Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar are regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian cinema. The two vocalists were the leading voices in Bollywood at one point in time, who gave numerous superhits together and became one of the highlights of the industry’s golden era. Did you know, there was a time when the two had a fall out? During this period, they did not talk to each other for years. On July 31, 1980, Mohammad Rafi left for his heavenly abode, leaving a void in the industry. The late legend’s daughter-in-law Yasmin Khalid Rafi, released his biography, Mohammad Rafi: My Abba – A Memoir, in 2020, where she detailed on things unknown to the public. As per the biography, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi had issues over the royalty payments of the duets they had sung. It even led to a fall out between the two, during which they did not work together for three years. According to the book, “In the beginning of 1960, there was a phase when Lata Mangeshkar fell out with Mohammad Rafi and stopped singing duets with him.” It stated further that Lata raised the royalty issue with the producers and wanted Rafi to support her.
Mohammed Rafi had an entirely different outlook, according to which when a producer pays for a song, the singer is not included in the royalty share. Lata Mangeshkar had the support of other prominent singers like Kishore Kumar, Mukesh Sahab, Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood. So, when all the singers had a meeting, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi got into an argument. Out of anger, the two refused to work with each other in the future. Reportedly, Lata told him, “From today, I will not sing any song with you,” and informed all the musicians of her decision.
Later in an interview, she revealed that Mohammed Rafi had written a letter to her, apologising to her and expressing his wish to end the fight. After that, the two performed in a concert together, thanks to composer SD Burman.
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