Majrooh Sultanpuri
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Majrooh Sultanpuri (October 1, 1919 - May 24, 2000), was an Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter. He ruled Indian Cinema in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Majrooh Sultanpuri was born as Asrar Hussain Khan in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh on October 1, 1919. Since his father was a police sub-inspector, he couldn't afford the expensive English education for his son. Majrooh instead completed the seven year course of Dars-e-Nizami in Arabic and Persian and went on to take the degree of becoming an Alim. He then joined Lucknow's Takmeel-ut-Tib College of the Unani System of Medicine. He was an established Hakim when he happened to recite one of his ghazals at a mushaira in Sultanpur. The ghazal became famous with the audience and Majrooh saw his calling. He dropped his properous medical practice and began writing poetry seriously. Soon he became a fixture at mushairas and became great friends with the renowned Urdu poet, Jigar Moradabadi.
In 1945, Majrooh visited Bombay to attend a mushaira at the Saboo Siddique Institute. Here his ghazals and poetry was highly appreciated by the audience. Once of the impressed listeners was film producer A.R. Kardar. He contacted Jigar Muradabadi who helped him to meet Majrooh. However, Majrooh refused to write for films because he didn't think very highly of them. But Jigar Muradabadi persuaded him, saying that films would pay well and would help Majrooh to support his family. Kardar then took him to music composer Naushad who put the young writer to test. He gave Majrooh a tune and asked him to write something in the same metre, and Majrooh wrote Jab Usne Gesu Bikhraye, Badal Aaye Jhoom Ke.... Naushad like what he wrote and Majrooh was signed on as the lyricist of the film Shah Jehan (1946). The songs of the film became so immensely popular that K.L. Saigal wanted Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya to be played at his funeral. But before he could react to the large-scale appeal created by these lines, he fell ill. The harsh Bombay weather made him leave the city and return to his hometown in the North.
Shah Jehan was followed by S. Fazil's Mehndi, Mehboob's Andaaz (1949), and Shahid Latif's Aarzoo. Just as Majrooh was establishing himself as a lyricist and songwriter of repute, his leftist leanings got him into trouble. The government wasn't amused by his anti-establishment poems and he was put behind bars in 1949 along with other leftists like Balraj Sahni. Majrooh was asked to apologise to save his skin, but he refused and was sentenced to two years in prison. While he was in prison, his eldest daughter was born. Those were the financially tough days for his family and there was no one to help them. It was Raj Kapoor who came forward to help but he knew Majrooh would not except money like what Kapoor wanted to give him. So he asked Majrooh to write a song. Majrooh wrote Ek Din Bike Jayega Maati Ke Mol and Kapoor gave him Rs. 1000 for that.
Majrooh went on to write lyrics for popular films throughout the 1950s. Along with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Majrooh was considered the most notable ghazal writer. It was Majrooh's versatility that industry folk swore by, for Majrooh could enthrall listeners with his every work. Majrooh won his only Filmfare Award for Dosti, which rankled the maestro a lot. He couldn't digest the fact that lesser writers walked away with many awards. He has written nearly 4000 songs and his success rate in terms of popularity of songs was 95%. So he couldn't understand what the criteria was for selecting winners.
Majrooh Sultanpuri had a severe attack of pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital on May 16, 2000. He closed his eyes and left for the Hereafter on May 24, 2000 when he was 80 years old. It was a day of shock for all music lovers and for the entire film industry. He has left us with his everlasting poems and melodious songs.
