyun Udaas Hai Dost / Tu Kahin Aas Paas Hai Dost”, recorded just hours before his death.
Rafi was buried at the Juhu Muslim cemetery and his burial was one of the largest funeral processions in India as over 10,000 people attended his burial. The government of India announced a two-day public mourning in his honour.
