Majrooh Sultanpuri
Indian Urdu poet and Hindi film lyricist.
Majrooh Sultanpuri, born Asrar ul Hassan Khan, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in the Hindi film industry. He was a dominant musical force in Indian cinema during the 1950s and early 1960s and an important figure in the Progressive Writers' Movement, considered one of the finest avant-garde Urdu poets of 20th-century literature.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1 October 1919
- Death Date
- 2000-05-24
- Death Place
- Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Occupation
- poet, lyricist, film songwriter
- Background
- non_performing_personnel
- Birth Place
- Sultanpur, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India · (now Uttar Pradesh, India)
- Years Active
- 1946–2000
- Birth Name
- Asrar ul Hassan Khan
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Majrooh Sultanpuri was born in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, into a Muslim Rajput family. He received a traditional Madrasa education, earning a Dars-e-Nizami qualification and an Alim certificate, then studied Unani medicine at Lucknow's Takmeel-ut-Tib College. He was a struggling Hakim when he recited a ghazal at a mushaira that was a hit, leading him to abandon medicine for poetry. He became a disciple of Jigar Moradabadi.
In 1945, he visited Bombay for a mushaira, where film producer A.R. Kardar was impressed. Despite initial reluctance, Jigar Moradabadi persuaded him to write for films. Music composer Naushad tested him by giving a tune, and Majrooh wrote 'Jab Usne Gesu Bikhraye, Badal Aaye Jhoom Ke...' He was signed for the film Shah Jehan (1946). His major breakthrough came with Mehboob Khan's Andaz (1949).
His leftist leanings led to imprisonment in 1949 for anti-establishment poems, and he refused to apologize, serving two years. After prison, he broke through again with Guru Dutt's Baaz (1953). His last film as a lyricist was One 2 Ka 4, released after his death in 2001.
Reader's Guide
Majrooh Sultanpuri's significance lies in his six-decade career as a lyricist who shaped Hindi film music, particularly in the 1950s and early 1960s. He worked with numerous music directors, including Naushad, Madan Mohan, O. P. Nayyar, and R. D. Burman, and later with Anand–Milind and Jatin-Lalit. His only Filmfare Best Lyricist Award came in 1965 for 'Chahunga Main Tujhe' from Dosti, and he became the first lyricist to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1993. Beyond films, he was a notable ghazal writer, alongside Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Khumar Barabankvi, and created one of Urdu poetry's best-known verses: 'maiñ akelā hī calā thā jānib-e-manzil magar / log sāth āte gaye aur kārvān bantā gayā.' His legacy includes his role in the Progressive Writers' Movement and his avant-garde poetry, though he is widely known as a film lyricist.
Did You Know?
- He was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1949 for politically-charged poems.
- He won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1993 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
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