Rishi, 62, took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the singer, who died aged 55 in 1980 following a massive heart attack.
"Thank you Rafi sahab for being my playback voice. Still remember you telling me- "Tu ganda hai meri Awaaz ich, bada sona lagda hai". Jinda reh," he said.
Rafi crooned many hits of Rishi like "Dar-e-dil" ('Karz'), "Chal Mere Bhai" ('Naseeb'), "Chal Kahin Door Nikal Jayen" ('Doosra Aadmi') and "Shirdi Wale Saibaba" ('Amar Akbar Anthony').