Majrooh Sultanpuri, the noted Bollywood lyricist was born on October 1, 1919. He was the first-ever lyricist to win the Dadasaheb Phalke award. His career spanning six decades saw some of the finest gems in the Hindi cinema.
Born in an orthodox Muslim family on October 1, 1919, in Sultanpur, UP, Majrooh was christened Asrar Ul Hassan Khan. His father, Siraj Ul Hassan Khan was the head constable in the local constabulary. As a result, the young poet had a strict upbringing. It’s believed his father didn’t want him to study English and hence enrolled him at the local madrasa. Watching films or other forms of entertainment were frowned upon.
In the 50s and 60s, Majrooh was competing with stalwarts like Shakeel Badayuni, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianavi, Shailendra, Rajendra Krishna, Qamar Jalalabadi, among others. All were equally great. Yet, Majrooh could carve a niche for himself and became extremely popular.
In a career spanning six decades, Majrooh worked with noted music directors like Naushad, Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, O.P.Nayyar, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Anu Malik, and R.D.Burman. He has even worked with Jatin-Lalit and AR Rahman. It is also said that it was Majrooh who introduced RD Burman to Bollywood when he introduced Nasir Hussain to the latter for Teesri Manzil (1966). Majrooh succumbed to a severe attack of pneumonia on 24 May 2000.
