Mumbai: On Wednesday, the actress took to her Instagram and shared some old pictures of herself with her late husband, cinema legend Dilip Kumar.
He also wrote a long note in the caption and revealed how Dilip Kumar practised sitar for 7-8 months to do justice to the scenes of the song sung by Mohammed Rafi.
He wrote: “One of the greatest playback singers, Mohammed Rafi sahab, is a genius when it comes to different genres of songs. This great singer had a perfect blend of melody, emotion and energy, which invariably resulted in thousands of soulful songs.”
She then quoted her husband in the caption, writing: “There have been many extremely talented playback singers, but with Rafi bhai, it has been a mystical bond as if he was a part of me, practically my own voice and a humble, simple person. Rafi bhai had the God-given ability to render a song according to the given situation in the film, the characters, the mood of the time and the overall nature of the character in the film.”
Dilip Kumar and Mohammed Rafi worked together on the song ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re’ from the film ‘Kohinoor’.
She added: “Sahab practised for 7-8 months to master the sitar. I would like to mention an incident from 1962, soon after the Indo-China conflict, which my husband, the great Dilip sahab remembers fondly. Both the legends of Indian cinema were at the border to entertain the Border Security Force jawans, but suddenly Rafi bhai got a terrible throat infection and lost his voice.”
The actress revealed that the singer was in tears and was upset at the thought of disappointing the eager youngsters who were sending him little request letters on pieces of paper for their favourite songs which they wanted to hear live on the show.
He wrote: “Dilip sahab kept giving him a mixture of ginger and honey, which was his mother’s recipe at home. Like a good boy, Rafi bhai obediently swallowed it, and behold! It did wonders for him. Rafi bhai couldn’t believe it, and when he woke up the next day and cleared his throat he heard his unique, velvety voice.”
“The tragedy king Dilip sahab said: ‘There was a great sense of joy and relief for Rafi bhai, me and the BSF jawans. This simple concoction worked, while others were drinking hard brandy in the cold weather, Rafi bhai, who was a total teetotaler, didn’t even touch it.’ There is a lovely personal anecdote with Rafi bhai which I would like to share with you tomorrow,” she added.
Saira also wished her fellow actress Mumtaz on her birthday and shared throwback photos with her on Instagram Stories.
She wrote: “Sometimes, I look back on our journey and ask myself, 60 years, really? Dear @mumtaztheactress, our friendship feels like it has lasted an eternity, and I cannot thank Allah enough for blessing me with your companionship and care. On your birthday, I wish that we enjoy strong friendship and happy moments together forever. Happy birthday, dearest! In the days to come, I would like to share some anecdotes that truly reflect the beauty of our friendship.”
