The Aam Aadmi Lyricist – Anand Bakshi

From 60s to late 90s he commanded mastery in writing lyrics,who has to his credit amazing 4000 songs under his belt, 38 Filmfare nominations, four Filmfare Awards in a career spanning 45 years. With no formal training in song writing, however it was his natural talent for writing and his passion for films that brought out the ethos within him in the form of poems. He personally did not like to be called as a poet. He always said “I’m a lyricist, not a poet”. In the days when complex flowery Urdu verses were the norm in Hindi films, he brought a fresh air of change by using simpler but expressive words which everyone could understand.

Anand Bakshi was born on 21st Jul, 1930 in Rawalpindi. His family migrated to India after the partition. Coming from a family where his father was a Superintendent of Police and his grandfather was in the army, Anand Bakshi was a school dropout. He left the school when he was in the 8th grade. His craze for films made him run away from the school to watch films. His father forcibly recruited him in the army. But his restless heart still wandered to where Hindi cinema was. He quit his army job and after a lot of struggle got his first break in “Bhala Aadmi” (1958) by Bhagwan Dada. He wrote 4 songs for the film. He came to make a name for himself in writing and singing but ended up becoming successful as a lyricist giving super hit songs like Pardesiyon Se Na Ankhiyan Milana… (JAB JAB PHOOL KHILE), Sawan Ka Mahina Pawan Kare Sor… (MILAN), Roop Tera Mastana (ARADHNA); Yeh Sham Mastani… (KATI PATANG); Chingari Koi Badkhe… (AMAR PREM); Dum maro dum…(HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA), Teri Pehli Nazar Ko Salaam… (EK DUJE KE LIYE), Tujhe Dekha toh… (DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE) etc. Conjuring some of the most memorable songs ever written in Bollywood.

Anand Bakshi got a chance to give playback to few of his songs. He also made it a point to attend all the recordings of film songs where his lyrics were featured. His career kept at an all-time high until 30 March 2002, when he passed away in Bombay. Even after his death, directors continued to use lyrics he compiled before his death. Such dedication and trust in a lyricist already gone proves why Anand Baskhi was truly one of the best lyricists of all time.