Shocked! Yes, it is true when Sahir Ludhianvi was at the zenith of his career in the ’50s and 60’s he demanded a rupee more than the Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar! Reason? Well, once he was taunted by one of his hard-core critics that Sahir’s songs were popular not for his lyrics but due to the melodious voice of Lata Mangeshkar!! Sahir had high self- esteem. To prove the critic wrong Sahir stopped working with Lata Mangeshkar for 2 years and within this phase Sahir gave umpteen hit songs sung by Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, and Geeta Dutt!
Interestingly, after two-year breakup with Lata Mangeshkar, when Sahir resumed working with Lata Mangeshkar. He did so on the condition of charging a rupee more than Lata Mangeshkar’s fee. Sahir knew the worth of his pen. He had proven his genius by writing unprecedented Hindi Cinema songs. Hence, he worked on his own conditions, and producers bowed to his demands.
Sahir’s Remarkable Career
Sahir was the first lyric writer to win the esteem of getting his name in bold letters on the film posters! This was for the first time an lyricist to demand remuneration at par with the hero of the film! He was the first film lyricist who worked on his own terms. He did not write on the traditional pattern of a fixed tune. Sahir forced his music directors to set his lyrics to tune! He was the first film lyricist to get his name gramophone records. He also started the trend of gramophone companies paying royalties to film lyricists. Similarly, Sahir asked All India Radio to announce film lyricists’ names alongside singers and composers when songs played on the radio.
Sahir always did quality work. All his songs had sensibility be it a romantic song like Jo wada kiya wo nibhana padega….(Taj Mahal) or a ghazal like Rang aur noor ki saugaat kise pesh karoon… (Ghazal) or a sad song like Babul ki duayen leti ja…. (Neel Kamal). He even wrote comedy songs like Sar Jo Tera Chakraye… (Pyaasa) or khali dabba bada bada tan khali bottle…. That had philosophical elements in them!
Though Sahir wrote such excellent songs but he was never given an award for his exception lyrics. His best lyrics Aurat Ne Janam Diya from Sadhna only received a nomination but the award went to lyricist Shailendra for a less meaningful song Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hain……from Yahudi.
Sahir’s Achievements
In his 4 decades career, Sahir received just two Filmfare awards for Best lyricist. He won it for the songs Jo Wada Kiya Woh Nibhana Padega… (Taj Mahal (1963) and second award for his song Kabhie Kabhie Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai in the film Kabhie Kabhie (1976). However, Sahir never bothered with awards as his Best Award came from the Love of the People!!
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