Anand Bakshi

The early years Anand Bakshi was born in Rawalpindi on July 21, 1920. The desire to carve a niche in the film industry saw Bakshi enroll himself in the Navy, a profession as far removed from cinema as the distance between the North and South Pole, with the hope of making it to Mumbai. Clearly unaware of his own strengths at this stage, his objective at this point in time, apparently, was to make it as a playback singer instead of a lyricist. However, Fate played a trick on Bakshi as the naval mutiny erupted and he had to move to Delhi around the time of Partition. He found himself working first as a telephone operator and later as a mechanic. Has there been such a false start to one’s career before films? Luck was to eventually smile on Bakshi. On one of his several trips to Mumbai, a meeting with actor-producer Bhagwan resulted in an opportunity to write songs for the film Bhala Aadmi (1958).

The great film-maker and lyricist, Gulzar, once said of Anand Bakshi, “He was rather like a man sitting on the edge of a well that is full to the brim. A man who has the rope and bucket in his hand, and who keeps pouring water into the hands of anyone in the need of water.” An apt metaphor, for Bakshi tirelessly wrote over 3,000 songs across four decades for Hindi cinema. He was a fountain of never-ending lyrical bliss.

Anand Bakshi comes into his own : It wasn’t the best of beginnings for this man from Rawalpindi. Writing for obscure films like Sun Toh Le Haseena (1958) and Pehla Pehla Pyaar (1958) did not do much to further Bakshi’s reputation. The next six years continued in a similar fashion. The struggle was well and truly on, till Mr X In Bombay clicked in 1964 and Bakshi finally put himself on the map with songs like Chali re chali re gori and Mere mehboob qayamat hogi.

In a hurry to make up for the years gone by, Bakshi wrote with a vengeance. There was Yeh samaa, samaa hai yeh pyaar ka (Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965), Saawan ka mahina pawan karey shor (Milan, 1967) and Binidya chamkegi (Do Raaste, 1969). By the time the 1960s drew to a close, Anand Bakshi was a marquee name amongst the lyricists. The popularity of most of the great ones from the 1950s and early 1960s was waning and Bakshi was all set to make the next decade his own.

The golden years : Bakshi’s ascent to the top was helped by the fact that he teamed up with one of the best music composer duos of the time. Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s stock was also on the rise at about the same time as Bakshi’s and they worked together to create magic. A string of hits followed — Main shaayar toh nahin (Bobby, 1973), Gaadi bula rahi hai (Dost, 1974) and Dafli waaley dafli bajaa (Sargam, 1979). Their association helped Bakshi prove his versatility with the zany My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (Amar Akbar Anthony, 1977) as well as the intensely romantic Dard-e-Dil (Karz, 1980).

Bakshi also partnered successfully with the other music czar of the 1970s, RD Burman. There was the beautiful yet emotionally charged Chingari koi bhadke from Amar Prem and the heady Dum maro dum which gave Hare Rama Hare Krishna its essence. Both films were released in 1971. Again with Diye jalte hain (Namak Haram, 1973) and Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay, 1975), Bakshi joined hands with Burman, as both men showcased their mettle with two contrasting songs. Rajesh Roshan was also another beneficiary of the Bakshi genius as the composer’s tunes in Julie (1975) were given the perfect form with lyrics like Bhool gaya sab kuch.

Even in the 1980s and 1990s, Bakshi managed to hold his own. He was the lyricist for all of Subhash Ghai’s films — from Karz (1980) to Taal (1999), where his lyrics ranged from the inspiring Zindagee har kadam ik nayee jung hain (Meri Jung, 1985) to the bizarre Ilu Ilu (Saudagar, 1991) to the highly romantic Nahin saamney, yeh alag baat hai (Taal, 1999). However, it was under this association that Bakshi wrote the rather dubious Choli ke peeche (Khalnayak, 1993). In spite of all the controversy surrounding the song,
there is no denying Bakshi’s feel of the nation’s pulse. Little wonder then, the song became a huge hit.

After the death of Sahir Ludhianvi in 1980, Bakshi also became a constant in Yash Raj Films. Be it the title song of Chandni (1989) or Tu hai meri kiran which set up Darr (1993) perfectly or the spirited Doli saja ke rakhna in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Bakshi had a song for every YRF theme.


Bakshi’s chart busters :
Pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana
- Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)
Yeh kya hua
- Amar Prem (1971)
Hum tum ek kamrey main band hon
- Bobby (1973)
Purdah hai purdah
- Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
Om shanti om
- Karz (1981)
Jab hum jawaan hongey
- Betaab (1983)
Kaatey nahin kat tey
- Mr India (1987)
Meri bindiya teri nindiya
- Lamhe (1991)
Mere khwaabon mein jo aayein
- Dilwale dulhaniya le jaayengey (1995)
Yaadein yaad aati hain
- Yaadein (2001)

Awards : Bakshi sahib won the Filmfare Award for the Best Lyricist on four separate occasions, in four different decades. This is a recognition of both, his voluminous body of work and his ability to have a feel of the cine lovers’ pulse across decades.
- 1978: Aadmi musafir hain (Apnapan)
- 1982: Tere mere beech (Ek Duuje Ke Liye)
- 1996: Tujhe dekha (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge)
- 2000: Ishq bina (Taal)

Legacy : Anand Bakshi passed away in Mumbai on March 30, 2002. It is said of Bakshi that he took a film’s song away from the often esoteric words of Urdu lyricists before him and made it more conversational for the benefit of its listeners. For example, the song in Aan Milo Sajna (1970) where Asha Parekh takes leave of her lover Rajesh Khanna and the lyrics that capture this best are Achcha toh hum chaltey hain. The words are exactly how one would leave a beloved. This was vintage Bakshi, conversational yet simple.

Trivia : Bakshi’s dream of becoming a playback singer did materialise. He sang the song Baaghon mein bahar aayi in the film Mom Ki Gudiya (1972) with none other than Lata Mangeshkar. Bakshi sahib was known for his spontaneity. This is best illustrated by the anecdote of how Raj Khosla and Laxmikant-Pyarelal wanted to tune the title song of the film Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) without the lyrics being ready and how Bakshi in the next instant came up with the line koi nahin main tere saajan ki. The song sung by Lata Mangeshkar became a big hit.