Sahir Ludhianvi(1921-1980)
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
A colossus among film lyricists, Sahir Ludhianvi was slightly different
from his contemporaries. A man unable to praise Khuda (God), Husn
(beauty) and/or Jaam (wine), his pen was at its best pouring out bitter
but sensitive lyrics over the declining values of society, the
senselessness of war and politics, and the domination of materialism
over love. Whenever he wrote any love songs, they were tinged with
sorrow, due to the realization that there were other, starker concepts
more important than love. He could be called the underdog's bard; close
to his heart were the soldier gone to fight someone's war, the woman
forced to sell her body, the family living on the street and other
victims of society.
Born in March 8 1921 as Abdul Hayee, Sahir was the only son of a zamindar. The separation of his parents and the event of partition caused him to shuttle between India and Pakistan...and also brought him face to face with the struggles of life. He made a living as a journalist and editor in Pakistan, but an arrest warrant from the Pakistani government of the day after publishing some unflattering articles caused him to flee to Bombay in 1949, where he began to write film songs.
Sahir made his debut in film lyrics with Naujawan (1951). His first major break came the same year when he wrote the lyrics for Sachin Dev Burman's music in Baazi (1951). The movie, directed by Guru Dutt, and its music was a success and together S.D. Burman and Sahir went on to create some of their work in Jaal (1952), House No. 44 (1955), Munimji (1955) and the immortal classic Assoiffé (1957). And although they parted ways after Pyaasa, Sahir was now a stalwart in Bollywood and during the 1960s and 1970s he wrote outstanding lyrics for films like Hum Dono (1961) and Taj Mahal (1963). However, he mostly composed lyrics for the Chopra brothers, before and after they separated, and some of his best work was in Kabhie Kabhie (1976), which went on to break all records.
He died in 1980 of a heart attack, in the midst of a card game. It was ironically appropriate; while the poet's heart bled for others, he never paid enough attention to his own life, and had a card-player nonchalance about life and death. He will be remembered along with Kaifi Azmi, as the poet who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.
Born in March 8 1921 as Abdul Hayee, Sahir was the only son of a zamindar. The separation of his parents and the event of partition caused him to shuttle between India and Pakistan...and also brought him face to face with the struggles of life. He made a living as a journalist and editor in Pakistan, but an arrest warrant from the Pakistani government of the day after publishing some unflattering articles caused him to flee to Bombay in 1949, where he began to write film songs.
Sahir made his debut in film lyrics with Naujawan (1951). His first major break came the same year when he wrote the lyrics for Sachin Dev Burman's music in Baazi (1951). The movie, directed by Guru Dutt, and its music was a success and together S.D. Burman and Sahir went on to create some of their work in Jaal (1952), House No. 44 (1955), Munimji (1955) and the immortal classic Assoiffé (1957). And although they parted ways after Pyaasa, Sahir was now a stalwart in Bollywood and during the 1960s and 1970s he wrote outstanding lyrics for films like Hum Dono (1961) and Taj Mahal (1963). However, he mostly composed lyrics for the Chopra brothers, before and after they separated, and some of his best work was in Kabhie Kabhie (1976), which went on to break all records.
He died in 1980 of a heart attack, in the midst of a card game. It was ironically appropriate; while the poet's heart bled for others, he never paid enough attention to his own life, and had a card-player nonchalance about life and death. He will be remembered along with Kaifi Azmi, as the poet who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.
