50 Years of Heer Ranjha

This legendary tale of love, written in the 16th century by Warris Shah in poetry. Chetan Anand chose to make this film in that form only. He selected the great poet of that time Kaifi Azmi. He created lines not only for the leads, played by Raaj Kumar and Priya Rajvansh but for the rest of the ensemble cast which included  Pran, Prithviraj Kapoor, Ajit, Jayant, etc. 
A unique film told in verse, written by Kaifi Azmi and directed by Chetan Anand. Poetry on celluloid never attempted before and after. The film has immortal music by Madan Mohan, another beauty of the film was its photography.inspired by the paintings of Sobha Singh, a legendary painter from Punjab, the imagery of the film is wonderful. thanks to the cinematic genius of cinematographer Jal Mistry.
Told in a Romeo and Juliet style, the story concerns relative differences that rip apart childhood darlings Heer and Deedho, so Heer goes away to exist an unspecified life as a laborer.

Priya Rajvansh and Raaj Kumar both gave good performances in their respective parts as the title characters Heer and Raanja, Beside them, there are fine performances to be had from Pran, Ajit and Prithviraj Kapoor in their respective parts as Chhote Chaudhary, Saida, and the King. 

The film released on 19th June 1970 was a moderate success in the Box office.
The film  starts with an introductory Nazm by Kaifi Azmi, recited by Films Director "Chetan Anand :
"Dard Punjab ke seene se chura laya Hun Chand tukde tere waris ke utha laya hun Aag meri na sahi iska dhuan mera hai Heer Ranjha ki kahani hai bayan mera hai ....
Chetan Anand screen-tested Zeenat Aman for a supporting role in the film. But during the audition, Zeenat's Urdu was very terrible. Chetan ended up not signing Zeenat. It was the first time that Chetan Anand worked with Raj Kumar, who was known for his dialogue delivery
Songs of Heer Ranjha

Song	Singer (s)
Do Dil Toote Do Dil Haare	Lata Mangeshkar
Milo Na Tum To	Lata Mangeshkar
Nache Ang Ve	Jagjit Kaur, Shamshad Begum
Doli Chadte Heer	Lata Mangeshkar
Meri Duniya Mein Tum Aayi	Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
Tere Kooche Mein Tera Diwana	Mohammed Rafi
Ye Duniya Yeh Mehfil	Mohammed Rafi

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Kaifi Azmi - A Multifaceted Personality

Kaifi Azmi was a poet, an activist, and a member of the Progressive Writers’ Movement. He was a screenwriter, dialogue writer and also acted the ailing patriarch in Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s Naseem (1995). So it’s difficult to contain the multifaceted man under one label. 
He had the unique distinction of penning Chetan Anand’s Heer Ranjha(1970) entirely in verse. 
He was the Doyen of Urdu Poetry. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jon Elia and others, he participated in the most memorable mushairas of the twentieth century.
He was born on 14th Jan 1919 in Azamgarh UP. At age eleven, Azmi wrote his first ghazal Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade and somehow managed to get himself invited to a mushaira and over there, he recited a ghazal, rather a couplet of the ghazal which was very much appreciated. He abandoned his studies of Persian and Urdu during the Quit India agitations in 1942 and shortly thereafter became a full-time Marxist when he accepted membership of the Communist Party of India in 1943. During this period, the leading progressive writers of Lucknow noticed him. They were very impressed by his leadership qualities.  His association with the Progressive Writers' Movement and Communist Party made him embark on the path of socially conscious poetry. In his poetry, he highlights the exploitation of the subaltern masses and through them, he conveys a message of the creation of a just social order by dismantling the existing one. Yet, his poetry cannot be called plain propaganda. It has its own merits; the intensity of emotions, in particular, and the spirit of sympathy and compassion towards the disadvantaged section of society are the hallmark of his poetry. His poems are also notable for their rich imagery and in this respect, his contribution to Urdu poetry can hardly be overstated.^[4] Azmi's first collection of poems, Jhankar was published in 1943. His important works including anthologies of poetry, were Aakhir-e-Shab, Sarmaya, Awaara Sajde, Kaifiyaat, Nai Gulistan, an anthology of articles he wrote for Urdu Blitz, Meri Awaaz Suno, a selection of his film lyrics, and the script of Heer Ranjha in Devanagari
At the age of twenty-four, he started activities in the textile mill areas of Kanpur. He spread his area of work, He was asked to shift his base to Bombay, work amongst the workers and start party work with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm and at the same time would attend mushairas in different parts of India. In Bombay, he joined Ali Sardar Jafri in writing for the party's paper, Qaumi Jung. 
He wrote his first lyrics for the film Buzdil, directed by Shaheed Latif and music by SD Burman, released in 1951. His early work as a writer was mainly for Nanubhai Vakil's films like Yahudi Ki Beti (1956), Parvin (1957), Miss Punjab Mail (1958) and Id Ka Chand (1958). 
His greatest feat as a writer was Chetan Anand's Heer Raanjha (1970) wherein the entire dialogue of the film was in verse. It was a tremendous achievement and one of the greatest feats of Hindi film writing. Azmi also won great critical accolades for the script, dialogues and lyrics of M.S. Sathyu's Garam Hawa (1973), based on a story by Ismat Chughtai. Azmi also wrote the dialogues for Shyam Benegal's Manthan (1976) and Sathyu's Kanneshwara Rama (1977). As a lyricist and songwriter, though he wrote for numerous films, he will always be remembered for Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964)
Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include Kohra (1964), Anupama (1966), Uski Kahani (1966), Saat Hindustani (1969), Shola Aur Shabnam, Parwana (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Pakeezah (1972), Hanste Zakhm (1973), Arth (1982) and Razia Sultan (1983). For Naunihal (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by Mohammad Rafi. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru.
He died on 10 May 2002 at around the age of eighty three. He was survived by his wife, daughter and son. His autobiography is included in a collection of his works, Aaj Ke Prashid Shayar: Kaifi Azmi.

He was the recipient of Padma Shri,

Sahitya Akademi Award

• 1975: Sahitya Akademi Award: Awara Sajde
• 2002: Sahitya Akademi Fellowship 
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Song of Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959

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Song of Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Song of Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Song of Haqeeqat 1964

Song of Anupama 1966

Song of Naunihal 1967

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

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JAVED AKHTAR-The Most Versatile Bollywood Celebrity

Javed along with Salim were the Super Star Jodi of Bollywood in the 70s. Rajesh Khanna is credited with giving Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar their first chance to become screenplay writers by offering them work in Haathi Mere Saathi.Before that both were employed by G P Sippy in their story department.He along with Salim the father of Salman Khan gave the film industry The Angry Young Man Amitabh Bachchan. His association with Salim Khan lasted until 1980. After this Akhtar wrote some scripts on his own, but mostly moved into writing lyrics for films, in which he achieved success. 
He was born on 17th Jan 1945 as Jadoo Akhtar in Gwalior, (Madhya Pradesh) to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a Bollywood film songwriter and Urdu poet, and singer Safia Akhtar, a teacher and writer. Akhtar's early years were spent in Lucknow, Aligarh and Mumbai, mostly with relatives. He was a gifted debater in college, he won the Rotary Club Prize frequently.  
He  arrived in Mumbai on 4 October 1964. In his early years living in Mumbai, he managed to write the dialogue for a minor film for Rs. 100. Occasionally, he used to work as an assistant. He got a job as a scriptwriter on Yakeen which flopped. Akhtar then joined with his friend Salim Khan to develop the story for Adhikar.
Their first big success was the script for Andaz, followed by Adhikar (1971), Haathi Mere Saathi and Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). They also had hits with Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973), Zanjeer (1973), Haath Ki Safai (1974), Deewaar (1975), Sholay (1975), Chacha Bhatija (1977), Don (1978), Trishul (1978), Dostana (1980), Kranti (1981), Zamana (1985) and Mr. India (1987). They have worked together in 24 films including two Kannada films – Premada Kanike and Raja Nanna Raja. Of the 24 films they wrote, 20 were hits.
Javed is a Urdu poet before writing songs for films he was writing poetry.It was Yash Chopra who insiisted him to write songs for his film Silsila(1981).After that he gave us many memorable songs He won 5 National Awards for his songs and also 5 Filmfare Awards for lyrics. In 2013, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, India's second highest literary honour, for his poetry collection Lava.
He was also nominated a Rajya Sabha MP.from Nov 2009 to Nov 2015.
He married to Honey Irani, with whom he had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, both film directors and actors. The father-and-son duo have worked together in films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Rock On!! and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara with Zoya.He divorced Irani and later married Shabana Azmi, the daughter of eminent Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi.
Some of his Award Winning Songs

Song from 1942: A Love Story (1994)

Song from  Papa Kehte Hai 1996

Song from Border 1997

Song from Refugee 2000

Song from Lagaan 2001

Remembering KAIFI AZAMI on his 98th Birth Anniversary

 Kaifi Azmi (14thJanuary 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He will always be remembered who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.At the age eleven, Azmi wrote his first ghazal Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade.Most of the people, including his father, thought he recited his elder brother's ghazal. When his elder brother denied it, his father and his clerk decided to test his poetic talent. They gave him one of the lines of a couplet and asked him to write a ghazal in the same meter and rhyme. Azmi accepted the challenge and completed a ghazal. This particular ghazal was to become a rage in undivided India and it was immortalised as it was sung by legendary ghazal singer, Begum Akhtar. 
Kaifi Azmi wrote his first lyrics for the film Buzdil, directed by Shaheed Latif and music by SD Burman, released in 1951.As a lyricist and songwriter, though he wrote for numerous films, he will always be remembered for Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964), India's greatest war film. Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include Kohra(1964), Anupama (1966), Uski Kahani (1966), Saat Hindustani (1969), Shola Aur Shabnam, Parwana (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Pakeezah (1972), Hanste Zakhm (1973), Arth (1982) and Razia Sultan (1983). For Naunihal (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by Mohammad Rafi. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru.
He was the winner of SAHITYA ACADEMY AWARD for Urdu in 1975.He was the recipient of Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. In 1998, Government of Maharashtra conferred the Jyaneshwara Award on him. He was also honoured with the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement
In 2000, he was conferred the first Millennium Award by the Government of Delhi and the Delhi Urdu Academy. He has also been honoured with a doctorate from Vishva Bharati University, Santiniketan.
Kaifi Azmi was married to Shaukhat Azmi. They have a daughter, Shabana Azmi (An Indian Actress of film, television and theatre) and a son, Baba Azmi (Indian Cinematographer).

He was a man deeply connected to his grassroots, not just in Mumbai but also in his hometown Azamgarh. Shabana Azmi, the beloved daughter of Kaifi, says, “The tireless and painstaking efforts of Kaifi during the last two decades have brought home road, electricity, a small hospital, a school and a post office in Mijwan, his birth place in Azamgarh District. To bring all these facilities to a small village was almost a distant dream because obstacles befell at every step (due to unscrupulous government officers). Indomitable will and an extraordinary skill to organize people kept him dynamic throughout his life”.
 His major poetic works include Jhankar (1943), Aakhri Shab (1947), Aawara Sajde (1973), Meri Aawaz Suno (1974). He was an active member of IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association) and later its president.
 Azmi died on 10 May 2002 at around the age of eighty three. A play based on his life, his works and the memoir of his wife, Shaukat Azmi – Yadon Ki Rahguzar (Down Memory Lane), was written and performed by Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi, and performed in India as well as abroad in 2006.
Kaifi, with all his poetic-legacy, will always be remembered.On his 98th Birth Anniversary here are some beautiful songs written by him.

Bichhde Sabhi Baari Bari from Kaagaz Ke Phool 1959

Jeet Hi Lenge Baazi  from Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Jaane Kya Dhoondti  from Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Yeh Nayan Dare Dare  from Kohra 1964

 Parbaton Ke pedon par from Shagun 1964

Do Dil Toote from Heer Ranjha

Ho ke Majboor from Haqeekat 1964

Dheere Dheere Machal  from Anupama 1966

Mile Na Phool To Kanto Se from Anokhi Raat 1968

Chalte Chalte  from Pakezah 1972

Betab Dil Ki Tamanna from Hanste Zakham 1973

Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein  from Kabhi Kabhi1976

Ae Dile E Naadan  from Razia Sultan (1983)

Song from Arth 1983

Hit Songs of KAIFI AZMI

 Kaifi Azmi (January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He will always be remembered who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures.At the age eleven, Azmi wrote his first ghazal Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade.Most of the people, including his father, thought he recited his elder brother's ghazal. When his elder brother denied it, his father and his clerk decided to test his poetic talent. They gave him one of the lines of a couplet and asked him to write a ghazal in the same meter and rhyme. Azmi accepted the challenge and completed a ghazal. This particular ghazal was to become a rage in undivided India and it was immortalised as it was sung by legendary ghazal singer, Begum Akhtar. 
Kaifi Azmi wrote his first lyrics for the film Buzdil, directed by Shaheed Latif and music by SD Burman, released in 1951.As a lyricist and songwriter, though he wrote for numerous films, he will always be remembered for Guru Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959) and Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964), India's greatest war film. Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include Kohra(1964), Anupama (1966), Uski Kahani (1966), Saat Hindustani (1969), Shola Aur Shabnam, Parwana (1971), Bawarchi (1972), Pakeezah (1972), Hanste Zakhm (1973), Arth (1982) and Razia Sultan (1983). For Naunihal (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by Mohammad Rafi. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India, Jawahar Lal Nehru. 

Meri Awaz Suno  from Naunihal 1967

Here I am Presenting some of my favourite songs of Kaifi Azmi
In 1961, 2 films SHAMA and Shola Aur Shabnam released with his songs

Dil Ghum Se Jal Raha Hai from Shama sung by Suman Kalyanpur

Jeet Hi Lenge Baazi  from Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

Jaane Kya Dhoondti Rehti Hai  from Shola Aur Shabnam 1961

His association with Chetan Anand from 1964 film Haqekat and later on his all films produced some great songs. His greatest feat as a writer was Chetan Anand's Heer Raanjha (1970) wherein the entire dialogue of the film was in verse. It was a tremendous achievement and one of the greatest feats of Hindi film writing.

Kar Chale Hum Fida  from Haqekat 1964

Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai  from Haqekat 1964

Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil from Heer Ranjha 1970

Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho  from Hanste Zakham 1973

Betab Dil Ki Tamanna  from Hanste Zakham 1973

His association with Music Director Khayyam gave some of the immortal songs of Bollywood.earlier songs from Shola Aur Shabnam 1961,later Shagun 1964,Kabhie Kabhie 1976,Noorie 1979 are few of them

 Parbaton Ke pedon par from Shagun 1964

Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein  from Kabhi Kabhi1976

 from Noorie1979

His association with Hemant Kumar also gave us many Immortal songs.Remember the Songs of Kohra 1964 and  Anupama 1966

Yeh Nayan Dare Dare  from Kohra 1964

Dheere Dheere Machal  from Anupama 1966

In 1972 Released Pakeezah and Bawarchi and later Hanste Zakham,Arth and Razia Sultan gave beautiful songs

Chalte Chalte  from Pakezah 1972

Tum Bin Jeevan Kaisa from Bawarchi 1972

Ae Dile E Naadan  from Razia Sultan (1983)