Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar had a ‘cold war’ after he addressed her ‘maharani’ sarcastically; banned each other for 3 years

How Rafi-Lata collab began

Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi first recorded with each other in 1947. The song was called ‘Chalo Ho gayi Tayyar’ and it was a part of a film called Shaadi Se Pehle. Not many would know this song today, but it surely introduced one of the best duet jodis in the history of Hindi film music. In the next few years, they sang together for Baiju Bawra, Mother India, Kohinoor, Mere Mehboob, among many others and by the time the 1960s hit, the duo had established themselves as the best in the business. But 1963 cast a dark shadow on their otherwise successful partnership. Rafi was known to be a simple, naive man who loved his job and preferred to stay away from the business of the movies. It was perhaps his disinterest in this business aspect of the movies, that caused a clash between the duo.

Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar declared they wouldn’t work with each other. (Photo: Express Archives)

‘Rafi saab was instigated into opposing me’

It is well known that in Hollywood, every artiste – singer, writer, actor, director, or anyone else – who has worked on a film or television project continues to get royalties on their work as long as their work is consumed. So no matter how many times an old film plays on television, or an old song is played on the radio, or sells records, artistes associated with it, get paid. The ones who own the song or film make money from it, and the money is then distributed among those who contributed to making it. It sounds like a fair deal, and Lata, who was at her peak at the time, had probably recognised that her songs would be played for decades, so she made sure that she got a piece of this royalty, which wasn’t the norm in India at the time.

Since Lata was getting her residuals, she suggested that other singers must also get the rightful share that belongs to them. She was of the belief that even if a singer isn’t getting as many opportunities at any point in their life, or they wish to take a break, they will continue to make some money via royalties. This could also act like a pension scheme for older artistes. But to get this into effect, she needed the support of the entire music fraternity, and most of all, she needed Rafi’s support as these two were the most popular singers of the era.

In a 2009 chat with Mumbai Mirror, Lata recalled that the situation went out of hand when they were all at a meeting of the Musicians’ Association. “I was taking royalty but I also wanted other artistes’ to get it. Rafi saab was instigated into opposing my campaign,” she said.

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‘This maharani will say whatever’

Lata believed Rafi was a bit innocent and gullible. Or perhaps, he was too much of a saint to ask for more money than he already made. And so, he was vehemently opposed to the idea of taking more money from the producers. The debate got bigger as HMV, the most popular music label at the time, said that if royalties were to be paid, they would come out of the producers’ pockets, and the producers pointed in HMV’s direction. At this time, Lata, Mukesh and Talat Mahmood suggested that the only way forward was to declare that they wouldn’t sing for them, and the same was conveyed to all the other singers as well. But in the meantime, Lata got to know that Rafi was already recording for HMV.

Recalling the argument they had with each other, Lata shared in the same interview, “In a meeting among musicians, he said, ‘We get money for what we sing from producers and that’s the end of what we get.’” He then looked at Mukesh and spoke about Lata, “I guess this ‘maharani’ here will say whatever has to be said.” Lata did not take this remark silently and immediately responded, “Of course I am a ‘maharani’. But why are you calling me that?”

Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar started recording again in 1977. (Photo: Express Archives)

The issue escalated within minutes as Rafi declared that he won’t sing with Lata anymore. In a chat with Subhash K Jha in 2012, she recalled, “He said, ‘I won’t sing with Lata anymore’. I retorted, ‘Rafi saab, you won’t sing with me? I won’t sing with you. I stormed out and called all my composers there and then and informed them to rope in another singer if it was a duet with Rafi Saab.”

Apology note from Mohammed Rafi that ended the ‘cold war’

For the next three years, the two stars didn’t work with each other, which made it rather difficult for the music composers to make songs that needed the best male and the best female vocals. Other singers cropped up, but no one could replace them. The music industry could sense that this professional boycott was not sustainable, especially since the industry was already a small one. Thus, music composers tried to bring them back together. Lata, in the same 2012 chat, said that it was Jaikishen (of Shankar-Jaikishen) who got her an apology note from Rafi. “I asked him to get a written apology from Rafi Saab. I got the letter and ended the cold war. But whenever I’d see him, the hurt would return,” she said.

In another chat with Khalid Mohamed, Lata shared that after their disagreement, they recorded many songs together. “We recorded so many songs together with so many composers after that. We would laugh over our difference of opinion, all was well,” she said.

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However, many suggest that the professional rivalry between these two started way before the issue of royalty came up. It has been suggested that during the recording of the song ‘Tasveer Teri Dil Mein’, composed by Salil Chowdhury, the two had a difference of opinion, which sowed the seed of discomfort. However, none of the subjects involved here has ever spoken about that.

The issue of royalties was never resolved and it wasn’t until the 2012 amendment to the Copyright Act that they could claim royalties. Even Rafi’s descendants didn’t get any money out of his wealth of music.

‘Lata Mangeshkar is insecure’

Mohammed Rafi passed away in 1980 when he was just 56. In the years since, it was his contemporaries or his family members who became the narrators of his story. In fact, when Lata shared that she got an apology letter from him, his son Shahid Rafi was quite offended as he refused to believe that this had ever happened.

He called a press conference and claimed that if such a letter existed, then why did she not show it to the viewers, who considered Rafi next to god. “My father was national property. I am hurt and so are his fans. His fan following is much bigger than any other artiste. If she can prove that my father had written an apology letter to her, then I am ready to apologise. But the main thing is that she should come forward and produce that letter. All I want is that the truth should come out,” he said. Shahid Rafi went as far as to call Lata Mangeshkar “insecure” and added, “I think this is a publicity stunt as she is insecure with the huge fan following my father has, even after his death.” Lata never discussed the apology letter again.

In the years after Rafi’s death, Lata always spoke highly of him. In a 2017 chat with IANS, she remembered him saying, “For Rafi Saab, his singing was a form of worship. Even I am very serious about my work. But for Rafi Saab, the dedication was on another level. He had no vices at all. He didn’t smoke, drink or eat paan. He led an ascetic’s life. We recorded scores of songs together, so we met almost every day. Sometimes, we would be out of one recording studio and then into another for two different songs during the same day with scarcely something to eat.”

In another chat with Subhash K Jha, she clarified that theirs was not a “mean-minded rivalry” and there was no reason to prove who was better than the other. “Rafi Saab and I had a perfect rapport. This rapport was always underscored by a feeling of one-upmanship. But this wasn’t a mean-minded rivalry. Not at all,” she said.

Mohammed Rafi vs Lata Mangeshkar in the Guinness Book of World Records

But, this wasn’t the only point of contention between Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. In 1977, Lata Mangeshkar had claimed that she had recorded 25,000 songs and submitted a letter to the Guinness Book of World Records. Rafi, however, disputed that claim. In the book ‘Mohammed Rafi – Golden Voice of the silver screen’ by Sujata Dev and Dilip Kumar, it is mentioned that Rafi wrote a letter to the BBC saying, “I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment vis-a-vis Ms Mangeshkar’s reported world record has gone unheeded.” He claimed that he had recorded 25,000-26,000 songs too.

After Rafi’s death, the record book stated that Lata was the one with the maximum recordings. However, in 1990, after Gandhar Swar Yatra by Vishwas Nerukar released, it was proved that Lata had recorded 5,066 songs until 1989. Even Rafi, until his death, had only sung around 4,400 songs. So in 1991, both their names were deleted from the record book.

Mohammed Rafi passed away in 1980 at 56, and Lata Mangeshkar passed away in 2022 at 93.