INDEEWAR- " Mere Geet Amar Kar Do"

 

With the song of Malhar(1951) "Bade Armano Se Rakkha Hai Balam Teri Kasam", the underrated lyricist of Bollywood became Indeewar. His original name was Shyam Lal Babu Rai. He made his debut as a lyricist from the 1946 film Double Face as 'Azad'. This was his name in the literary circle. With this name, he wrote many songs for films from 1946 to 1951.

 He wrote over a thousand songs in over 300 films in a career spanning over four decades, he gave us many immortal songs like 'Zindagi ka Safar' (Safar),' Koi jab Tumhara Hriday Tod De (Purab Aur Paschim), 'Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa' (Upkaar), Hothon Se Chhoo lo tum (Prem Geet) and also the song like ' Aap Jaisa Koi Meri Zindagi Mein' (Kurbani)

He worked with various film composers but his association with Kalyanji Anandji produced many great songs such as 'Chandan Sa Badan' (Sarswati Chandra, 1968),  'Zindagi Ka Safar Hai Yeh Kaisa Safar' (Safar, 1970), 'Dil Aisa Kisi Ne Mera Toda' (Amanush, 1975), and 'Dushman Na Kare' (Akhir Kyon, 1985).

He was nominated as Best Lyricist for the first time for the song "Ek Tu Na Mila" (Himalaya Ki God Mein) next for "Samjhauta Ghamon Se Kar Lo" (Samjhauta) in 1974 and finally won it for "Dil Aisa Kisi Ne Mera Toda" (Amanush) 1976'.

 In the 1980s, there was a drastic shift in the musical taste of the masses. During this time, Indeevar wrote many hit songs for Bappi Lahiri - 'Naino Main Sapna' from Himmatwala (1983), and 'Tohfa Tohfa Laaya Laaya' from Tohfa (1984).

He died on February 27 in 1999 during a journey. His last projects include Rajesh Roshan's films Karan Arjun in 1995 and Koyla in 1997. 

Here are a few of the memorable songs written by Indivar

Song of Malhar 1951

Song of  Dulha Dulhan 1964

Song of  Punarmilan 1964

Song of  Saheli 1965

Song of Himalaya Ki God Mein 1965

Song of  Upkaar1967

Song of Anokhi Raat 1968

Song of Saraswati Chandra 1968

Song of Purab Aur Paschim 1970

Song of Safar 1971

Song of Samjauta 1973

Song of Amanush 1975

Song of Prem Geet 1981

INDEEVAR- The Most Underrated Lyricist

Indeevar who wrote more than 1000 songs for Bollywood Films was not given his due he deserved.He had a wide range,penning emotionally uplifting songs, Indeevar also wrote peppy numbers including Nazia Hassan’s sung “Aap Jaisa Koi” and Feroz Khan’s Qurbani song “Laila O Laila”. 
Indeevar was born on 1st Jan in 1924 as Shyam Lal Babu Rai  and grew up to become a freedom fighter. He wrote under the pseudo name of Azad for which he was imprisoned by the British. He became a household name with the release of the song "Bade Armano Se Rakhha Hai Pehla Kadam"  from Malhar in 1949.

It was singer Mukesh who gave him the break as a lyricist from the film Malhar(1949) which was produced by him and composed by Roshan.He along with Music Director Kayanji Anandji gave many hit & memorable songs.

It was Indeevar with whose lyrics Laxmi-Pyare made their debut in ‘Parasmani’ I don’t have to quote the songs. They were so beautiful. In ‘Madari’ too the Lata song, ‘Pyar mera majboor pardesi piya’ was a big hit.. In ‘Dulha Dulhan’ Indeevar wrote that classic Mukesh number: ‘Jo pyar tu ne mujh ko diya hai’ and ‘Hum ne tum se pyar kiya hai jitna kaun kare ga itna’.

The songs of ‘Chotey Babu’, ‘Himalaya Ki God Mein’ and Saheli were also big hits. But Upkar came as a major hit in his career too. How can we forget, among other hits of the movie, that sad number by Manna Dey for Pran: ‘Kasme wade pyar wafa sab baaten hain baton se kya’

In ‘Poorab aur Pachchim’ too Indeevar created havoc with his lyrics, specially the song, ‘Koi jab tumhara hridaya tod de, ‘

He wrote for almost all the music directors of his time except S D burman.With the arrival of the disco beat and the Bhappi Lahiri wave, Indeevar put poetry on the backburner and stood up to the task of delivering mindless lyrics. There was a preset combination for all these Southern-style 'pots-n-pans' hits: Jeetendra, Sridevi, Jaya Pradha, Bhappi Lahiri and Indeevar. All the way from Himmatwalas' (1983) ‘Nainon Mein Sapna’ to Tohfa's nonsensical title song, Indeevar willfully accepted and adapted to the changing trends in film music.

Towards the end of his career, he notched up a few hits with actor-turned-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan such as Karan Arjun (1995) and Koyla (1997). But even as he was trying to redeem himself as a poet, Indeevar passed away on February 27, 1999, leaving behind his words :

Song from Malhar 1951

Song from Malhar 1951

Song from Baadbaan (1954)

Song from Parasmani (1963)

Song from Dulha Dulhan 1964

Song from Himalay Ki God Mein (1965)

Song from Saheli (1965)

Song from Upkar (1967)

Song from Dil Ne Pukara (1967)

Song from Saraswati Chandra (1968)

Song from Safar (1970)

Song from Johny Mera Naam (1970)

Song from Sachha Jhutha (1970)

Song from Purab Aur Pachhim (1971)

Song from Amanush (1975)

Song from Qurbani (1980)

Song from Jurm (1990)