Om Prakash Bhandari (9 March 1917 – 9 January 2003),[1] better known asQamar Jalalabadi, was an Indian poet and lyricist of songs forHindi movies.[2][3] He composed the title track of the popular television serialVikram Aur Betaal.
He was born as Om Prakash Bhandari in a Punjabi family on 9 March 1917[2] in Jalalabad, a village nearBeas inAmritsar district,Punjab, India. Right from the age of seven, he started writing poetry in Urdu.[3] There was no encouragement from home, but a wandering poet namedAmar Chand Amar met him in his hometown and encouraged him to write, recognising his immense talent and potential.[2] He also gave him the penname ofQamar which means moon, and Jalalabadi was added for his native town. It was the general trend in those days for writers to name themselves after the towns they hailed from. After completing his matriculation fromAmritsar, he embarked on his journalistic career journey by writing forLahore-based newspapers likeDaily Milap,Daily Pratap,Nirala,Star Sahakar.[3]
Attracted by the promise of a career in the film industry, Qamar Jalalabadi came toPune in the early 1940s. In 1942, he wrote lyrics for his first filmZamindar which was a Pancholi Pictures production and the songs of this film were very well received, especially the song sung byShamshad Begum "Duniya Me Garibon Ko Aaraam Nahi Milta", which also had a line or two written by writer and poet Behzad Lucknawi.[3]
Subsequently, Jalalabadi relocated toBombay, and worked there as a lyricist for nearly four decades. His songs were sung by many notable singers includingS. D. Batish,Noor Jehan,G. M. Durrani,Zeenat Begum, Manju,Amirbai Karnataki,Mohammad Rafi,Talat Mahmood,Geeta Dutt,Suraiya,Mukesh,Manna Dey,Asha Bhosle,Kishore Kumar andLata Mangeshkar. He worked with many popular composers includingS. D. Burman and Sardar Malik.
Some of his memorable songs from his early include "Sunti Nahi Duniya Kabhi Fariyaad Kisi Ki" (Renuka, 1947) and the ghazal "Dil Kis Liye Rota Hai...Pyaar Ki Duniya Me, Aisa Hi Hota Hai" (sung byNaseem Banu for the film Mulaquat in 1947). The noted dancerSitara Devi performed some of his songs inChand (1944).Chand was one of the earliest of Qamarji's successful and memorable films. "Ik Dilke Tukde Hazaar Huye, Koi Yahan Gira Koi Wahan Gira..." inPyar Ki Jeet (1948 film), reflected his own tragedies and philosophy of life.[citation needed] His brush with comedy was inAansoo Aur Muskan with, " Guni Jano, Bhakt Jano..." sung byKishore Kumar as an actor in the movie.[4]
As a lyricist, Qamar Jalalabadi was very versatile. On one hand he wrote mesmeric duets like "Sun Meri Saanwari Mujhko Kahin Tum Bhool Na Jaana..." sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi (film: Aansoo 1953) and on the other hand he penned comic relief songs like "Khush Hai Zamana Aaj Pehli Tarikh Hai" endured with full throttle gusto by Kishore Kumar (film: Pehli Tarikh-1954). This song turned into veritable anthem and was played on Radio Ceylon on the first of every month for decades, and it probably still is.
The filmHowrah Bridge (1958) skyrocketed his career as lyricist to unprecedented heights. Songs like "Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" (Geeta Dutt) and "Aaiye Meherbaan, Baithiye Jaanejaan...." (Asha Bhosle) became highly popular.[2]
In his long career span he worked for several film companies like Prabhat Film Company, Pancholi Pictures,Filmistan Ltd., Famous Pictures, Minerva Movietone, Prakash Pictures, Wadia Films Ltd., Filmkar Ltd., Sippy Films, N.C. Sippy Films, Shri Shakti Films, Mitra Productions and many more.
He was one of the founder members of prestigious organisations likeFilm Writers Association & IPRS inMumbai.[3] The music composers he worked with were:Ghulam Haider, G. Damle, Pandit Amarnath,Khemchand Prakash,Husnlal Bhagatram, S.D. Burman,Anil Biswas, Shyam Sunder,Sajjad Hussain, Master Krishnarao,C. Ramchandra,Madan Mohan, Sudhir Phadke, S.D. Batish, Sardar Malik,Ravi, Avinash Vyas and in the latter phase of his career withO. P. Nayyar,Kalyanji-Anandji, Sonik–Omi,Uttam Singh andLaxmikant–Pyarelal as well. Qamar Jalalabadi wrote song lyrics for about 156 films by writing a total of approximately 700 songs in his long career.[2]
He was a poet (shayar) and read poetry at severalmushairas all over India.[3]
In his personal life, Jalalabadi was a highly religious person and he chanted excerpts from theBhagavad Gita, theKoran as well as theBible. He was deeply intotranscendental meditation, and was mostly embedded in his writing for most part of the day. He once gifted a bungalow inKhar, Mumbai to one of his married sisters to save her from a difficult marriage, and shifted to simpler accommodation inJuhu with his own family. He and his wife Leelawati had seven children.
He had several friends and hundreds of fans whom he called his "pankhe". His fan mail came in various languages; Hindi, English, Urdu and many regional languages as well. He replied to all his fan mail and judiciously sent an autographed photo as well.
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