Qateel Shifai

Qateel Shifai
Born Muhammad Aurangzeb
(1919-12-24)24 December 1919[1]
Haripur, Hazara Division[1]
British India, now Pakistan
Died 11 July 2001(2001-07-11) (aged 81)[1]
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Pen name Qateel Shifai
Occupation Urdu poet, film songs lyricist
Nationality Pakistani
Genre Ghazal
Notable awards Pride of Performance, 1994 by the Government of Pakistan[1]

Muhammad Aurangzeb or Qateel Shifai (24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) (Urdu: قتیل شفا ئی ) was a Pakistani Urdu language poet.[1]

Early life and career

Qateel Shifai was born as Muhammad Aurangzeb in 1919 in British India (now Pakistan).[2]

He adopted Qateel Shifai as his pen name in 1938, under which he was known in the world of Urdu poetry. "Qateel" was his "takhallus" and "Shifai" was in honour of his ustaad (teacher) Hakeem Mohammed Yahya Shifa Khanpuri, whom he considered his mentor.[3]

Due to his father's death in 1935, Qateel was forced to quit his higher education. He started his own sporting goods shop. Being unsuccessful in his business, he decided to move from his small town to Rawalpindi, where he started working for a transport company and later joined the Pakistani film industry in 1947 as a film song lyricist.[3] "His father was a businessman and there was no tradition of sher-o-shayari in his family. Initially, he showed his poetry to Hakeem Yahya Shifa Khanpuri for correction and advice. Qateel derived his poetic surname 'shifai' from him. Later, he became the disciple of Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi who was his friend and neighbor."[3]

"In 1946, he was called to Lahore by Nazir Ahmed to work as the assistant editor of the monthly 'Adab-e-Latif', a literary magazine published since 1936. His first ghazal was published in the Lahore weekly 'Star', edited by Qamar Ajnalvi."[1]

In January 1947, Qateel was asked to write the songs of a film by a Lahore-based film producer, Dewan Sardari Lal. The first film he penned the lyrics for was Teri Yaad (1948) in Pakistan.[4] Later, after working for some time as assistant lyricist to some of the famous poets/lyricists of the time (1948 to 1955 time period),[5] he eventually became a highly successful film lyricist of Pakistan and won numerous awards over the years for his film song lyrics.

Death and legacy

Qateel Shifai died on 11 July 2001 in Lahore, Pakistan.[1]

Over 20 collections of verse and over 2,500 film songs for Pakistani and Indian films were published. He wrote songs for 201 Pakistani and Indian films. His talent crossed the borders. His poetry has been translated into numerous languages including Hindi, Gujarati, English, Russian and Chinese. On Qateel Shifai's 11th death anniversary in 2012, in an interview to a major newspaper, a prominent literary figure Dr Salahuddin Darvesh said, "Shifai was one of those great poets of 20th century who had gained international recognition."[6]

Qateel Shifai received the 'Pride of Performance Award' in 1994 for his contribution to literature by the Government of Pakistan, 'Adamjee Award', 'Naqoosh Award', 'Abbasin Arts Council Award' were all given to him in Pakistan, and then the much coveted 'Amir Khusro Award' was given in India.[1] In 1999, he received a 'Special Millennium Nigar Award' for his lifetime contributions to the Pakistan film industry.[7]

Qateel Shifai produced a film in his mother language—Hindko—in 1970. It was the first Hindko film which was named "Qissa Khwani". The film was released in 1980. He died on 11 July 2001 in Lahore. The street on which he lived in Lahore has been named Qateel Shifai Street after him. There is also a sector of Haripur city that has been named after him – Mohallah Qateel Shifai.

Filmography

Includes both Pakistani and Indian films.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 http://nation.com.pk/islamabad/12-Jul-2013/qateel-shifai-remembered, Profile of poet Qateel Shifai on The Nation newspaper, Published 12 July 2013, Retrieved 4 March 2017
  2. ↑ Poetry One website, http://poetryone.com/best/poets/qateel-shifai/, Poetry of Qateel Shifai, Retrieved 4 March 2017
  3. 1 2 3 https://rekhta.org/poets/qateel-shifai/profile, Profile of poet Qateel Shifai on rekhta.org website, Retrieved 4 March 2017
  4. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212552/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm, Filmography of Qateel Shifai on the Internet Movie Database website, Retrieved 4 March 2017
  5. ↑ Including famous poet and writer, Hakim Ahmad Shuja, father of film producer-director Anwar Kamal Pasha, who in fact penned some of the more famous songs later mistakenly credited to Qateel Shifai
  6. ↑ http://nation.com.pk/islamabad/12-Jul-2012/qateel-shifai-remembered-on-11th-death-anniversary, The Nation newspaper, Published 12 July 2012, Retrieved 4 March 2017
  7. ↑ http://www.janubaba.com/c/forum/topic/20869/Lollywood/Nigar_Awards__Complete_History, Qateel Shifai's 'Special Millennium Award' in 1999 listed on janubaba.com website, Retrieved 4 March 2017
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