As a young boy growing up in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Hasrat Jaipuri (real name Iqbal Hussain) learnt Urdu and Persian from his grandfather. Born on 15 April 1922, he came to Mumbai in 1940 and initially worked as a bus conductor on a salary of Rs11.
However, his fondness for poetry led him to attend several mushairas [Urdu poetry readings] where he began to compose his own poems. The legendary thespian Prithviraj Kapoor spotted him at one such session and recommended the young poet to his son and filmmaker, Raj Kapoor.
Soon he was an integral part of the four man team made up of Shankar-Jaikishan and lyricist Shailendra and himself. Together, they provided the heart of RK Films with their tunes. In a five decade career, he penned some remarkable songs, many of them sung by Mohammed Rafi, and left behind a significant legacy for over 200 films in his lyrics for music directors from Shankar-Jaikishan to SD Burman. Here are some of his finest songs:
1. 'Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum' – Patita (1953)
For Amiya Chakrabarty’s Patita (1953), music composers Shankar-Jaikishan got Hemant Kumar to sing playback for Dev Anand in the duet ‘Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum’ with Lata Mangeshkar. Hasrat Jaipuri first started writing for music composers Shankar-Jaikishan with Barsaat (1949). While lyricist Shailendra wrote the lyrics for the songs composed by Shankar, Hasrat Jaipuri would write them for the songs composed by Jaikishan.
2. 'Nain So Nain Naahi Milao' – Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955)
Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar came together for a Hasrat Jaipuri duet, the soothing ‘Nain So Nain Naahi Milao’, this time for music composer Vasant Desai on V Shantaram’s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955). Shivkumar Sharma, the santoor player who went on to compose film music in the 1980s and 1990s with Hariprasad Chaurasia, played the santoor on Desai’s compositions. Shantaram himself approached him to play for the project after hearing him play.
3. 'Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni' – Chori Chori (1956)
Raj Kapoor and Nargis were seen for the last time as a romantic pair in Anant Thakur’s Chori Chori (1956); Nargis had a cameo in RK Films’ Jagte Raho (1956). The ‘unofficial’ remake of the Clark Gable-Claudette Colbert 1934 romantic hit, It Happened One Night, Chori Chori brought music composers Shankar-Jaikishan their first Filmfare Award for best music director. The duo would go on to win eight more. Hasrat Jaipuri contributed five songs to the soundtrack including the classic heartbreak song, ‘Rasik Balma’ sung beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar.
4. 'Teri Pyari Pyari Soorat Ko' – Sasural (1961)
Picturised on Rajendra Kumar and Saroja Devi, Sasural’s charming romantic song ‘Teri Pyari Pyari Soorat Ko’ won Mohammed Rafi his second Filmfare Award for best male playback singer after 1960s' Chaudhvin Ka Chand. The film was a remake of the Telugu film Illarikam (1959). The superhit music by Shankar-Jaikishan gave the producers, Prasad Productions, their second successful Hindi feature film.
5. 'Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar' – Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963)
Hasrat Jaipuri wrote the lyrics for Vijay Anand’s Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963) for music composer SD Burman, one of the few occasions the two teamed up. The film was the last time that the lead pair Dev Anand and Nutan were seen onscreen. The charming film’s music album was a success from the fun-filled title song to emotional ‘Tu Kahan Yeh Bata’, aided by Vijay Anand’s fine picturisations. The flirty ‘Dil Ka Bhawar Kare Pukar’ was filmed inside a replica of the Qutub Minar.
6. 'Aao Twist Karen' – Bhoot Bungla (1965)
With Mehmood’s Bhoot Bungla (1965), Hasrat Jaipuri got the opportunity to work with SD Burman’s son, Rahul Dev (RD) Burman, who was composing music for his second feature film. The most popular track of the album is the Chubby Checker-inspired song ‘Aao Twist Karein’ which infused the music of Hindi cinema with a taste of Western sound with rock and roll. Sadly, this became the only time that Hasrat Jaipuri worked with RD Burman.
7. 'Duniya Bananewale' – Teesri Kasam (1966)
Hasrat Jaipuri wrote three songs for his friend and fellow lyricist Shailendra on his home production, Teesri Kasam (1966). The long-delayed film won the National Award for Best Feature Film but failed at the box office. Shailendra faced many losses financially that eventually contributed to his death; he died that same year. The wistful, almost melancholy lyrics of Hasrat Jaipuri’s ‘Duniya Bananewale’ sung by Mukesh have gained poignancy over the years. Now, the film, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman, is regarded as a cult classic.
8. 'Sayonara Sayonara' – Love In Tokyo (1966)
An entire nation learned how to say goodbye in Japanese with Hasrat Jaipuri’s ‘Sayonara Sayonara’ in Love in Tokyo (1966). The song sung by Lata Mangeshkar and picturised on the lead pair, Joy Mukherjee and Asha Parekh. Parekh looks particularly fetching and pretty as a doll in the song. The romantic feature, filmed in colour showed off the foreign, exotic locales of Japan, became a bit hit in 1966 with music by Shankar-Jaikishan.
9. 'Baharon Phool Barsao' – Suraj (1966)
Shankar-Jaikishan beat out music composers Ravi and SD Burman for Do Badan and Guide respectively with their compositions for Suraj. Hasrat Jaipuri and singer Mohammed Rafi too picked up Filmfare Awards for lyrics (Hasrat Jaipuri’s first major award) and best male playback singer for the romantic song ‘Baharon Phool Barsao’ in which Rajendra Kumar’s prince in disguise, Suraj, woos Vyjayanthimala’s Anuradha (also a princess in disguise). The fantasy period was a hit with audiences, enjoying a silver jubilee run.
10. 'Badan Pe Sitare Lapete' – Prince (1969)
While the plot of Lekh Tandon’s Prince (1969) starring Shammi Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala may have been complicated, the music and lyrics of ‘Badan Pe Sitare Lapete’ by Shankar-Jaikishan and Hasrat Jaipuri were not. The dance number, sung by Mohammed Rafi, showed off the dancing skills of the film’s two stars, Shammi Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala, who was decked up in shimmering star-like red sari.
11. 'Tum Mujhe Yoon Bhula Na Paaoge' – Pagla Kahin Ka (1970)
The words of ‘Tum Mujhe Yoon Bhula Na Paaoge’ easily speaks of Hasrat Jaipuri’s legacy as a lyricist. He writes that whenever you would hear his songs, you would think of him. For Shakti Samanta’s Pagla Kahin Ka (1970), the Teesri Manzil (1966) co-stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh and Helen reunited to explore the slightly darker themes in which Shammi spent a significant portion of the film as madman in the mental asylum. Unfortunately, the film was only an average hit at the box office.
12. 'Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana' – Andaz (1971)
In Ramesh Sippy’s directorial debut Andaz (1971), there are three versions of Hasrat Jaipuri’s Filmfare award-winning song, ‘Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana’ in the film, one sung by Kishore Kumar and another sung by Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi. Both Bhosle and Kishore Kumar were nominated for Filmfare awards for their rendition; Kishore Kumar especially showed off his yodelling skills in this song. Music composer Jaikishan passed away a few months after the film released; the song played at his favourite restaurant Gaylord in Mumbai where a table was reserved in his honour.
13. 'Sun Sahiba Sun' – Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)
After the death of Jaikishan, and later Shailendra, the hit team that primarily provided music for RK Films disbanded. However, years later, Hasrat Jaipuri once again contributed to a RK Films soundtrack with ‘Sun Sahiba Sun’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It was the only song he wrote for the album composed by Ravindra Jain who won the Filmfare Award for best music director. Raj Kapoor paid Hasrat Jaipuri a handsome sum for the song, to honour their old relations — originally the song was to have been used for Ajanta, a film Raj Kapoor wanted to make but never could.