Ahmad Rahi

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Ahmad Rahi
Born
Ghulam Ahmad

12 November 1923
Died2 September 2002(2002-09-02) (aged 78) [1]
NationalityPakistani
Occupation(s) Poet, writer, film screenwriter [1]
Years active1950 1980s
Known for Progressive Writers' Movement activist [2]
Awards Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan (1997)
Adamjee Literary Award for his book 'Taranjan'

Ahmad Rahi (12 November 1923 – 2 September 2002) was a Punjabi poet and writer from Pakistan.

Contents

Early life

He was born 12 November 1923 in Amritsar, British India. [3] [4] His real name was Ghulam Ahmad, a name given by his spiritual leader Khorsheed Ahmad. He completed his basic early education from Amritsar in 1940. After completing his high school, he got admission in M.A.O. College, Lahore but was expelled due to taking part in political movements. After expulsion, he joined his father in his business of selling embroidered wool shawls in the local market.[ citation needed ]

Life and film career in Pakistan

After independence of Pakistan in 1947, he migrated to Pakistan and joined the magazine Sawera as an editor in Lahore. He was paid Rupees 25 as monthly salary back then. He wrote about the events and bloodshed leading to independence of Pakistan in 1947 which was a very painful personal experience for him due to the atrocities committed by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus against each other. [5] Religious biases and sectarian animosities flared up and were at their peak level during 1947. Deeply and personally affected by the events, he wrote two books on this subject. His first book Tarinjan was published in 1952 and second book was also published under the name of Nimi Nimi Hawa. Both books were in the Punjabi language. Taranjan was a poetry book about the bloodshed related to independence of Pakistan in 1947. [3] [5]

Progressive Writers' Movement activist

Ahmad Rahi, along with the renowned Pakistani film producer-director Saifuddin Saif, noted short story writer Saadat Hassan Manto and the now-celebrated Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz started gathering socially at the historic Pak Tea House in Lahore, shortly after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. One of those Ahmad Rahi's old friends was Abdul Hameed (writer) (1928 29 April 2011) who had told a major Lahore newspaper in an interview before he died in 2011, "Literary giants like Sahir Ludhianvi, Munir Niazi, Ahmad Rahi, Ashfaq Ahmad, Ibn-e-Insha and Nasir Kazmi were among his closest friends. He had been a part of the historic years of 'Pak Tea House' " crowd in Lahore, Pakistan. This historic tea house was and still is known as a gathering place for intellectuals, poets, writers and artists. "It holds a special place in the memories of those who know about Lahore's vibrant literary and cultural past." [2] Pak Tea House, therefore, also became a central location for all these above intellectuals who were also active in the Progressive Writers' Movement in Pakistan. [3]

Film songs written by him for films Heer Ranjha (1970), Mirza Jat (1967), Baji (1963) and Yakke Wali (1957) [6] became run-away super-hits in Pakistan. He was a close friend of renowned Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto and film producer and poet Saifuddin Saif, and all 3 friends played key roles in the early years of Pakistan film industry in Lahore. He wrote film songs for a total of 51 films - 9 films in Urdu language and 42 movies in the Punjabi language. [3]

Death and legacy

Ahmad Rahi died on 2 September 2002 in Lahore, Pakistan at age 79. [1] He had been paralyzed for almost seven months which had affected his speech and memory. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. [1]

On his death anniversary event in 2009, Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) Director-General said that Ahmad Rahi was an 'egoist' who never made compromises in his life. [7]

Awards and recognition

Memorable super-hit film songs

Ahmad Rahi was a pioneer poet in the early days of Pakistan film industry. "It is said that he wrote over 1900 film songs for Urdu and Punjabi films." [5] [6]

Later in 1970, he wrote all the popular hit film songs of Heer Ranjha (1970 film) with music by Khwaja Khurshid Anwar. [6] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noor Jehan</span> Pakistani singer and actress

Noor Jehan, sometimes spelled Noorjehan also known by her honorific title Malika-e-Tarannum, was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked first in British India and then in the cinema of Pakistan. Her career spanned more than six decades. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers in the Indian subcontinent, she was given the honorific title of Malika-e-Tarannum in British India. She had a command of Hindustani classical music as well as other music genres.

Anjuman Shaheen is a Pakistani film actress and singer. She was one of the most successful Punjabi film heroines of Pakistan during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. She was born in Bahawalpur. Anjuman's parents were from Ahmadpur East, and settled in Multan, where Anjuman was brought up. She later moved to Lahore.

Ghulam Haider (1908 – 9 November 1953), also known by the honorary title Master Ghulam Haider, was a Pakistani music composer who worked both in India and later in Pakistan after its independence in 1947.

Chiragh Deen, known by his pen name Ustad Daman or Daman, was a Pakistani Punjabi-language poet, writer, mystic and a politician. He was active in politics after the establishment of Pakistan but continued his poetic career and till this day is revered as the "people's poet".

Nazim Panipati was a film song lyricist and a film script writer in the Indian and Pakistani film Industries during the 1940s and 1950s.

Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, , (17 August 1905 – 25 December 1994) was a Pakistani music composer, attributed as being one of the founders of Indian and Pakistani film music. He is also sometimes referred to as Baba Chishti.

Musarrat Nazir Khawaja is a Pakistani singer and film actress, who acted in many Urdu and Punjabi films. She, many years later, also sang solo, mostly wedding and folk songs.

Shaukat Ali, also known as Shaukat Ali Khan, was a Pakistani folk singer.

Noel Dias, better known as Saleem Raza, was a Pakistani playback singer. He converted to Islam and started his singing career from Lahore, Pakistan, quickly gaining popularity. Raza was a classically- trained singer and was more famous for singing sad songs. Raza's career suffered due to the rise of singer Ahmed Rushdi in the late 1950s. He left playback singing in 1966 as he lost his popularity with the film composers and moved to Canada where he died in 1983.

Mukhra is a 1988 Pakistani Punjabi film starring Nadeem Baig and Babra Sharif.

Khawaja Pervez, (28 December 1930 – 20 June 2011) was a prominent Pakistani film composer- lyricist and film songwriter for both Urdu and Punjabi language films. His real name was Khawaja Ghulam Mohiuddin. His professional career span was over 40 years.

Abdul Rasheed Attray, also known as Rasheed Attre, was a Pakistani film score composer.

Gernail Singh is a 1987 Pakistani Punjabi-language film, directed by Yunus Malik and produced by Fayyaz Khan. It stars Sultan Rahi, Anjuman, Mustafa Qureshi, Kaifee, Ghulam Mohiuddin, and Chakori.

Daku Raj Punjabi film is a 1992 Pakistani action film. Directed by Idrees Khan, written and produced by Nasir Adeeb. The film starring Sultan Rahi, Javed Sheikh, Neeli, Afshan Qureshi, Ghulam Mohiuddin.

Mohammad Ajmal Qadri was an Indian-born Pakistani actor, best known for his role as Kaido in classic Pakistani Punjabi film Heer Ranjha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanvir Naqvi</span> Pakistani lyricist and poet

Tanvir Naqvi, also spelled Tanveer Naqvi, was a British Indian and later Pakistani film songs lyricist and poet.

Safdar Hussain was a Pakistani musician who composed playback melodies for Urdu and Punjabi Lollywood films in the decades from 1950s to 1980s.

<i>Yakke Wali</i> 1957 film

Yakke Wali is a 1957 Pakistani Punjabi-language film directed by M. J. Rana and produced by Bari Malik. It tells the story of a woman who earns a living by driving a tanga. Musarrat Nazir played the title role in the film with Sudhir, M. Ajmal and Neelo in prominent roles. Yakke Wali is inspired by the short story "License" by Saadat Hassan Manto.

Gulzar Begum, also known as Tamancha Jan was a Pakistani folk singer. She was known as The Singing Siren and The Nightingale of Lahore. She was a popular playback singer of 1930s and 1940s in Cinema of India.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Obituary and profile on Dawn (newspaper) Published 3 September 2002, Retrieved 27 August 2022
  2. 1 2 Nawaz reopens Pak Tea House in Lahore Dawn (newspaper), Published 8 March 2013, Retrieved 27 August 2022
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Adnan Lodhi (3 September 2020). "18th death anniversary of Ahmad Rahi observed". The Express Tribune newspaper. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Death anniversary of renowned poet, writer Ahmad Rahi observed". Radio Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Profile of poet Ahmad Rahi on rekhta.org website Retrieved 27 August 2022
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Film songs of Ahmad Rahi". Pakistan Film Magazine website. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  7. A tribute to Ahmad Rahi Dawn newspaper, Published 13 November 2009, Retrieved 27 August 2022
  8. "Ahmad Rahi - birth and award info". Tareekh-e-Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2024.