Mohd Rafi never apologised to Lata Mangeshkar

The son of singer, Mohd Rafi, Shahid Rafi has lashed out on Lata Mangeshkar after she said that the late legendary singer did not apologise to her over a royalty fee row.

In an interview with Times Of India, Mangeshkar said, “At a meeting attended by prominent singers and musicians, Rafi Saab stood up and said, ‘Main aaj se Lata ke saath nahin gaoonga’. I retorted, ‘Rafi Saab, ek minute. Aap nahin gaayenge mere saath yeh galat baat hai. Main aapke saath nahin gaoongee’. I stormed out and called my composers there and then and informed them to rope in another singer if it was a duet with Rafi Saab.” Asked about their patch-up, she had said, “Composer Jaikishen took the initiative. 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.”

Shahid Rafi, explaining their side of the story, says “The controversy went on for a while. Lataji and some other singers were looking for royalty, saying they should get a cut from the producer, director etc. My dad wasn’t very keen on that. He was this humble, soft spoken, amazingly generous person. His stand was, ‘Our job is to sing and we get money for that. There is no point in getting greedy’. Hence, they had a fight and he decided to stop singing any duet with her.”

Rafi Junior alleges that Mangeshkar is lying and maligning his father’s name, especially now when neither Rafi nor composer Jaikishen are alive to defend themselves.