Sahir Ludhianvi (English: Sahir Ludhianvi, born: March 8, 1921, Ludhiana; death: October 25, 1980, Mumbai) was a famous lyricist and poet of Indian cinema. When Sahir started writing, poets like Iqbal, Faiz, Firaq etc. were at their peak, but with the special tone and attitude he adopted, not only did he create his own place, but he also dominated the world of poetry. Sahir wrote –
Abdulhayee ‘Sahir’ was born in 1921 AD in a Jagirdar family of Ludhiana, Punjab. Apart from his mother, his father had many other wives. But being the only child, he was brought up with great pampering. Fed up with her husband, her mother got separated from her husband and since ‘Sahir’ had given priority to his mother over his father in the court, hence after that he had no relation with his father and his property and along with this he had to face the difficulties and disappointments of life. The era of started.
Hir was educated at ‘Khalsa High School’, Ludhiana. In 1939, when he was a student of ‘Government College’, he fell in love with Amrita Pritam, which was unsuccessful. During his college days, he became famous for his poetry and poetry and Amrita was his fan. Amrita’s family had objections because Sahir was a Muslim. Later, at the behest of Amrita’s father, she was expelled from the college. He did various kinds of small jobs to earn his living.
After being expelled from college, Sahir started working on his first book. In 1943, he published his first poetry book named ‘Talkhiyan’. Sahir got a new identity from ‘Talkhiyan’. After this Sahir became the editor of ‘Adab-e-Latif’, ‘Shahkar’ and ‘Savera’. Sahir was also associated with ‘Progressive Writers Association’. The Government of Pakistan became angry with some articles published in ‘Savera’ and issued a warrant against Sahir. Sahir came to Delhi in 1949. After spending a few days in Delhi, Sahir settled in Mumbai.
In 1948, he started working in films with the film ‘Azadi Ki Raah Par’. This film was unsuccessful. Sahir gained fame with the song “Thandi Hawain Lehra Ke Aaye…” from the 1951 film Naujawan. The music director of this film was SD Burman. Guru Dutt’s directorial debut film “Baazi” brought him recognition. The music of this film was also by Burman Saheb, all the songs of this film became famous. Sahir worked most of the time with music composer N Dutta. Dutta Saheb was a great admirer of Sahir. After ‘Milap’ released in 1955, he wrote songs in films like ‘Marine Drive’, ‘Light House’, ‘Bhai Behan’, ‘Sadhana’, ‘Dhool Ka Phool’, ‘Dharam Putra’ and ‘Dilli Ka Dada’.
His first film as a lyricist was ‘Baazi’, whose song ‘Taqdeer Se Badi Hui Tadbeer Bana Le…’ became very popular. He wrote memorable songs in many films including ‘Humraj’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Dhool Ka Phool’, ‘Daag’, ‘Bahu Begum’, ‘Aadmi Aur Insaan’, ‘Dhundh’, ‘Pyaasa’. Sahir ji did not marry, but he presented the feeling of love in his songs in such a way that people would dance. The songs written by Sahir Ludhianvi, who writes poetry full of love, dedication and romanticism amid despair, pain, frustration, inconsistencies and bitterness, touch the heart. Even after 50 years of being written, his songs are as fresh as they were before.
After the film ‘Taj Mahal’, he received his second Filmfare Award for the film Kabhi Kabhi. Sahir ji received many awards, he was honored with Padma Shri, but his real asset was the love of his fans. He loved his country India very much.
Sahir did not marry. His life was very lonely. First the failure of love with Amrita Pritam and then a failed love with singer and actress Sudha Malhotra left the desire to lay stars on the ground unfulfilled. Ultimately, Sahir Ludhianvi died of a heart attack on October 25, 1980.
