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PERSONAL LIFE

Rafi married Bilquis and *had four sons and three daughters had four sons and three daughters. He was a teetotaller, a religious and extremely humble person. He was a devout Muslim. Once, when a lesser-known composer, Nisar Bazmi (who migrated to Pakistan in early 1960s), didn’t have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him. He even helped producers financially. As Laxmikant (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo) once observed – “He always gave without thinking of the returns”. Rafi was also famous for his various humanitarian efforts. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar had a major debate over the issue of royalties in 1960s. Rafi believed that once a recording was over and a singer has been paid, he or she should not ask for more. Lata, on the other hand said that singers should be paid royalties for their works, over and above the amount given for the singing. This led to a fall out between them. They refused to sing songs together. At the insistence of Nargis, Sanjay Dutt’s mother, they finally made up at a stage concert and sang Dil Pukare from the film Jewel thief, composed by S D Burman.

*WHAT A PITY NONE OF THE SONS EMULATE THEIR FATHER:

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