July 01, 2024

Mohammed Rafi Biography, Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Facts, Caste, Wiki & More

Updated On : December 24, 2022

Short Biography

A versatile and legendary playback singer, Mohammed Rafi was born on 24-December-1924 in Kotla Sultan Singh, Amritsar in the state of Punjab, India. He was one of the most prominent singers of the Indian Bollywood industry and had his stronghold over Hindi songs.

Mohammed Rafi Complete Bio & Career

Starting his career from the year 1944, the eminent evergreen singing sensation, Mohammed Rafi, is one name which is and will always be taken with full respect. His voice became the soothing and calming element in everyone's life, who helped people change their mood from sad to happy.

Mohammed Rafi’s inclination towards music started from a very young age. His elder brother realized his potential and convinced his family to let him pursue a career in music. He took his initial music lessons from Pandit Jiwan Lal Mattoo. Subsequently, he was trained by Ustad Abdul Wahad Khan, and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. His career started after he performed for the first time at the young age of 13 in Lahore. He then started singing at the AIR (All India Radio), Lahore from 1941.Having sung in almost every Indian language, the superstar has given his melodious voice to a total of 7, 400 songs. From patriotic, to sad, to romantic, to ghazals, to qawwalis, Mohammad Rafi has sung almost every type of song. His singing style was completely unique, which helped in stand ahead from the other singers. He was not only a singer but a legend and a superstar in himself. Everyone in the industry wanted to work with him because his voice carried the tag of success with it.

For his versatility and voice quality, he has been awarded a number of recognition, along with Padma Shri, given by the Government of India.

Mohammed Rafi Popular Videos

Honours & Awards

AWARD NAME AWARD CATEGORY RECEIPT YEAR RECEIPT FIELD
Padma Shri Civilian Award 1967 Arts

Health Issues, Illness and Death Info

Mohammed Rafi died on 31-July-1980 in Mumbai, India, because of a massive cardiac arrest.

DEATHDAY 31 July,1980 (Thursday)
DEATH PLACE Mumbai, Maharashtra
DEATH COUNTRY India

Mohammed Rafi Family, Relatives and Other Relations

Father Hajji Ali Mohammad
Mother Allahrakhi Bai
Brothers Mohammad Deen, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Safi, Mohammad Siddique, Mohammad Ismail
Sisters Reshma Bibi, Chirag Bibi
Ex-wife Bashira Banu
Wife Bilquis Banu
Sons Saeed Rafi, Hamid Rafi, Sahid Rafi, Khalid Rafi
Daughters Yasmin Rafi, Nasreen Ahmed, Parveen Rafi

He was born to Hajji Ali Mohammad and Allahrakhi Bai. He had five brothers named Mohammad Deen, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Safi, Mohammad Siddique, Mohammad Ismail and two sisters named Reshma Bibi & Chirag Bibi. He first married his own cousin Bashira Banu and had a son named Saeed Rafi with her. After partition, she refused to come with her to India and their marriage ended. He then married to Bilquis Banu and the couple together had three sons named Hamid Rafi, Sahid Rafi, Khalid Rafi and had three daughters named Yasmin Rafi, Nasreen Ahmed, and Parveen Rafi.

Life's Important Dates Of Mohammed Rafi

Body Measurements

Skin Colour Wheatish
Eye Colour Black
Hair Colour Black

Personal Info

Home Town Lahore
Nationality Indian
Religion Islam
Address Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
School N/A
College N/A
Qualification N/A
Hobbies Reading, Writing and Playing Carrom
Marital Status Married
Debut Punjabi Song - Soniye Nee, Heeriye Nee (1941) for Pakistani Punjabi Film Gul Baloch
Bollywood Hindi Song - Aji Dil Ho Kabu Main To - Gaon Ki Gori (1945)
Best Friends Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey
Salary N/A
Net Worth N/A
Official Website N/A
Best Songs Baharo Phool Barsao, Ye Reshmi Zulfe, Ye Jo Chilman Hain, Babul Ki Duae Leti Ja, Aaja Tujhko Pukare Meri Jaan and much more

Favourites

Favorite Color Red, White and Brown
Favorite Actress Meena Kumari , Nargis Dutt , Madhubala
Favorite Actor Kishore Kumar , Dilip Kumar , Raj Kapoor , Rishi Kapoor
Favorite Movie An Evening in Parris (1967), and Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
Favorite Singer Manna Dey , K. L. Saigal
Favorite Place Kashmir
Favorite Food Murgh Musallam

Shocking / Interesting Facts & Secrets About Mohammed Rafi

  • His nickname was 'Pheeko'.
  • Mohammed Rafi's burial was one of the highest then as over 10,000 people came during his burial.
  • On the first anniversary of Indian Independence, he received a silver medal from Jawaharlal Nehru.
  • A chowk in Bandra, Mumbai was named after him as Mohammed Rafi Chowk.
  • His last recorded song was "Shaam Phir Kyun Udaas Hai Dost".
  • A song titled Mohammed Rafi Tu Bahut Yaad Aaya was incorporated in the film Krodh (1990) as a tribute to Mohammad Rafi. This song was sung by the veteran singer Mohammad Aziz.
  • India Post had issued a postage stamp on 15-05-2003 to remember him.
  • A statue of Rafi Sahab has been established at his birthplace "Kotla Sultan Singh", Amritsar (Punjab).
  • Google honoured him with a doodle on his 94th birthday.

Mohammed Rafi Age, Birthday Facts and Birthday Countdown

Mohammed Rafi was 55 years 7 months & 7 days old age.