Qamar Jalalabadi was a renowned and celebrated lyricist of Hindi cinema. Jalalabadi's career spans for four decades  during which time he wrote several popular songs such as  'Dam Dam Diga Diga' from Chhaliya (1960), 'Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya' from Fagun (1958), 'Deewaano Se Mat Puchho' from Upkar (1967)

Born as Om Prakash Bhandari in Jalalabad, Amritsar in 1917, he was rechristened as Qamar by an Urdu poet. Since a very tender age, Jalalabadi had a keen interest in poetry and he started writing at the age of seven. After finishing his matriculation from Amritsar, Jalalabadi worked as a reporter for a number of contemporary newspapers and dailies. However, his passion for poetry brought him to Pune in the early 1940s. He made his debut as a lyricist in the Pancholi Pictures production Zameendar (1942). Soon Qamar moved to Mumbai and began his long-standing career in the Hindi film industry.

During the next four decades that followed, Jalalabadi worked with several top music composers like C Ramchandra, S D Burman, Madan Mohan, Ravi, Sudhir Phadke, Pt. Amarnath, O P Nayyar, Kalyanji Anandji, and Laxmikant Pyarelal, amongst many others. His versatility in producing different kinds of emotions through his verses became his biggest strength, and he rendered powerful lyrics for films such as Chand (1944), Aansoo (1953), Pehli Tarikh (1954), Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani (1970) and Nishchaiy (1992).

Jalalabadi was an acclaimed Adabi Shayar and graced many Urdu recitals all over the nation. Apart from that, he was the founder and member of the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) and the Film Writers Association in India.