CHENNAI: His voice is still considered to be unparalleled. While there have been many clones, none has been able to recreate the magic his voice exudes. Renowned playback singer Mohammad Rafi sang numbers in 18 languages, Indian and foreign. And remembering the music personality on his 34th death anniversary recently — Rafi Ke Nagme, Chandan Ke Sur Me had the popular Rafi voice from the city K S Ramachandran aka Chandan rendering his timeless numbers.
Starting with Beete Dinon Ki , Chandan alternated between the various moods that Rafi could deftly capture with his versatile voice. The classical Madhuban Mein Radhika (Kohinoor), breezy Aye Gulbadan (Professor), melancholic Suhani Raat (Dulaari) and the romantic Yeh Mera Prem Patra (Sangam) illustrated the genius of Rafi, who could be the voice for Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor with equal finesse. Taking to the variety of genres flawlessly, Chandan effectively delivered the assortment of moods that the songs illustrated.
The highlight of the evening was the flawless rendition of Kuhu Kuhu Bole Koyaliyan (Suvarna Sundari), a challenging duet in a variety of ragas and Rang Aur Noor (Ghazal), a lilting song of pain that is embellished with daunting crescendos and controlled pauses. The orchestra moved with perfection and ease among the mixed varieties of numbers.
The female singers for the evening kept the magic of the retro numbers alive with their classic rendition of some of the finest numbers from the 50s and 60s.To accompany him on duets like Deewana Mastaana Hua Dil (Bambai Ka Baabu) and female solos of Lata Mangeshkar like Lag Ja Gale (Woh Kaun Thi?) and Jab Chali Thandi Hawa (Do Badan) were Chennai-based Usha Raj and Anuja.The proceeds of the show went for the education of underprivileged students.