A Kutchi family’s search for a lost song and deleted blog on Mohammed Rafi

In 1958, renowned playback singer Mohammed Rafi sang a special song for a couple during their wedding in Kochi. Unfortunately, the family, whose forefathers migrated from the Kutch region of Gujarat and settled down in Kochi, lost the recordings of the song. A scion, however, is still in search of the lost recordings.

The 31-minute-long Mohammed Rafi Fan Blog is a documentary that examines two stories related to Indian playback singer Mohammed Rafi that took place in the family of artist Nihaal Faizal. The first one happened in 1958 when Rafi was invited to Cochin (today’s Kochi) to sing at the wedding of his grandparents. Along with a performance of his hit songs from the period, Rafi also sang a song especially composed for the occasion.

A wedding photo of Abdul Razaq with Mohammed Rafi in the middle.

Even though the recordings of this song were made, they were eventually lost. The second story began in 2008 when Nihaal Faizal’s uncle Mohammed Parvez started a blog dedicated to Rafi. After collecting and sharing information related to the singer, and after being an active presence in various online communities, Parvez deleted the blog in 2014. In the absence of both the recording and the blog, the documentary sets out to trace the story around these two media objects, reflecting on his family’s relationship to technological documents, memory, and forgetting.

Nihaal’s grandparents Abdul Razaq and Rabia Bai (for whose wedding Rafi was invited), still remember the event despite having vacuums in between their memories due to ageing. The wedding album, maintained by the family, plays a major role in this. Looking at an old black and white group photo of more than 50 people, Nihaal’s grandfather identifies each one and where they come from. “He (Rafi) flew from Mumbai to Kochi on a Dakota flight. He sang on the very next day after our wedding. There was a huge crowd. Rafi sang more than 21 songs. He also sang a song for us. I don’t remember the lines but we still cherish those moments,” said 88-year-old Abdul Razaq.

Mohammed Parvez started a blog dedicated to Rafi, which he later deleted. 

Nihaal Faizal grew up listening to the stories of Rafi’s arrival and the special song that he sang for his grandparents. He decided to document the historic event. He spoke to his grandparents, uncle and many others in the family for the film. Shot in Kutchi — an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region — Nihaal released the film titled Mohammed Rafi Fan Blog in 2017.

“I wanted to document the event, which was interwoven with memories and photographs. I made the film for my family only and I did a screening for them after I finished the work. They liked it and then started sharing the link with other members in the family in India as well as abroad. So, the film was not screened publicly between 2017 and 2019,” says Nihaal, a Bangalore-based artist.

In 2019, Nihaal premiered Mohammed Rafi Fan Blog at the Sharjah Film Platform. The screening evoked a tremendous response and more screenings followed at Africa Hall, Museum of Sweden and the art house in Philadelphia. The film was screened at the recently concluded art exhibition called “Contextual Cosmologies” held at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram.

Nihaal’s grandparents Abdul Razaq and Rabia Bai belong to a rich Kutchi Memon family which had migrated to Kochi from Gujarat in the early 20th century. Abdul Razaq says they were doing rice business. Rafi was close to his family, but a hefty sum, however, was paid to the veteran singer for coming to Kochi. “How much did the family pay to Rafi? “We paid him Rs 5,000, if my memory serves right. It excludes the flight charge and other expenses,” says Abdul Razaq.

Abdul Razaq and Rabia Bai belong to a rich Kutchi Memon family which had migrated to Kochi from Gujarat in the early 20th century. 

The visit, however, was something beyond money, for the family as well as Rafi. He sang a special song starting with ‘Meri Pyari Rabia Beti’ for Rabia Bai. A family friend called Koya recorded the song, but it was lost. “We don’t know how we lost it. Even Rafi had sent the recording from his studio but we lost that copy as well,” says the 88-year-old.

For Abdul Razaq, the relationship with Rafi continued and whenever the musician landed up in Kochi, he would go and meet him. “He spent two days in Kochi as part of our wedding. But I met him so many times when he came to Kochi after that. It was a great feeling,” he says.

Nihaal’s uncle Mohammed Parvez grew up listening to Rafi and he eventually became a fan of the singer. He stopped listening to the songs sung by others. In 2008, he started the blog on Rafi. He posted photographs and videos and the blog became a huge hit. But then Parvez deleted the blog in 2014. Why?

“The blog was successful. It received thousands of people, mostly music lovers, from India as well as abroad, as its members within a short span of time. I stopped it because at one point of time I felt that it was against my religious beliefs. But I am happy that my nephew’s film brought out the memories of our family and our connection with Rafi brilliantly,” says Parvez.

Nihaal has not used Rafi’s songs or visuals in his film. “I didn’t want to bring Rafi directly in the film. So I didn’t use any music or visuals of Rafi in it. But Rafi remains throughout the movie as an undercurrent,” says Nihaal, who is still in search of the lost recordings. Since the family moved their house multiple times, there are chances that they must have been lost during transportation or shifting. But he hasn’t lost hope. “I have a dream. I want to visit Rafi’s house in Mumbai with my uncle Parvez one day to pay tribute to him. If we get a chance, we will check the recordings of the lost song that he sang during the wedding of my grandparents in Kochi inside his room. I heard the family maintains the room with his old recordings, awards and other materials. I don’t know when it will happen, but I hope it will,” says Nihaal.