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Majrooh Sultanpuri

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Majrooh Sultanpuri was a famous Indian poet and songwriter.

Majrooh Sultanpuri 2013 stamp of India
Majrooh Sultanpuri 2013 stamp of India

He wrote lyrics for many Hindi films. His words helped shape the sound of Indian cinema. He was a leader in the Progressive Writers' Movement. This group of writers wanted to change how stories were told. People remember him as a great Urdu poet. He was known for his skill in writing ghazals. A ghazal is a beautiful type of poem. His work lasted for sixty years in the film industry.

His journey to writing began in an unusual way. He was born Asrar ul Hassan Khan in Sultanpur. He studied traditional religious subjects for seven years. This included learning Arabic and Persian. Later, he studied Unani medicine at a college. He worked as a Hakim, which is a traditional doctor. One day, he recited a ghazal at a public meeting called a mushaira. The audience loved his poem so much that he changed his life. He decided to stop practicing medicine to become a poet.

Majrooh did not start writing for movies right away. In 1945, he visited Bombay to attend a poetry meeting. A producer named A.R. Kardar heard his work. At first, Majrooh did not want to write for films. He did not think very highly of them. However, his friend Jigar Moradabadi told him it would help his family. The composer Naushad gave him a test to see his skill. Majrooh wrote lyrics to match a specific tune. He successfully joined the film industry with the movie Shah Jehan in 1946.

His life was not always easy. Majrooh had strong political beliefs. In 1949, he was sent to prison for two years. This happened because of his poems about the government. He refused to apologize for his writing. Later, in 1951, he was arrested again for a poem. Despite these hard times, he continued to work. He wrote for many famous music directors. These included Naushad, R. D. Burman, and Laxmikant-Pyarelal. He also wrote for films like Andaz and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander.

Majrooh won many important prizes for his talent. In 1965, he won the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award. He won this for the song "Chahunga Main Tujhe" from the film Dosti. In 1993, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. This is the highest honor in Indian cinema. He was the very first lyricist to win this special award. He lived to be 80 years old. He died in Mumbai in the year 2000. His last film work was released in 2001.

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