Shakeel Badayuni

Shakeel Badayuni (Hindi: शकील बदायुनी, Urdu: شکیل بدایونی) (August 3, 1916 - April 20, 1970) was an accomplished Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter.

Shakeel Badayuni was born on August 3, 1916 in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Mohammed Jamaal Ahmed Sokhta Qadiri wanted him to have a good career, thus he arranged Arabic, Urdu, Persian, and Hindi tuition for Shakeel at home. His inclination towards poetry was not hereditary like other "shayars". One of his distant relatives, Zia-ul-Qadiri Badayuni was a religious "shayar". Shakeel was influenced by him and the contemporary environment of Badayun led him to "Sher-o-Shayari".

When he joined Aligarh Muslim University in 1936, he started participating in inter-college, inter-university "mushairas" and won frequently. In 1940, he married Salma, who was a distant relative of his and they had been living in a common house since childhood, however, the "purdah" system was vogue in their family and they were not close. After completing his B.A., he moved to Delhi as a supply officer, but continued participating in "mushairas", earning fame nation-wide. 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 more often not romantic and close to heart. Shakeel used to say::"Main Shakeel Dil Ka Hoon Tajurma":"Ki Mohabbaton Ka Hoon Raazdaan":"Mujhe Fakr Hai Meri Shayari":"Zindagi Se Juda Nahin"

Shakeel moved to Bombay in 1944 to write songs for films. He met film producer, A.R. Kardar and music composer, Naushad who asked him to sum up his poetic skills in one line. Shakeel wrote, "Hum Dil Ka Afsana Duniya Ke Suna Denge, Har Dil Main Mohabbat Ki Ek Laga Denge". Naushad immediately signed 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". Only a few are so lucky that they attain success in their first film, but Shakeel deserved success which started with "Dard" and continued on over the years.

Together, he and Naushad became one of the most sought after composer/lyricist duos in the industry. Among the stupendous scores they churned out together, are those of "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). Although 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 both won Filmfare 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 from "Chaudhvin Ka Chand", rendered by Mohammed Rafi, won Badayuni the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist in 1961.

Shakeel penned numbers for around 89 films. In addition, he wrote many popular ghazals which are still sung by vocalists like Pankaj Udhas and others. Shakeel shared a close friendship with Naushad, Ravi and Ghulam Mohammed, with whom he enjoyed his life to the fullest. Unlike other "shayaars", he wasn't an alcoholic. Shakeel Badayuni succumbed to diabetes complications at the age of fifty-three on April 20 1970, leaving behind his wife, a son and a daughter. His friends, Naushad, Ahmed Zakaria, and Rangoonwala formed a trust called "Yaad-e-Shakeel" after his death and this trust is now the source of some income to his bereaved family.

Awards

* 1961 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for the song "Chaudvin ka chand ho" in the film "Chaudhvin Ka Chand"
* 1962 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for the song "husnwale tera jawab nahin" in the film "Gharana"
* 1963 Filmfare Best Lyricist Award for the song "kahin deep jale kahin dil" in the film "Bees Saal Baad"

ources

* [http://shayri.info/ Shayri.info] Famous Sher aur Shayari!
* [http://shayaris.org/ Shayari] Collection of Hindi Shayari