Golden Era of Bollywood: Remembering Shakeel Badayuni on his Birth Anniversary

Shakeel Badayuni (3 August 1916 – 20 April 1970) was an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter in Hindi films.He was born in Badayun a small town in U P,did his graduation (B A) from Aligarh Muslim University U P
After completing his BA, he moved to Delhi as a supply officer, but continued participating in mushairas, earning fame nationwide. Those were the days of shayars who wrote about the downtrodden sections of society, their upliftment, the betterment of society and all. But Shakeel had an altogether different taste – his poetry was romantic and close to the heart.
Shakeel moved to Bombay in 1944, to write songs for films. He met film producer, A.R. Kardar and music composer, Naushad Ali, who asked him to sum up his poetic skills in one line. Shakeel wrote,Hum Dard Ka Afsana Duniya Ko Suna Denge, Har Dil Main Mohabbat Ki Ek Aag Laga Daingay. Naushad immediately retained him for Kardar's film, Dard (1947). The songs of Dard proved to be very successful, especially Uma Devi (Tun Tun)'s Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon.

Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon.from Dard

Shakeel shared a close friendship with Naushad, Ravi and Naushad's former assistant, Ghulam Mohammed, with whom he enjoyed his life to the fullest. Naushad used Shakeel as the lyricist for his tunes for most of his films for a period of 24 years.

Together, he and Naushad became one of the most sought after composer/lyricist duos in the industry. Among the scores they churned out together, are those of Deedar (1951), Baiju Bawra (1952),Mother India (1957), and Mughal-e-Azam (1960), that stand out. Other films they scored together include Dulari (1949), Shabab (1954), Ganga Jamuna (1961), and Mere Mehboob (1963).Sungharsh(1968) was the duo's last offering to the music lovers.The song"Jab Dil Se Dil Takrata Hai" can be considered to be one of the finest romantic poetry.

Although Shakeel Badayuni worked most extensively with Naushad, he also collaborated with Ravi and Hemant Kumar as well.

His lyrics for the song Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin and Ravi's music score both wonFilmfare Awards for the hit film Gharana. His other notable film with Ravi is Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960), while Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) is his biggest hit with Hemant Kumar. The title song fromChaudhvin Ka Chand, rendered by Mohammed Rafi, won Badayuni the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 1961.

Besides film songs, Shakeel also had written many evergreen ghazals, which are still being sung by singers like Pankaj Udhaas and many others.
Shakeel loved to play badminton, go on picnics and hunting trips and fly kites with his friends from the industry, Naushad and Mohammed Rafi. Sometimes Johnny Walker would join them in kite-flying competitions.

'Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil' (Bees Saal Baad),

Shakeel won three Filmfare Awards in a row from 1961 to 1963 for his songs 'Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil' (Bees Saal Baad), 'Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin' (Gharana), and 'Chaudvin Ka Chand Ho' (Chaudhvin Ka Chand).
He died on 20th April, 1970, at the age of 53. After his death, his friends formed a trust called 'Yaad e Shakeel' to provide a financial help his family. Shakeel left behind his wife, son and daughter.
He died in penury, despite his works minting lakhs (in those days) for the film producer who commercialised and marketed his art.
MyTribute To Shakeel Saheb