Anand Bakshi, the esteemed Indian poet and lyricist who holds a remarkable distinction in the world of music, was born on July 21.
With a staggering repertoire of over 4,500 songs, Bakshi has arguably the best global record for any songwriter. From the mid-1960s to the onset of the 21st century, it is difficult to find a Hindi film where his creative touch is not evident in almost every song.
With songs such as 'Kora Kagaaz', 'Mere Sapno Ki Rani' (Aradhana), 'Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi' (Mr X in Bombay 1964), 'Humko Humise Chura Lo' (Mohabbatein 2000), Hum Bane Tum Bane' (Ek Duje Ke Liye 1981) to 'Main Nikla Gaddi Leke' (Gadar: Ek Prem Katha 2000), and from 'Mere Sapnon Ki Rani' (Aradhana 1969) to 'Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain' (Pardes 1997), his lyrics are popular among all ages.
On his birth anniversary, let's look back at his journey.
Early life
Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi, in the Punjab Province of British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan), on July 21, 1930, into a Mohyal Brahmin family of the Vaid clan. The family arrived in Delhi after the Partition of India, then migrated to Pune before finally settling in Delhi.
Bakshi had been fond of writing poetry since his youth, but he did this mostly as a private hobby. After his initial studies, he joined the Indian Navy, where, due to a paucity of time, he could only write occasionally. He continued to write poetry whenever time permitted and used his songs and lyrics in local programs related to his troop.
He quit the Navy in the 1950s and moved to Bombay with the intention of singing in Hindi movies, but ended up becoming more successful at writing lyrics.
Bollywood Career
He got his break writing songs in a Brij Mohan film titled Bhalaa Aadmi (1958), acted by Bhagwan Dada. He wrote four songs for this film. His first song in this film was 'Dharti Ke Laal Na Kar Itna Malaal' which was recorded on November 9, 1956.
Bakshi also had a long collaboration with R.D. Burman, writing songs for him for nearly 100 films. He has collaborated with almost every top Bollywood music director, from Laxmikant–Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji, SD Burman, Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishan, Anil Biswas, Roshan, Salil Chowdhury, Ravi, C. Ramchandra, Shiv-Hari, Jatin-Lalit, down to Anand-Milind, Annu Malik, Vishal Bhardwaj, and A.R. Rehman, among others.
He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for best lyricist a total of 40 times, resulting in 4 wins.
Death
In March 2002, he caught a bacterial infection at Nanavati Hospital during a minor heart surgery. He finally died of multiple organ failure on March 30, 2002, at 8:45 pm at Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital, at the age of 71.
