Kaleem Usmani

Kaleem Usmani (born Ehtisham Ilahi; 28 February 1928 28 August 2000) was a Pakistani Urdu poet who wrote ghazals, naats, patriotic songs and more than one hundred songs for thirty-seven Urdu films. However, he earned recognition as a lyricist.

Kaleem Usmani
BornEhtisham Ilahi
(1928-02-28)28 February 1928
Saharanpur, British India
Died28 August 2000(2000-08-28) (aged 72)
Lahore, Pakistan
OccupationPoet, lyricist
LanguageUrdu
GenreGhazal
Notable awardsNigar Awards
Years active1955–2000

He worked at Pakistan Television Corporation and Radio Pakistan besides working for Pakistan films during which he wrote lyrics for Urdu films.

Early life

He was born as Ehtisham Ilahi in Saharanpur, British India on 28 February 1928. After partition of the Indian subcontinent, he migrated to Pakistan and lived his life in Lahore city.[1] He belonged to the family of Shabbir Ahmad Usmani.

Career

Prior to migration, he learnt poetry from his father Fazal Ilahi. When he settled in Lahore, he took poetry classes from Ehsan Danish. He was often invited to mushairas and subsequently he was offered work in films as a lyricist. His first film was Intekhab (1955). The film flopped at the box office and later he wrote songs for Bara Aadmi (1957), including "Kahe Jalana Dil Ko Chhoro" which became one of the prominent songs in the country. In 1959, he wrote songs, including "Mithi Mithi Batiyon Se" for Raaz film which helped him to retain his position in film industry. In 1966, he wrote songs for Hum Dono and Jalwa. Songs "Koi Ja Ke Unse Keh De" and "Laagi Re Lagan" from the film Jalwa became prominent songs in Pakistan. In 1969, he wrote songs for Nazneen and Andaleeb[2]

Patriotic songs

In 1973, he wrote Pakistani patriotic song "Tera Saya Jaha Bhi Ho" for Gharana film for which he was awarded Nigar Awards. His other patriotic songs includes "Is Parcham Ke Saye Taley" and "Ye Watan Tumhara Hai".

Death

He died on 28 August 2000 in Lahore and is buried in cemetery of Lahore.[3]

Awards

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
N/A Nigar Awards Best Lyricist "Tere Sang Dosti Hum Na Chhoden Kabhi" from Zindagi Won [4]
"Tera Saya Jaha Bhi Ho" from Gharana (1973) [3]

References

Further reading

Kaleem Usmani at Rekhta

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.