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and hits than his contemporaries Anand
Bakshi and Gulzar. Bawra has written ‘Mere
Desh Ki Dharti’ (Upkar) and ‘Yaari Hai Imaan
Mera’ (Zanjeer), but overall, he had less
projects. A similar example was Gopaldas
Neeraj who wrote such wonderful numbers
like ‘Ae Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo’ (Mera
Naam Joker), ‘Phoolon Ke Rang Se’ (Prem
Pujari), ‘Megha Chhaaye’ (Sharmilee) and ‘Dil J Nakshab is known primarily for Lata Mangeshkar’s
iconic ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from Mahal but he is hardly
Aaj Shayar Hai’ (Gambler), but did a limited recognised
number of movies. biggest songs were picturised on Amitabh
Bachchan and composed by Kalyanji-
Teams that clicked Anandji. Gulzar and RD Burman were a
There were others who were associated with successful team, with Parichay, Aandhi,
certain music directors and artistes. Raja Khushboo, Kinara and Ijaazat, among others.
Mehdi Ali Khan did some unforgettable work In the 1990s, Mehboob was known as part
with composer Madan Mohan, including of the AR Rahman team, though he also
‘Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha’ (Anpadh), ‘Lag wrote Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam with Ismail
Ja Gale’ and ‘Naina Barse’ (Woh Kaun Thi), Darbar. Shahryaar’s two big films Gaman and
and ‘Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega’ (Mera Saaya). Umrao Jaan were directed by Muzaffar Ali,
Santosh Anand did a lot of work for Manoj and both had some stunning songs. Ravindra
Kumar films, including Purab Aur Paschim, Jain penned songs which he composed
Roti Kapda Aur Makaan and Kranti, besides himself, and he was a songwriter in the
writing the masterpiece ‘Ek Pyaar Ka complete sense.
Naghma Hai’ in Shor. Indeevar was more
prolific than some of his contemporaries, but Factors that worked
a bulk of his hits came under the baton of Why did some lyricists get less success than
Kalyanji-Anandji. Even Qamar Jalalabadi did others, or remain underrated, despite their
many films for Kalyanji-Anandji. enormous talent? A lot of factors came into
Likewise, SH Bihari did more work for play. Luck had a major role – some writers
music director OP Nayyar, and Anjaan’s who wrote great songs were affected if the
films didn’t fare well or the music didn’t take
off. Lyallpuri had great songs in films like
Chetna and Call Girl, which flopped. Others
chose to be selective – in interviews, Kavi
Pradeep, Gopaldas Neeraj, Yogesh, Shahryaar
and Nida Fazli said they preferred to accept
only things that suited their style, rather than
going in for anything. In fact, Yogesh stopped
writing in films because he was unhappy
with their subjects, and came back after a long
time with the 2018 film Angrezi Mein Kehte
Seene mein jalan came from the pen of Shahryaar, but he
is better recalled for Umrao Jaan Hain.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #17 | NOVEMBER 2020 57
