When Mohammad Rafi put Saira Banu at ease as she shared the mike with him for Mohan Kumar's AMAN 


Saira Banu recalls her nervousness while sharing the mike with Rafi 


By Rajesh Ahuja 


Getting an opportunity to share the Mike with a singing legend like the late Mohammad Rafi would seem like a 'dream come true ' for an actor of his Era. 


It was one such opportunity that came the way of Bollywood actress Saira Banu when she was to share a mike with the music legend in the 1967 film Aman, directed by renowned filmmaker Mohan Kumar. 


However,  as the yesteryear's Bollywood actress recalls,  the opportunity to sing with Mohammad Rafi had her gripped with a sense of nervousness. 


Going down memory lane,  Saira Banu,  in a post on Instagram,  recalled,'you see, there came a time when director Mohan Kumar,  with whom I was filming 'AMAN ', pounced on a surprise for me that he wanted a duet song wherein between the romantic lyrics,  I also Hum the song along and whisper sweet nothings to the hero.' 


Mohammad Rafi put Saira Banu at ease as she shared the mike with him in Mohan Kumar's Aman 


However,  Saira recalls that the very thought of singing with Rafi Sahib had her shaking with nervousness. 


'Now, here comes an opportunity to sing with Rafi Bhai. I was shaking like a leaf. I had myself never sung for a movie whereas Dilip Sahib had the pleasure of singing a duet song with Lataji for 'Musafir'(Laagi Naahi Chhute ,Rama Chahe Jiya Jaye),''she recalled. 


Sensing her nervousness,  Rafi put her at ease. 


'I was so nervous that I was hardly audible to anybody, but Hats Off to Rafi Bhai,  as soon as we started sharing the mike,  he encouragingly said to me,''Saira ji, you are singing so well.  Why are you being nervous? I think you have a lovely voice And he guided me through the ordeal and I bravely waded through my lines and romantic dialogues in the song. Goodness knows I was perspiring away and it's a miracle that I never fainted,'Saira Banu said. 


The song 'Aaj Ki Raat Yeh Kaisi Raat Ki Humko Neend Nahin Aati' proved to be a runaway hit with fans and movie goers. 


Lyrics of the song were penned by Shailendra. 


Released in 1967, 'Aman', directed by Mohan Kumar,  was an anti war film featuring Rajendra Kumar,  Saira Banu,  Balaji Sahni and Chetan Anand. 


Shot in England and Japan,  the film featured a rare cameo by Nobel Laureate Bertrand Russell. 



Also Read 


PADOSAN is a film extremely close to my heart: Saira Banu 

https://raju0568.blogspot.com/2024/09/padosan-is-film-extremely-close-to-my.html


I loved the pairing of Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimal: Saira Banu


Gyaarah Gyaarah grabs eyeballs due to its gripping content and out of the box thrills


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