'Mohd. Rafi apne aap mein ek university hain'

Sharing his memories of his father, Shahid Rafi once said, "Woh khud itne bade star thay, lekin jab hum bachon se baat karte thay toh aise kehte thay - 'Pata hai, aaj main Amitabh Bachchan se mila, aaj main itne bade actor se mila, usse mila.' Hum bache thay toh hum bhi puchhte - usne kaise kapde pehne thay? Kaisi ghari pehni thi? Woh bachon mein bache ban jaate thay. Jab unko award bhi milta tha, toh woh driver ko bolte thay, 'Ruko, main aata hoon.' Award leke seedhe wapas aa jaate. He would not even listen to what was being said. He never used to socialise. He was very humble and very soft-spoken. Rafi saheb bahut dayavaan thay."

Sonu Nigam, who was part of the panel, demonstrated to the audience how Mohd. Rafi seamlessly transitioned between different genres and sang songs that featured Dilip Kumar, Johnny Walker, Rishi Kapoor, and Mehmood.
He said that while with other singers, you can hear the voice of the singer, but with Mohd. Rafi, you hear the actor's voice.
He said, "Jab ye banda bhajan gaa raha hai, toh aisa lagta hai pakka koi Hindu, aur thay ye namazi aadmi. Har koi ye cheezein nahi kar sakta. Aise bahut se singers hain jo Sufi bahut achha gaate hain, lekin de do bhajan, woh nahi gaa payenge. Mohd. Rafi apne aap mein ek university hain. Ye Ramzan ke gaane ga rahe hain, rakhi ke gaane gaa rahe hain, India ka sabse famous Happy Birthday song inhone ga rakha hai. Bhajan, deshbhakti, qawwali, sad songs, romantic songs, ghazal – inhone chhora kuch nahi hai."
Subhash Ghai added, "Woh apne aap mein misaal thay. Main Mohd. Rafi ke jaane ke baad bhi singers se Mohd. Rafi ke andaaz mein gaane ko kehta raha hoon. Jab unhone Dard-e-Dil gaana shuru kiya – mujhe laga, ye gaana mera hit ho gaya."