By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His 106th Birth Anniversary
आज की रात मेरे, दिल की सलामी ले ले
दिल की सलामी ले ले
कल तेरी बज़्म से दीवाना चला जाएगा
शम्मा रह जाएगी परवाना चला जाएगा
आज की रात मेरे, दिल की सलामी ले ले
दिल की सलामी ले ले
There is no denying the fact that Bollywood enjoyed the wealth & warmth of some of the finest lyricists who produced amazing songs, pouring their heart out to the audiences delight, the likes of Hasrat, Shailedra, Sahir, Gulzar & Shakeel, the subject of this write up.
Shakeel Badayuni, as the name suggests, was born & brought up in Badaun, in UP, once capital of Delhi Sultanate at a distance of 230 km from New Delhi. Well conversant with Arabic, Urdu, Persian, and Hindi , the boy rose to prominence ably supported by his father Mohammed Jamaal Qadiri. His interest in Urdu poetry made him participate in ‘mushairas’, eventually paving way for his entry into films as a song writer. His song “Hum Dard Ka Afsana Duniya Ko Suna Denge, Har Dil Main Mohabbat Ki Ek Aag Laga Dengey” made the legendary composer Naushad ‘powerless to resist’ & he immediately signed him for A. R . Kardar,s “Dard” (1947) featuring Suraiya, Munawar Sultana, & Shyam. The song picturized on Munawar Sultana, Nusrat & Suraiya , rendered by Shamshad Begum, was instant hit supported by another popular number from Uma Devi( Tuntun ) “Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon Dile Beqraar Ka” .The success opened floodgates of opportunities for Shakeel who later became a name to reckon with as a lyricist.
Shakeel developed close association with Naushad who later exploited his talent in Vijay Bhatt’s “Baiju Bawra” ( 1952) in songs- “Man Tadpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj”, “Jhule Men Pawan Ke Aai Bahaar” & “O Duniya Ke Rakhwale” under his baton. His poetic intensity & excellence coupled with Rafi,s pathos did wonders. “Baiju Bawra” was a blockbuster of the year. The film had a 100 weeks run in theatres. The film fashioned an era of classical music. Naushad’s earlier films “Rattan”, (1944) “Anmol Ghadi” , “Shahjehan” (1946) & “Andaz” (1949) were non classical hits.
Mehboob Khan’s “Mother India” (1957), K. Asif’s epic “Mughal-e-Azam”( 1960), Dilip Kumar’s “Ganga Jamuna” (1961) & Harnam Singh Rawail’s “Mere Mehboob” (1963) were other hits of the duo.Shakeel also enjoyed a long relationship with music director Ravi and did hits like M.Sadiq’s ” Chaudvin Ka Chand”( 1960 ), “Gharana” (1961), Ralhan’s “Phool Aur patthar” (1965) & Raj Khosla’s “Do Badan” (1966) with many touching songs like ” Jab Chali Thandi Hawa” & “Khat Likh De Sawariya Ke Naam Babu” to mention only two .His “Gharana” (1961) starring Rajendra Kumar & Asha Parekh & Raj Kumar was a musical bonanza offering many a hit numbers like- ” Jab Se Tumhe Dekha Hai Aankhon Me Tum Hi Tum Ho”, “Husn Wale Teraa Jawab Nahee” & ‘Daadi Ammaa Daadi Ammaa Maan Jaao” to boast.
Shakeel had another successful film “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam” (1962) with music director Hemant Kumar featuring Meena Kumari, Rehman, Guru Dutt & Waheeda Rehman. Directed by Abrar Alvi & produced by Guru Dutt ,it was also rated as a classic and gained worldwide acclaim winning a national Film Award for best Feature Film in Hindi and three Filmfare trophies for Best Actress( Meena Kumari ), Best Film & Best Director( Abrar Alvi). The film also had some lovely songs like-“Bhanwara Bada Nadan” & “Na Jao Saiyan Chhuda Ke Baiyan” rendered by Asha & Geeta Dutt respectively.
I watched “Baiju Bawara” & “Shabab” at Ferozepur ,then four-year-old. I still remember the songs -“Mehlon Mein Rahne Wale” & “Jogan Ban Jaungi Saiyan Tore Karan” from Bharat Bhushan- Nutan starrer “Shabaab”. Other notable films of Shakeel Badayuni include the likes of – “Deedar”, “Aan”, “Ghunghat”, “Amar”, “Bees Saal Baad” ,”Sunghursh”, “Dil Diya Dard Liya”, “Ram Aur Shyam”, “Grahasti”, “Gehra Daag” & “Kohinoor”. Shakeel- Naushad duo did 24 films together. Naushad also helped him financially to stand up.
