- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAbdul Hayee
- 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 Gamble (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 Thirst (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 Kabhi 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Q. Leo Rahman - Research Book On Life,his works,loves,and his philosophy and message to the Generations to come has been published by his Close and 50 years old friend Mr.Amarnath Verma of Star Publications,New Delhi, A book entitled by":Main Sahir Hoo'n" ( in Autobiographical Style)written by Dr.Salman Abid and Chander Verma in Hidni and Urdu language (separate Editions) has been published in the month of January 2015.This is a First Publication of the Sahir Ludhianvi Genius Global Research Council.Hyderabad, India.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Prof Salman Abid
- ParentsFazal Mohammad
- Sahir was known to be very egotistic, perhaps as a result of his zamindar background; he fought for, and became the first lyricist, to get royalties from music companies. He also insisted to be paid a rupee more for each song than Lata Mangeshkar. However, in exchange for this, he was deeply involved in the setting of musical tunes as well as writing the lyrics to go with them - and so produced extra melodious tunes.
- Although he remained a bachelor his whole life, Sahir had two affairs, one with writer Amrita Pritam and the other with singer Sudha Malhotra respectively. These relationships could not be cemented in marriage because the girls' fathers refused to let them marry someone they thought a Muslim.
- His relationship with Amrita Pritam was so passionate, that at one time while attending a press conference Amrita wrote his name hundreds of time on a sheet of paper. The two of them would meet without saying a word; Sahir would puff away at cigarettes, and after he left Amrita would smoke the cigarette butts left by him. After his death, she said she hoped the smoke from her cigarettes would meet him in the other world.
- Related to Qaiser Shah.
- In September 2019 hid piece of work like Urdu poets ,daily routine and personal photographs were found at a scrap shop in Juhu (Mumbai).This was later claimed by an NGO Film Heritage Foundation.
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