This song from Baiju Bawra (1952) is a landmark Hindi film bhajan that serves as a shining example of India’s national integration, cultural harmony, and secularism in art. Although a devotional song dedicated to the Hindu deity Hari (Lord Vishnu), it was created by a team of Muslim artists -Mohammed Rafi was the singer, Naushad the music director, and most importantly, the lyricist who penned it was Shakeel Badayuni.

Despite being a Muslim, Shakeel’s lyrics were profound and reflected supreme level of longing and devotion, showcasing deep respect for Hindu religion. The song is an example of how art can transcend religious boundaries; how it can transport audiences beyond religious identity. The song remains an enduring testament to India’s pluralistic cultural heritage and secular identity.

The song was not a one-off foray into the Hindu devotional world.  There were other instances of Shakeel’s talent in lyrics showcasing syncretism.

Some of his notable devotional works include ‘ Mohan Ki Muraliya Baaje’ ( Mela , 1948) ; ‘ O Duniya Ke Rakhwale’ ( Baiju Bawra , 1952) ; ‘ Insaaf Ka Mandir Hai Yeh Bhagwan Ka Ghar Hai ‘ ( Amar,1954) ;’ Bhagat Ke Bas Mein Hai Bhagwan’ ( Shabab, 1954) ; ‘Jogan Ban Jaungi Sayyan Tore Karan’ (Uran Khatola, 1955) ;‘Mohe Panghat Pe Nandlaal Ched Gayo Re’ (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960);  ‘Meri Pat Rakho Girdhari’ (Ghunghat, 1960); ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika Naache Re’ ( Kohinoor, 1960) , and many others.

And yet ‘Man Tarpat’ may not have come about in the form we know it. Vijay Bhatt, the director, had wanted to sign Kavi Pradeep as the lyricist, owing to his knowledge of Hindu ethos. It was on Naushad’s insistence that Shakeel came on board.

Yet, in popular mind, Shakeel is associated with a genre completely different from devotional songs.

But first, Shakeel’s background.

Shakeel Badayuni was born Shakeel Ahmed on August 3, 1916 in Badayun, in present day Uttar Pradesh. A distant relative, Zia-ul-Qadiri Badayuni, had earned a name for his religious poetry, and Shakeel began attending mushairas where his uncle would recite his poetry.

By the time he joined Aligarh Muslim University in 1936, Shakeel was already writing poetry and was an enthusiastic participant at inter-college mushairas.  Rather than write about progressive and leftist ideals, which was the flavour of college campuses those days, Shakeel preferred to stick to writing about romance.

In 1946, Shakeel left for Bombay in search of fame and fortune.

A fortuitous meeting with producer AR Kardar at a mushaira led to a meeting with music director Naushad. The story, apocryphal probably, is that when Naushad asked Shakeel to describe his talent, the latter responded:
“Hum dard ka afsaana duniya ko suna denge,
Har dil mein mohabbat ki ek aag laga denge.” 
Impressed, Naushad got him on board for Dard, Kardar’s next production (where this nazm was rendered by Shamshad Begum). The songs of Dard, including Uma Devi’s ‘Afsana Likh Rahi Hun Dil-e-Beqaraar Ka’ became very popular. This was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration with Naushad. 

Over the next 25 years, the duo would consistently create popular compositions that have remained timeless.

As in college, even during his career, unlike the other lyricists of the time like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel was immersed in romantic poetry saying that his poetry wasn’t that removed from his life. He remained largely aloof from the progressive movement of his time (Taraqqi Pasand Tehreek), which was popular among his peers. So, for Taj Mahal, if Sahir wrote “Ek Shahanshah ne daulat ka sahara le kar, Hum gharibon ki mohabbat ka udaya hai mazaak” (Ghazal, 1964), Shakeel preferred to write – “Ek Shahanshah ne banwa ke haseen Taj Mahal, saari duniya ko mohabbat ki nishani di hai “(Leader, 1964).  

His poetry focused on love, beauty and natural landscapes. He was often described as a “Shaayar-e-fitrat” (instinctive or nature-inspired poet) whose art was an organic, natural flow rather than a mere play of words.

Shakeel often expressed that his poetry was a direct reflection of his own feelings, not an ideological stance. 

His forte was love, in all its myriad hues. Whether it was desired or sublimated, fulfilled or thwarted, pathos-filled or defiant, he had a verse to describe it. Think of Anarkali’s pitiful ‘Humen Kaash Tumse Mohabbat Na Hoti’ (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960) or her sparkling defiance in ‘Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’, or the dramatic resistance exhibited by Salim in ‘Ae Mohabbat Zindabad’ from the same film. Think of the scathing anguish of ‘Na Jaayo Saiyaan ‘(Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, 1962).

He is the only lyricist to have won a hat-trick of Filmfare Awards (and that too, outside the Naushad stable) of which the first two awards were paeans to female beauty – ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho Ya Aaftaab Ho ‘(Chaudhvin Ka Chand, 1960) and ‘Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin’ (Gharana, 1961) – both with Ravi. The third award was for a song steeped in dark, romantic aesthetic – ‘Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil ‘(Bees Saal Baad, 1962) composed by Hemant Kumar.

There were many other songs of the same genre, too many to list. Some of them are –

‘Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki ‘(Dulari, 1949),

‘Bekas Pe Karam Kijiye’ ( Mughal-e- Azam , 1960), ‘Do Sitaaron Ka Zameen Par Hai Milan’ (Kohinoor, 1960) ,‘Zara Nazron Se Kehdo Ji’ ( Bees Saal Baad, 1962), ‘Koi Door Se Awaaz De’ ( Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam , 1962) ,  ‘Mere Mehboob Tujhe Meri Mohabbat Ki Kasam ‘ ( Mere Mehboob , 1963), ‘Dilruba Maine Tere Pyar Mein” (Dil Diya Dard Liya, 1966).These timeless romantic classics from the 1950s and 1960s, continue to be admired to this day for their lyrical beauty and emotional depth.

Shakeel delved into the same genre in two of the best known ghazals associated with Begum Akhtar which were penned by him.

‘Ai Mohabbat Tere Anjaam Pe Rona Aaya’ – It is widely considered as one of the outstanding ballads of failed love in Indian literature and music. The ghazal, with Shakeel using simple, direct Urdu, yet carrying profound emotional weight, resonated with both mass audiences and literary connoisseurs.

Begum Akhtar’s hauntingly beautiful rendering was a perfect embodiment of the ghazal’s inherent sorrow. 

The other ghazal is ‘Mere Humnafas, Mere Humnawa’ – again one of the most celebrated ghazals in Urdu literature. It captured the universal emotion of betrayal by someone deeply trusted.

Shakeel’s fluency in languages was not just restricted to Farsi, Urdu and Hindi. In ‘Nain Lad Jai Hai’ (Ganga Jamuna, 1961), the lyrics were in Bhojpuri.

He wrote one of the finest patriotic children’s songs – ‘Nanha Munha Rahi Hoon’ (Son of India, 1962).  Two years later, he wrote another patriotic song ‘Apni Aazadi Ko Hargiz Mita Sakte Nahin’ (Leader, 1964) – this song featured with 3 others at the fund-raiser in New Delhi which saw the debut of ‘Ai Mere Watan Ke Logon’ (ironically written by Kavi Pradeep who Naushad had rejected in favour of Shakeel in Baiju Bawra).

Although Shakeel’s wagon was for a large part hitched to Naushad, he also worked with Ravi and Hemant Kumar, and some other music directors.

Once Naushad settled on Shakeel, he took him into his fold and continued with him uninterrupted up to 1965. Naushad also tried to get work for Shakeel outside his own films. Since Ghulam Mohammed was getting movies originally offered to Naushad which Naushad was refusing in order to do lesser number of films, he also got Shakeel as a package deal. In addition to this, Naushad got work for Shakeel in some movies which were being directed by his friends.

Ravi came to Shakeel as a godsend. He not only provided much needed work to him, but also got him freedom from the staid classicism of Naushad with regard to lyrics. Naushad, a votary of classical music and Indian traditions in Hindi films, had a lot of influence on the situations and songs to be used in films. In addition, he worked mostly with a limited set of heroes and directors in the 50s and 60s. His canvas was limited, rarely delving into qawwalis, mujras, romantic or fun songs. Even Johnny Walker who was routinely given songs in films, did not get any song in Mere Mehboob (1963) and Palki (1967). Naushad had a great eye for lyrics and helped Shakeel in the earlier phase, but even later, he would exercise a strict oversight on the lyrics department (well – intentioned though).

Hence a perception arose among the other composers that Shakeel could only write certain kind of songs suited to Naushad only.

But Ravi changed all this. Like Naushad, he never asked the lyricist to write to an already prepared tune, so Shakeel was on home ground. With Ravi he wrote qawwalis, mujras, romantic songs, comic songs, sad songs and all types of other songs which the situation warranted.

Rafi’s first Filmfare Award was for ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand ‘in 1961. Ravi told me that Guru Dutt was responsible for bringing Shakeel on board. Ravi was apprehensive whether Naushad would allow it, but Guru Dutt allayed his fears. Ravi was very touched by Shakeel’s simplicity when Shakeel told him that this was the first time he was working outside the fold of Naushad – Ghulam Mohammed, and requested Ravi to take care of him. The first line “Chaudhvin ka chand “was written and composed by Ravi. He asked Shakeel to take it forward. “Ya aaftaab ho “, suggested Shakeel and Ravi immediately composed the melody for it. After that? Ravi asked. “Jo bhi ho tum Khuda ki kasam, Lajawaab ho”, Shakeel completed the mukhra which was immediately set to tune by Ravi. They presented the mukhra to Guru Dutt for approval, which was given wholeheartedly by him. Thus, was born the iconic romantic song.

And many romantic songs followed including ‘Husn Se Chand Bhi Sharmaya Hai’ (Door Ki Awaaz ,1964), ‘Mujhe Ishq Hai Tujhi Se ‘(Umeed, 1971), and many others.

He even wrote one of the finest children’s songs in Hindi films – ‘Dadi Amma Dadi Amma Maan Jao’ (Gharana, 1961), as well as the well-loved birthday song – ‘Hum Bhi Agar Bachche Hote’ (Door Ki Awaaz, 1964).  There were no restrictions and the artistic freedom showed in his songs.

The Ravi-Shakeel collaboration was not only special in terms of success but it brought Shakeel work also. In the 60s after his success with Ravi, other composers got him to write lyrics as well.

Eulogizing a town is no mean feat and Shakeel did that for Lucknow twice – ‘Ye Lucknow Ki Sar Zameen’ (Chaudhvin Ka Chand, 1960) and ‘Ae Shahar-e-Lucknow Tujhe Mera Salaam Hai’ (Palki, 1967).

Hemant Kumar and Shakeel also excelled in their collaboration – Bees Saal Baad (1962), Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Bin Badal Barsaat (1963).

Shakeel lent his voice to a mushaira when he recited ‘Hungama-e-Gham Se Tang Aa Kar’ in Pak Daman, 1957 whose music director was Ghulam Mohammed. Shakeel acted as himself on the screen.

Shakeel also wrote poetry outside of films. His poetry reflected a poet who heeded, above all, the call of his heart. 

On a personal level, I was privileged to have received a generous testimonial for my book on Hindi Film Music – ‘Bollywood Odyssey ‘from Shakeel’s son Javed Badayuni.

Sadly, Shakeel died young on April 20, 1970; he was only 53 when he died from diabetes-related complications.

Today, on his death anniversary, we remember this bard of evergreen songs. “Na milta Shakeel, toh mohabbat ke afsaane kahan jaate?”

(Cover Photo Credit: seniorstoday.in)