Agha Hashar Kashmiri (born Muhammad Shah, 3 April 1879 – 1 April 1935) was an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. A number of his plays were Indian Shakespearean adaptations.

Early life

He started to show interest in stage dramas and moved to Bombay at the age of 14 and started his career as a playwright there.Agha Hashar Kashmiri article on Dawn (newspaper)
Published 30 April 2005, Retrieved 5 April 2018 Profile of Agha Hashar Kashmiri
Retrieved 5 April 2018

Career

Agha Hashar Kashmiri'is first play, ''Aftab-e-Muhabbat'', was published in 1897. He started his professional career as a drama writer for the New Alfred Theatrical Company in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, on a salary of only 15 Rs. per month. ''Mureed-e-Shak'', his first play for the company, was an adaptation of Shakespeare's play ''The Winter's Tale''. It proved to be a success and his wages were later raised to Rs. 40 per month due to his growing popularity. In his works, Agha had experience introducing shorter songs and dialogues with idioms and poetic virtues in plays. He then wrote several more adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, including ''Shaheed-e-Naaz'' (or ''Achuta Daaman in Hindi)'', ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'', 1902) and ''Shabeed-e-Havas'' ('' King John'', 1907). ''

Yahudi Ki Ladki ''Yahudi Ki Ladki'' (The Jew's Daughter) is a historical Urdu play by Agha Hashar Kashmiri, on the theme of persecution of Jews by the Romans. It was first published in 1913. The play became his best known work, and a classic in Parsi-Urdu theatr ...

'' (''The Daughter of a Jew''), published in 1913, became his best known work. In the coming years, it became a classic in

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

-Urdu theatre. It was adapted several times in the silent film and early talkies eras, notably ''

'' (1933) by

New Theatres New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotire ...

and by

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as ''Do Bigha Zamin'', ''Parineeta (1953 film), Parineeta'', ''Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas (1955 film), D ...

, as ''

Yahudi ''Yahudi'' (), is a 1958 Hindi-language action drama film directed by Bimal Roy. It starred Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Sohrab Modi, Nazir Hussain, Nigar Sultana and others. It was based on the play ''Yahudi Ki Ladki'' by Agha Hashar Kashmiri, ...

'' (1958) starring

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...

and

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

. His most popular plays are '' Sita Banbas'', based on the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

; '' Bilwa Mangal'', a social play on the life of a poet with a passion for whores; '' Aankh ka Nasha'' (''The Witchery of the Eyes'') which deals with themes of treachery and the evils of prostitution; and '' Rustom O Sohrab'', a Persian folk story and tragedy. Several of his notable Shakespeare-inspired plays are '' Safed Khoon'' (''White Blood''), based on ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'' and '' Khwab-e-Hasti'' (''The Dream World of Existence'') described as "a mutilated version of

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

." Agha was married to

Mukhtar Begum Mukhtar Begum was a Pakistani classical, ghazal singer and actress. She was known as ''The Queen of Music'' for singing songs in films and on radio. She worked in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu films and was known for her roles in films ''Hathili Dulh ...

, a classical singer from Calcutta and elder sister of

Farida Khanum Farida Khanum (Urdu language, Urdu: ) is a Pakistani Music of Pakistan#Classical music, classical singer from the city of Kolkata West Bengal, India, West Bengal. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Ghazal'' (The Queen of Ghazal) ...

- a Pakistani singer. He has a daughter

Rani Begum Rani ( Punjabi, ur, ; 8 December 1946 – 27 May 1993) was a Pakistani film and television actress. She gained success in the late 1960s when she made a hit pair with famous actor and producer Waheed Murad. She was also known as ''The Danci ...

who was an actress and dancer of Pakistani film industry.

His ghazals featured in film and television

*"Chori Kaheen Khule Na Naseem-e-Bahar Ki" Sung by

Tina Sani Tina may refer to: People *Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places * Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia * Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomo ...

, a

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

production- originally sung by Mukhtar Begum (Agha Hashar Kashmiri's wife) in 1938 *"Ghair Ki Baaton Ka Aakhir Eitbaar Aa Hee Gaya" Sung by

Naseem Begum Naseem Begum ( ur, ), (24 February 1936 – 29 September 1971) was a popular, and well known Pakistani film playback singer. She was known as ''The Tradegy Queen'' for singing sorrowful and downhearted songs in films. She rose to promine ...

, music by

Khalil Ahmed Khalil Ahmed (3 March 1936 – 22 July 1997) was a Pakistani composer for radio, television, and films. He started his career with film ''Aanchal (1962)'' and remained one of the leading music directors in Pakistan in the 1960s. He composed ...

in 1965 Pakistani film Kaneez *Another popular ghazal by Agha Hashar Kashmiri is "Mere aur hain iraday" that was recently paid a rich tribute by Ali Sethibr>here

Death and legacy

Kashmiri died on 1 April 1935 in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

, British India. He is mentioned in some detail in the literary memoirs of the late

Hakim Ahmad Shuja Hakim Ahmad Shuja MBE (; sometimes written as 'Hakeem Ahmed Shujah' and 'Hakim Ahmad Shuja Pasha') (4 November 1893 – 4 January 1969), was a famous Urdu and Persian poet, playwright, writer, film writer and lyricist, scholar and mystic, ...

,Hakim A. Shuja, ''Lahore ka Chelsea'' , Lahore, 1969, pp 83-87 with whom he collaborated on several dramatic projects. His 70th death anniversary was observed in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

in 2005 at an event organized by the

National Academy of Performing Arts The National Academy of Performing Arts ( ur, ; abbreviated as NAPA) is a performing arts school located at Hindu Gymkhana, Karachi, Hindu Gymkhana in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. NAPA was established in 2005 as an institution to conserve and tea ...

at the

Arts Council of Pakistan The Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi is a council for the promotion of arts and culture in Pakistan, and one of the busiest in terms of organizing events. It is the country's oldest NGO (non-government organization) for the promotion and develo ...

in Karachi.

Zia Mohyeddin Zia Mohyeddin (; born 20 June 1931) is a British-Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television as well as in British cinema and television throughout his career. Zia M ...

, chief of the 'National Academy of Performing Arts' and other speakers paid tributes to him. Anwar Sajjad said," Whenever the history of

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

in the subcontinent is written, Agha Hashar Kashmiri will certainly hold an important place in it".

Writings

Kashmiri's plays include: * '' Aankh ka Nasha'' * '' Asir-e-Hirs'' * '' Bhagirath Ganga'' * '' Dil to Pyas'' * '' Khwab-e-Hasti'' * '' Madhur Murli'' * '' Rustom O Sohrab'' * '' Safed Khoon'' * '' Said-e-Hawas'' * '' Sita Banbas'' * '' Turki Hur'' * ''

References