Omi performs at G.D. Birla Sabhagar

When the uncle-nephew duo of Sonik-Omi blazed the Bollywood music trail with their debut film, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (1966), the title song not only burned the charts, its unique lyric written by a non-regular lyricist (a producer/director who only wrote for his own films), G.L. Rawail, uncannily went on to be immortalised quite literally. Dil ne phir yaad kiya barq-si lehraayee hai, was the plaint by Mohd Rafi, Phir koi chot mohabbat ki ubhar aayee hai…

The song which also had Suman Kalyanpur and Mukesh adding their melancholy to the melody, appropriately became the theme of the Remembering Rafi — An Evening with Sonik-Omi (the late Sonik represented by the other side of the hyphen) on July 30 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar, the eve of Rafi’s 26th death anniversary.

The annual evocative evening is held by Rafi Lovers Circle with unflagging passion, and compered by the irrepressible Shakeel Ansari who, this year, surpassed any of the Circle singers in rendering the songs too (though his special item, Ae phuljhari, with a takeoff on the Jeetendra-Hema Malini number was a little misplaced though enacted well). Along with the rendition of most of the Sonik-Omi numbers with Rafi singing them were the visual clips from the films which made it that much more interesting. Much more entralling were the little anecdotes about the gentle giant Rafi, whom Omi described as perhaps our greatest playback singer and a human being far greater than he was a singer.

Of particular interest was Omi’s narration of the music duo’s telling Rafi after recording a song, that they were desperately short on money to pay him. Rafi immediately said, that’s okay, but please do pay the poor musicians. The duo said they would do that, but were short by a thousand (in those days of valued currency) there, too. Without a blink, Rafi said, that’s fine, you take that from me.

An added attraction was Arjun Chakraborty who sang a Mukesh (off-key) and a Rafi number (Nafrat ki duinya from Haathi Mere Saathi) after talking at length about his own childhood and repertoire. But the sone pe sohaaga was when the 67-year-old Omi got so taken up even by the early evening hour that he charged into the song himself, with a passionate Donon ne kiya tha pyaar magar (Mohua). You miss someone when he isn’t there. Nobody missed Mohd Rafi that evening.