Mohammed Rafi's son Shahid accused Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle of sabotaging his father's career
He claimed that they were jealous and insecure that Rafi was at the peak of his career
Shahid also stated that Lata Mangeshkar "intervened" when Rafi was to be honoured by Guinness Book of World Records
Legendary playback singer Mohammed Rafi crooned several evergreen songs both with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. In a recent interview, Rafi's son Shahid Rafi alleged that Lata and Asha were jealous of his dad's success and even tried to 'sabotage' his career.
Shahid claims Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle were jealous of Rafi
In an interview with Vickey Lalwani, Shahid claimed that the Mangeshkar sisters were jealous that Rafi was on top of his career. "People called him number one, and they didn’t like it,” Shahid said. He also refuted the rumours that his father was depressed and out of work in the 1970s.
Shahid also opened up on Asha's alleged comments that Rafi lacked vocal range. Denying the claims, he said, "I don’t have any qualms about saying this to their face, and I had told Lata ji as much before her passing. She claimed that his career was spiralling, and that he asked her to forgive him. He never said this. I can tell you that Lata ji said this, and two people came to dad and asked him to forgive her. So many other singers were coming up, including her own sister. And she was insecure. Tell me who was at the risk of having a downfall?”
Coming back to Asha Bhosle, he added, “You’ve gone old, talk about yourself.”
He even alleged that Lata Mangeshkar "intervened" when Rafi was about to get the Guinness World Record honour. But his father ignored it.
About Mohammed Rafi
Rafi could lend his voice to any genre: from romantic songs to ghazals to qawwalis and devotional tracks. Known for his soulful and melodious voice, the Padma Shri awardee crooned over 7,000 songs in several Indian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, and others.
Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko, Dard-E-Dil-Dard-E-Jigar, Hay Re Haye, O Hassena Zulfowale Jane Jahan, and Teri Bindiya Re, among others, are some of the chartbuster songs of Rafi, Lata and Asha.
He died in 1980, at 55, due to a heart attack.
