How Sahir Ludhianvi's poem turned Amitabh into a romantic hero

Editor’s note: In 1976, Amitabh Bachchan starred in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie. At the time, Bachchan was best known for playing roles like that of Jai in Sholayand Vijay in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. But in Kabhie Kabhie, audiences saw a very different side to Bachchan’s acting range when he appeared as Amit, a poet and heartbroken lover. The man whose words gave Amit’s character his poetic edge was Sahir Ludhianvi. Sahir was one of the finest lyricists Bollywood has ever known and the songs he wrote for films like Pyaasa, Hum Dono and Barsaat ki Raat have haunted fans of Bollywood music for decades. Although Sahir’s glory days were in the 1950s and 1960s, his contribution to Kabhi Kabhie is enormous and it’s widely believed that it was his past that inspired the character of Amit. In this extract from Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet, author Akshay Manwani tells us what Sahir brought to Yash Chopra’s table when the latter decided he was going to make Kabhi Kabhie.

The early 1970s saw Yash Chopra move out of BR Films. Sahir was among the few people who followed Yash from BR Films when the latter set out to make his first independent film, Daag (1973). Yash recalled Sahir’s magnanimity at that critical time in his own career: ‘He said, “Don’t give me any money. First, you make your film, release it. If it is successful, give me whatever you want. In your film, I don’t work purely as a lyricist that I have to take this much of money.” By God’s grace, the film was successful and I paid him eventually.’ But in comparison with the quality of Sahir’s work in the 1950s and ’60s, the year that followed were distinctly unremarkable.

Besides Daag, the other film made by Yash after he parted ways with BR Films was Joshila (1973). While Daag was produced by Yash Chopra, Gulshan Rai produced Joshila. The music for Daag was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Joshila marked Sahir’s first film with SD Burman’s son, RD Burman. Both films had some eminently hummable songs, but the emphasis was more on beats and rhythm than the words. In fact, with the trademark RD cabaret number in Joshila, ‘Kaanp rahi main’, Sahir even plumbed a new low as the lyrics bordered on the ridiculous:

Kaanp rahi main, abhi zara tham janam Baaki hai raat abhi Haanf rahi main, le lu zara dum janam Na kariye baat abhi

(I quiver, hold on for a while, my dear The night is still long I am exhausted, let me gather my breath Do not talk right now)

Although he had penned some successful club numbers for SD Burman in the 1950s – Tadbeer se bigdi huyee (Baazi, 1951), Dil jale toh jale (Taxi Driver, 1954), ‘Ae Johnny jeene mein kya hai’ (Funtoosh, 1956) – Sahir let himself down with the line ‘Haanf rahi main, le lu zara dum janam’ in the Joshila song. The word ‘haanf’ literally translates to ‘gasping’, ‘out of breath’ and is used, generally, to express one’s state after a strenuous bout of athleticism. Using it, instead, to describe a night filled with passion caricatured the whole song and introduced an element of lewdness which undermined Sahir’s poetic roots. …

Sahir’s work with the BR Chopra camp fared no better as Dhund (1973), Dastaan (1972) and Zameer (1975) produced, largely, ordinary music and lyrics, barring the odd song like the philosophical ‘Sansaar ki har shai ka itna hi fasaana hai’ (‘The story of every individual in this world’, Dhund) and the meditative ‘Tum bhi chalo, hum bhi chalein’ (‘You go along, I too will come’,Zameer). It was as if the well of creativity within Sahir, which could so eloquently express even the most banal moment, had dried up.

Speaking to me, Yash disagreed. ‘I never felt this way. I feel a commercial writer needs a strong situation to write. How long can a lyricist write a love song? The situation must be different. The director’s demand must also be different.’

Ruhan Kapoor too rules out the possibility of Sahir’s creative juices ever drying up. He instead points towards the declining quality of music in the industry in the 1970s to explain Sahir’s decline. ‘The fifties and sixties were a beautiful time for film music. In the seventies, things changed. Literary value went down a couple of notches compared to the standard of the preceding decades. There was a downward trend in the industry by and large, which couldn’t match up to Sahir Ludhianvi,’ says Kapoor.

As if to prove both these gentlemen right – that given the right screenplay, he could, at any time, conjure lyrical utopia – Kabhi Kabhie (1976) came along.

Kabhi Kabhie is the story of a poet Amit (Amitabh Bachchan), who falls in love with a fellow college student, Pooja (Rakhee). But bowing to her parents’ wishes, Pooja marries Vijay (Shashi Kapoor). Ironically, Vijay is a big fan of Amit’s poetry and even asks Pooja to recite Amit’s poem ‘Kabhi Kabhie’ on their wedding night. Amit, heartbroken by Pooja’s decision, gives up on his poetry and joins his father’s construction business. He marries Anjali (Waheeda Rehman) and the two have a daughter, Sweetie (Naseem).

Years go by, Vicky (Rishi Kapoor), Pooja and Vijay’s son, falls in love with Pinky (Neetu Singh), daughter of Mr and Mrs Kapoor (Parikshit Sahni and Simi Garewal). However, Pinky turns out to be the illegitimate child borne by Anjali before her marriage to Amit. When Pinky gets to know of this, she decides to go and confront Anjali before taking her relationship with Vicky any further. Vicky follows her. He meets Sweetie, who falls for him. Vicky entertains Sweetie’s advances to make Pinky jealous. … In trademark Hindi film style, a happy ending ensues.

With the theme of unrequited love at the core of the film, Yash asked Sahir if he could make use of the latter’s poem, ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ that had been published in Talkhiyaan. ‘I liked his poem. I told Sahir, “I want to use your poem in my movie. The name of my movie is also Kabhi Kabhie. It is based on a poet’s life. Your poem suits the purpose of my film.” He agreed.’ …

The poem ‘Kabhi Kabhi’ published in Talkhiyaan [Sahir’s first published volume of poetry> has a feel of profound suffering to it. In contrast, Sahir’s song in Yash Chopra’s film overflows with sensuous appeal. It is a celebration of love, of a man’s enchantment with his lover’s beauty.

Kabhi kahbie mere dil mein khayaal aata hai Ki jaise tujhko banayaa gaya hai mere liye Tu ab se pehle sitaaron mein bas rahi thee kaheen Tujhe zameen pe bulaaya gaya hai mere liye.

(Sometimes my heart wonders pensively That you were created solely for me You who resided among the stars Have been called down to earth for me.)

… Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai Ki yeh badan yeh nigaahein meri amaanat hai Yeh gesoo-on ki ghani chhaon hai meri khatir Yeh honth au yeh baahein meri amaanat hai.

(Sometimes my heart wonders pensively That this body, these eyes are in my safekeeping The thick shade offered by your tresses is for my benefit These lips and these arms are for me alone.) And yet, after taking the listener through this beautiful, mildly erotic journey, Sahir makes a dramatic volte-face to lay bare the heart of the distraught lover.

Mein jaanta hoon ki tu gair hai magar yoonhi Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayaal aata hai.

(I know that you are no longer mine, yet Sometimes my heart wonders pensively.)

‘Kabhi Kabhi’, immortalized in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, became a big hit. It fetched Sahir and Mukesh Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist and Best Male Playback Singer respectively. Khayyam… won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Kabhi Kabhie… .

…The use of Sahir’s poems from his earlier days, the protagonist Amit’s struggles with love and his depiction as a poet have often led to the suggestion that Amitabh’s character in Kabhi Kabhie was inspired by Sahir. And even though Yash Chopra vehemently denied this (‘Kabhi Kabhie is not all based on Sahir Ludhianvi’), there can be no refuting that Bachchan’s first real attempt at playing the romantic hero owed immensely to Sahir’s lyrical contribution.

Excerpts from Sahir Ludhianvi: The People’s Poet, by Akshay Manwani (Harper Collins India, Rs 399).