When Amitabh Bachchan went on a breakneck chase to stop Mohammed Rafi’s plane from taking off, pleaded ‘with folded hands’

Recalling an incident, he said, “We had a show in Siliguri, and Rafi saab was the main attraction. All us artists were there together, we’d go on the stage one by one, introduce the programme, and then come down. It was a two-day show; Rafi saab was to perform the first day, and there was another singer booked for the second day. The second singer, for some reason, couldn’t make it. We were worried; we thought that the show would have to be cancelled. Rafi saab had also left for the airport in the morning.”

Amitabh continued, “I remember that we all ran to the airport, drove many miles. We charged into the airport, discovered that he had already in the plane. The plane was getting ready for take-off. We requested with folded hands to the ATC if we could just go and speak with him for two minutes. They gave us permission, and we ran into the aircraft, and we told Rafi saab, ‘Saab, aise ho gaya hai, woh aaye nahi hain, aap ruk jayein toh...’ You know, the man just left his seat, came down without saying a word, performed the next day as well, and then went back.”

Amitabh said that the singer asked no questions, and made no fuss. “I just admired his simplicity, and then, what a voice,” he concluded. Born in 1920, Rafi remains one of the most legendary singers to have worked in the Indian film industries. He recorded thousands of songs across dozens of languages.