Sahir Ludhianvi Biography
Born : 08 March 1921, in Ludhiana,Punjab, British India
Death : 25 October 1980
Sahir Ludhianvi was an Urdu and Hindi poet and lyricist who was catapulted to fame by his work in Hindi cinema in the 1950s. Sahir is best known for his deeply philosophical and yet immensely popular poetry that inspired filmmakers Guru Dutt and Yash Chopra to use his verses to lend character to their poet protagonists in Pyaasa (1957) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976), respectively.
Born Abdul Hayee on 8 March 1921 to a rich zamindar in Ludhiana, Punjab, Sahir had an unhappy childhood. His father ditched the young Abdul's mother and fought a bitter and vain court battle for his custody as this was his only male child. As several of his friends in later years attested, Sahir had only one true love, his mother, and he hated his father from the bottom of his heart.
Sahir completed his schooling from the Khalsa High School where he learnt Urdu and Farsi from Maulana Faryaz Haryanvi and then moved to Lahore for further studies. By 1943, he had written his first collection of poetry Talkhiyaan (Bitterness) which he finally published in 1945. When Independence and Partition came, Sahir remained in Lahore. In 1948, he started working as an editor for Urdu publications Adab-e-Lateef, Shahkaar, Prithlari and Savera. He also became a member of the Progressive Writers' Association (PWA). His writings in Savera were deemed inflammatory and the government of the newly carved out state of Pakistan issued a warrant for his arrest. Sahir fled to Delhi and eventually moved to Bombay and became a part of the film world.
Sahir's debut as a lyricist came with the film Azadi Ki Rah Par (1948). However, it was Naujawan (1951) and Guru Dutt's Baazi (1951), starring Dev Anand, that established Sahir as a successful lyricist within the Hindi film industry. It was the beginning of the Golden Age of Hindi cinema and Sahir, whose career scaled new highs in the 1950s and 1960s, worked with all the successful music composers of the era such as Sachin Dev Burman, Khayyam, Roshan, Madan Mohan, Ravi and N Dutta. His collaboration with actor-filmmaker Guru Dutt and music composer SD Burman saw him scale the pinnacle of success and popularity.
Sahir went on to publish his second collection of poetry under the title Parchhaiyan (Shadows), which, incidentally, was also the name of his bungalow in suburban Bombay.
Sahir's immense talent won him the Filmfare award three times, including the Best Lyricist award for Taj Mahal (1963) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976).
On 25 October 1980, Sahir Ludhianvi suffered a massive heart attack and died. He was only 59. Lakshmi (1982) was the last film for which the celebrated lyricist penned the songs. A number of biographical writings have been produced about Sahir Ludhianvi, including a stage play titled Sahir by Danish Iqbal and the book Sahir Ludhianvi: The People's Poet (2013) by Akshay Manwani.
Born Abdul Hayee on 8 March 1921 to a rich zamindar in Ludhiana, Punjab, Sahir had an unhappy childhood. His father ditched the young Abdul's mother and fought a bitter and vain court battle for his custody as this was his only male child. As several of his friends in later years attested, Sahir had only one true love, his mother, and he hated his father from the bottom of his heart.
Sahir completed his schooling from the Khalsa High School where he learnt Urdu and Farsi from Maulana Faryaz Haryanvi and then moved to Lahore for further studies. By 1943, he had written his first collection of poetry Talkhiyaan (Bitterness) which he finally published in 1945. When Independence and Partition came, Sahir remained in Lahore. In 1948, he started working as an editor for Urdu publications Adab-e-Lateef, Shahkaar, Prithlari and Savera. He also became a member of the Progressive Writers' Association (PWA). His writings in Savera were deemed inflammatory and the government of the newly carved out state of Pakistan issued a warrant for his arrest. Sahir fled to Delhi and eventually moved to Bombay and became a part of the film world.
Sahir's debut as a lyricist came with the film Azadi Ki Rah Par (1948). However, it was Naujawan (1951) and Guru Dutt's Baazi (1951), starring Dev Anand, that established Sahir as a successful lyricist within the Hindi film industry. It was the beginning of the Golden Age of Hindi cinema and Sahir, whose career scaled new highs in the 1950s and 1960s, worked with all the successful music composers of the era such as Sachin Dev Burman, Khayyam, Roshan, Madan Mohan, Ravi and N Dutta. His collaboration with actor-filmmaker Guru Dutt and music composer SD Burman saw him scale the pinnacle of success and popularity.
Sahir went on to publish his second collection of poetry under the title Parchhaiyan (Shadows), which, incidentally, was also the name of his bungalow in suburban Bombay.
Sahir's immense talent won him the Filmfare award three times, including the Best Lyricist award for Taj Mahal (1963) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976).
On 25 October 1980, Sahir Ludhianvi suffered a massive heart attack and died. He was only 59. Lakshmi (1982) was the last film for which the celebrated lyricist penned the songs. A number of biographical writings have been produced about Sahir Ludhianvi, including a stage play titled Sahir by Danish Iqbal and the book Sahir Ludhianvi: The People's Poet (2013) by Akshay Manwani.