Akhtar ul Iman (12 November 1915 9 March 1996) was a noted

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

and screenwriter in Hindi cinema, who had a major influence on modern Urdu

nazm ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ''ghazal'' (). is significantly ...

. He won the

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

for Best Dialogue in 1963 for ''

Dharmputra ''Dharmputra'' is a 1961 Hindi film directed by Yash Chopra based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentalis ...

'' and 1966 for '' Waqt''. He was awarded the 1962

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in Urdu, for his Poetry Collection, ''Yadein'' (Memories), by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, India's National Academy of Letters.

Early life and education

Born on 12 November 1915 in Qila Patthargarh,

Najibabad Najibabad is a town in the Bijnor district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, located near the city of Bijnor. It is a major industrial city and is well connected to all major cities of India by roadways via NH 119 and NH 74 respectively an ...

, in the

Bijnor district Bijnor district is one of the 75 districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Bijnor city is the district headquarters. The government of Uttar Pradesh seeks it to be included in National Capital Region (NCR) due to its close proximity to ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in 1915. He was brought up in an orphanage. He gained his initial education at Bijnor, where he came in contact with poet and scholar Khurshid ul Islam, who taught at Aligarh Muslim University and developed a long association with Ralph Russell. He graduated from the

Zakir Husain College Zakir Husain Delhi College (formerly known as Zakir Husain College, Anglo Arabic College, and Delhi College), founded in 1696, is the oldest existing educational institution in India, and is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, ac ...

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

and completed his Masters in Urdu degree from Aligarh Muslim University.

Career

He first joined

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

as a staff artist. Then Iman joined the Filmistan Studio as a dialogue writer in 1945. He preferred

over more popular ghazal as a mean of poetic expression. Akhtar ul Iman's language is "coarse and unpoetic". He uses "coarse" and mundane poetic expressions to make his message effective and realistic.''Modern Indian Literature: An Anthology'', by K. M. George, various, Sahitya Akademi He left behind a substantial legacy for new generation of poets to follow which explores new trends and themes in modern Urdu poetry giving a new direction to the modern and contemporary Urdu nazm with emphasis on philosophical humanism.

Works

Books

• ''Iss Aabad Kharabe Mein'' (Urdu)-published by Urdu Academy, Delhi, India. Autobiography of a famous Urdu writer of India.

Poetry

He has published eight collections: * ''Girdaab'' (1943)Profile of Akhtar ul Iman
Bihar Urdu Youth Forum website, Retrieved 14 November 2021 * ''Aabjoo'' (1944-1945) * ''Tareek Sayyara'' (1946–47) * ''Yaden'' (1961) * ''Bint-e-Lamhaat'' (1969) * ''Naya Ahang'' (1977) * ''Sar-o-Samaan'' (1982) * ''Zameen Zameen'' (1983-1990) * ''Kulliyaat-e-Akhter-ul-Iman'' (2000) Play * ''Sabrang'' (1948): a one-verse play.

Translation and compilation by others

* ''Zamistan Sard Mehrika'' (Urdu)- Last Poetic Collection of an unforgettable Urdu poet. Compiled and edited by Sultana Iman and Bedar Bakht. * ''Query of the Road'' – Selected Poems of Akhtar-ul-Iman with Extensive Commentary by Baidar Bakht

Indian cinema

His contribution to Hindi cinema is significant, keeping in mind the number of landmark and hit movies he has contributed as a script writer (dialogue, story and screenplay). His first landmark movie was ''

Kanoon ''Kanoon'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language film directed by B. R. Chopra. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Nanda, Ashok Kumar, Mehmood, Shashikala, Jeevan and Om Prakash. The film presents a case against capital punishment, arguing that witn ...

'' (1960 film), which became a big hit despite the fact that it had no songs or comedy sequences. Other important movies to which he contributed as a script writer were ''

'' (1961) – for which he received a filmfare award – ''Gumrah'', ''Waqt'', ''Patther ke Sanam'', and ''Daagh''. The one movie which has his lyrics is ''Bikhare Moti''.

Awards

Literary awards * 1962:

– Urdu: ''Yadein'' (Poetry)Remembering the life and works of Akhtar ul Iman
The Hindu (newspaper), Published 18 October 2016, Retrieved 14 November 2021 and Numerous other literary awards. *

** 1963: Best Dialogue: ''

'' ** 1966: Best Dialogue: '' Waqt''

Filmography

*''Vijay'' (1988) – writer *''Chor Police'' (1983) – writer *''Lahu Pukarega'' (1980) – director *''Do Musafir'' (1978) – writer *''Chandi Sona'' (1977) – writer *'' Zameer'' (1975) – writer *''36 Ghante'' (1974) – writer *''

Roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...

'' (1974) – writer *''Naya Nasha'' (1973) – writer *'' Bada Kabutar'' (1973) – writer *'' Daag'' (1973) – writer *'' Dhund'' (1973) – writer *'' Joshila'' (1973) – writer *''Kunwara Badan'' (1973) – writer *''Dastaan'' (1972) – writer *''Joroo Ka Ghulam'' (1972) – writer *''

Aadmi Aur Insaan Aadmi Aur Insaan is a 1969 Hindi film produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Dharmendra, Saira Banu, Feroz Khan, Mumtaz, Johnny Walker, Madan Puri, Ajit, Anwar, Iftekhar, Achla Sachdev, Kamini Kaushal and Nazim ...

'' (1969) – writer *''Chirag'' (1969) – writer *'' Ittefaq'' (1969) – writer *''Aadmi'' (1968) – writer *''

Hamraaz ''Hamraaz'' () is a 1967 Indian Bollywood suspense thriller film, produced and directed by B. R. Chopra and written by Akhtar-Ul-Iman. It stars Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Vimi, Mumtaz in lead roles, with Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Jeevan, Iftekh ...

'' (1967) – writer *'' Patthar Ke Sanam'' (1967) – writer *'' Gaban'' (1966) – writer *''

Mera Saaya ''Mera Saaya'' () is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Raj Khosla. The music is by Madan Mohan and lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Sadhana. This is director Raj Khosla's third film with Sadha ...

'' (1966) – writer *'' Phool Aur Patthar'' (1966) – writer *''Bhoot Bungla'' (1965) – writer *'' Waqt'' (1965) – writer *''Shabnam'' (1964) – writer *'' Yaadein'' (1964) – writer *'' Aaj Aur Kal'' (1963) – writer *''Akeli Mat Jaiyo'' (1963) – writer *'' Gumrah'' (1963) – writer *''Neeli Aankhen'' (1962) – writer *''

'' (1961) – writer *''Flat No. 9'' (1961) – writer *''Barood'' (1960) – writer *''Kalpana'' (1960) – writer *''

'' (1960) – writer *''Nirdosh'' (1950) – writer *''Actress'' (1948) – writer *''Jharna'' (1948) – writer

Death

Akhtar ul Iman died on 9 March 1996 in Mumbai.

References

Cited sources

External links

*
Verses of Akhtarul Iman
* http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/baidarbakht/mod06akhtar.pdf
Nazm of Akhtarul Iman
* https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC&pg=PA120&lpg=PA120&dq=akhtar+ul+iman&source=web&ots=mUzV1uyQv9&sig=VdLt-QEZp2L_f35rOkLumnvFXVs#PPA120,M1

Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology By K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi * https://web.archive.org/web/20110717173430/http://www.urduzoom.com/categories.php?catid=31 {{DEFAULTSORT:Iman, Akhtar Ul 1915 births 1996 deaths Urdu-language poets from India 20th-century Indian Muslims People from Bijnor district Delhi University alumni Indian male screenwriters Filmfare Awards winners Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu 20th-century Indian poets Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian screenwriters