Gulshan Kumar Mehta aka Gulshan Bawra was a noted poet and Bollywood lyricist has regularly delivered hit songs over the years. The songwriter succumbed to cardiac arrest on August 7, 2009.
Bawra penned such unforgettable Hindi songs as “Mere desh ke dharti” in “Upkar” and “Yaari hai imaan mera” for Amitabh Bachchan’s “Zanjeer.” In all, he wrote lyrics for 250 songs over nearly five decades.
Early life:
Born as Gulshan Mehta in Sheikhpura near Lahore (now in Pakistan), he and his brother witnessed their parents being killed during the partition of India in 1947. The boys made their escape in a military convoy to their older sister’s home in Jaipur. After college, he got a job with the Indian Railways.
On being posted to Mumbai, the hub of Indian Cinema, he made friends with the composing team of Kalyanji-Anandji and got his first break in 1959 when they used his lyrics in the film “Satta bazaar.” The distributor of the film dubbed him “Bawra” meaning “lost one,” which he took as his last name.
Career:
Bawra’s first break came with the film Chandrasena in 1959 composed by Kalyanji of the composer Kalyanji-Anandji duo He wrote the song ‘Main Kya Jaanu Kahaan’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. However, his real break came with the film Satta Bazar again composed by Kalyanji-Anandji. For this film, he delivered hit numbers like ‘Chaandi Ke Chand Tukado Ke Liye’, ‘Aakde Kaa Dhanda’, and ‘Tumhe Yad Hoga Kabhi Hum Mile The’.
His association with Kalyanji-Anandji resulted in his writing 69 songs for the musical duo in his career of 42 years. Gulshan also had a winning combination with the music master R D Burman and wrote 150 songs for the legendary composer.
Gulshan Bawra’s Hit songs:
Agar Tum Na Hote – Agar Tum Na Hote
Mere Desh Ki Dharti – Upkar
Waada Karle Saajana – Haath Ki Safai
Peenewalon Ko Peene Ka Bahana Chahiye – Haath Ki Safai
Le Pappiyaan Jhappiyaan Paale Hum – Haqeeqat
Yaari Hai Imaan Mera – Zanjeer
Zindagi Milke Bitayenge, Haale Dil Gaake Sunaayenge – Satte Pe Satta
