Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and one of the most popular singers of the Hindi film industry . Rafi was notable for his voice and versatility; his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans . He was known for his ability to mould his voice to the persona of the actor, lip-synching the song on screen in the movie. [1] Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought after singer in the Hindi film industry. [1] [ not in citation given ] He received six Filmfare Awards and one National Film Award . In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri https://www.google.co.in/search?q=padma+shri&oq=padma+shri&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.10310j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 award by the Government of India . [2]