Dina Nath Madhok | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1902-10-22)22 October 1902 |
| Died | 9 July 1982(1982-07-09) (aged 79) Hyderabad,Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupation(s) | Lyricist, director, screenplay writer, composer,dialogue writer |
| Years active | 1932–1969 |
Dina Nath Madhok (22 October 1902 – 9 July 1982) was a prominent lyricist ofBollywood in the 1940s to 1960s. He started his career with the 1932 filmRadhey Sham. He wrote over 800 songs in his career spanning four decades and was regarded as one of the top lyricist in the 1940s earning himself the soubriquet "Mahakavi Madhok".[1] Madhok is cited as one of the three "First Generation" of lyricists (1930s to 1950s) along withKidar Sharma andKavi Pradeep.[1] Apart from writing lyrics, he wrote screenplays and directed films. He directed almost 17 films likeBaghdad Ka Chor (1934),Mirza Sahiban (1939),Biwamangal (1954) and theMadhubala-starrerNaata (1955).
Dina Nath Madhok was born on 22 October 1902 inGujranwala,Punjab,British India (present dayPakistan) in a middle-class family. His father was a first class post master. Madhok was unable to pass his B.A. exams but worked in the Indian Railways for several years.
Madhok arrived in Bombay in 1931. The next year, he debuted inBollywood writing lyrics for the filmRadhey Shyam. He wrote 29 songs in that film along with writing the screenplay and acting in a small role. He helped in composing songs in the film though he remained uncredited. The same year, he directed 3 films,Lure of Gold,Flame of Love andThree Warriors. In 1933, he directed and wrote lyrics forKhoobsurat Bala. The next three years, he directed, wrote screenplay and dialogue for several films, but did not write any lyrics. In 1937, he wrote lyrics for two filmsLahori Lutera andDilfarosh, which had been released asThree Warriors in 1933. He directed Hindi and Punjabi films also during these years.
He joinedRanjit Movietone in 1939. His career as a lyricist took off with several major successes. He wrote lyrics for popular songs in the 1940s and 1950s for films such asNadi Kinare (1939),Musafir (1940),Pagal (1940),Ummeed (1941),Bansari (1943), Nurse (1943), Bela (1947),Bhakt Surdas (1942), andTansen (1943). The last two films' songs are still popular to these days.Tansen's two songs "Barso Re" sung by Khursheed and "Diya Jalao" sung by K. L. Saigal, with lyrics by Madhok are cited in the 15 'recommended songs' of 1940–49.[2]
According to Bhaichand Patel, he wrote songs "that were simple yet had universal appeal".[3] Madhok was instrumental in introducing the famous composerNaushad to Bollywood.[1] He appointed Naushad as an assistant music director in his directorial venture, a Punjabi filmMirza Sahiban (1939). The first film which Naushad composed as an independent music director wasPrem Nagar' (1940).[4] This time also it was Madhok who penned the lyrics for the songs of that film. Some other notable soundtracks, that he contributed to as a lyricist are Lagan (1938), Pyaas (1941), Zameendaar (1942), Zabaan (1943), Daasi (1944), Preet, Dhamaki (1945), Anjuman, Kaajal (1948), Sunhere Din (1949), Khiladi, Anmol Ratan (1950), Rasiya (1950), Goonj (1952), Dard-e-Dil (1953), Majboori (1954), Oot Patang (1955), Makkhichoos (1956), Maharani Padmini (1964), Tasveer (1966)Samay Bada Balwan (1969).
Madhok was credited for bringingNaushad Ali to Bollywood. He penned lyrics for Naushad's first filmPrem Nagar. After that they worked together in many films with successful contribution to Indian Cinema. Their pairing culminated inRattan (1944), which was a big success at the box-office, especially for its music.[5]
He worked with almost every prominent music director of the forties and fifties such asGyan Dutt, N. R. Bhattacharya,Khemchand Prakash,S. N. Tripathi,Bulo C Rani, Naushad,Khurshid Anwar,Pandit Amarnath,Sardul Kwatra,Anil Biswas,R. C. Boral,Robin Chatterjee, Sunder Das,Rasheed Attre,C. Ramchandra,Sajjad Hussain,Ghulam Haider,Vinod, Gobind Ram,Husnlal Bhagatram,A. R. Qureshi,Roshan,Sardar Malik,Ghulam Mohammad, andHansraj Behl.
Selected films.
Released on the Friday, 2 September 1932 under the Film Company Kamla Movietone
Released on 29,08,1941
