“Jab aap ko apne fann ke baare mein koi ghalatfahmi nahin hoti hai toh aap use bakhoobi anjaam dete hain” (When you've no misunderstandings about your creativity, you can give your very best). Anand Bakshi (Bakshi Anand Prakash Vaid) told this to an interviewer in the now-defunct Hindi film magazine, Madhuri. He did exactly what he said. He knew it right from the beginning that he was an unvarnished geetkaar (naghmanigaar) or a lyricist sans claims and pretensions of being a poet as well. It's really interesting as well as heartening to know how this Rawalpindi-born young lyricist carved a niche for himself in an era when genuine poet-lyricists like Sahir Ludhianavi, Shakeel Badayuni, Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra and Rajendra Krishna Duggal (not necessarily in that order) were also writing beautiful poetic lyrics. All these stalwarts were nearly a decade senior to Anand Bakshi and — despite knowing Urdu — Bakshi's poetic sensibilities were not as fine and chiselled as those of his already established predecessors. Yet, the man left indelible impressions on the horizons of Hindi film music with his straightforward lyrics that appealed to the masses. In a way, he was a shayar-e-awaam (people's poet). Mind you, a lyricist is not a derogatory term or someone who's a poet manque. A lyricist is also a poet at heart. But he does not write to satisfy his own creative urges, and does not unnecessarily display his knowledge of language. As a lyricist in films, one has to write for every conceivable situation and for characters ranging from a tawaif to a child, a boatman to a pop star.
Anand Bakshi's success was based on his deep understanding of people's psyche and what they liked. He was an exceptionally good observer of human moods and emotions who mentally taped a situation and tried and saw the circumstances, mood and story before and after the song. The lyrics of any song depend on the story, the theme and the situation for which it is created. A song can be written to match any mood, occasion or whatever age group the script demands. In a way, writing lyrics is more difficult than penning a piece full of rhetoric. A lyricist cannot resort to circumlocution or empty verbiage and has to state the truth without frills. So, when Anand Bakshi writes, “Har reet jagat ki aisi hai/ Har ek subah ki shaam hui/ Tu kaun hai tera naam hai kya/ Sita bhi yahan badnaam hui,” you instantaneously feel aligned because he's underlining a social truth/life's tragedy (depending upon how you look at it) with a streak of everyday philosophy. It's a treatise on life, so well elucidated by Anand Bakshi in such simple language. Here lay his enduring success.
Despite being able to write high class poetry as per the requirement, the modest and self-effacing Anand Bakshi never thought of highlighting his dormant poetic self. Two examples will buttress this unexplored facet of his creativity. In 1962, a film Wallah Kya Baat hai hit the marquee. There was a song in the movie which was filmed on a subdued, sober and sombre Shammi Kapoor. It was “Gham-e-hasti se bas begana hota, khudaya kaash main deewana hota.” It was composed by the redoubtable Roshan Lal Nagrath and is often considered as one of the most seriously sublime numbers that had sheer poetry: Chali aati qayamat anjuman mein/ Gulon ko aag lag jaati chaman mein... Our unpretentious lyricist Anand Bakshi wrote it from the recesses of his heart. A famous critic once opined, “Listen to this number with a sundowner and you'll be transported to a different realm.” So very true. Rafi, who sang this immortal number, was all praise for Bakshi's “poetic” genius. But the tragedy is, the masses remember him for the lyrics he wrote for a legion of potboilers like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Taal (1999), Dil Toh Paagal Hai (1997) etc. Before I digress further, the second example is from the movie Ishq Par Zor Nahin (1970). Anand Bakshi wrote all the songs. Though every song became highly popular, one particular number sung by Rafi turned out to be the icing on the cake. It was “Mahbooba teri tasveer kis tarah main banaoon” (Music: S D Burman). There's a couplet Anand Bakshi wrote in this hypnotic song, “Taare, maujein, rut aur jaam, naghme, paimane, but aur phool/ Sab tere qadmon ki khaak, sab teri raahon ki dhool.” Isn't it exquisite? Here's one more example to bolster AnandBakshi's magnificent poetic imagery. “Aankh nazuk-si kaliyaan/ Baat mishri ki daliyaan/ Honth Ganga ke saahil/Zulfein jannat ki galiyaan.” Mukesh sang it for the film Phool Bane Angare (1963) and Kalyan ji-Anand ji composed its music. His dulcet Dhalti jaaye raat kah le dil ki baat (Rafi-Asha, Film: Razia-Sultana, 1961, composer: Lacchiram) and Humein kya jo har soo ujale hue hain (Rafi, Film: Namaste ji, 1965, composer: G S Kohli) can also be added to this list.
Though Bakshi didn't complete his schooling, his command of Urdu/Hindi was admirable and he stuck to the rules of grammar. The purists still cite the example of one grammatically intricate but correct line that he wrote for the film Raja aur Rank (1968): It was: Woh qismat wale hote hain jin KE maa hoti hai. He didn't write JIN KO (example of today's corrupt Hindi) maa hoti hai or JIN KI maa hoti hai. He correctly wrote jin KE because in Hindi and Urdu, KE denotes HAS/ HAVE! Tagore KE daadhi thi (Tagore HAD a beard), not Tagore KI/KO daadhi thi. The mild-mannered and very patient Anand Bakshi had to convince Marathi-speaking Lata to say, “Woh qismat wale hote hain jin KE maa hoti hai.” That was Bakshi's quality.
Durability is not possible sans quality. Anand Bakshi remained active as a go-to lyricist for very many years. Were it not for his sustained quality and novelty, he'd not have enjoyed such a long innings in Bombay. Though it's true that other poet-lyricists evoked a sense of awe, thanks to their more embellished language, Bakshi never suffered from any inferiority complex. He once said, “I hate using heavy language — anything can be written with simplicity. In our country, we demand funny qualifications of a poet. You must write in obscure language, attend mushairas, contribute to Urdu magazines and publish books in verse! But look at our folk songs — many of them have greater depth than all the shaayari and heavy kavitayen!” He also never harboured even a scintilla of grudge against anyone. Being a good human, he just focused on writing lyrics. Some detractors rather pejoratively wrote about his craftsmanship that he “churned out” lyrics. That's not true. It was his ability of being prolific without sounding repetitive. By the way, he wrote over 4000 songs for 638 films. Humungous, to say the least!
Anand Bakshi will always be remembered for the hits that ensued from his quill for the movies, Mehdi lagi mere haath mein (1962) Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), Himalaya ki god mein (1965), Milan (1967), Aradhana, Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Sholay, Ek Dooje Ke Liye, Mera gaon mera desh, Aaye din bahaar ke, to name but a few.
Sumit Paul is a regular contributor to the world’s premier publications and portals in several languages
