Khwaja Khurshid Anwar (21 March 1912 − 30 October 1984) was a Pakistani filmmaker, writer, director and music composer who earned recognition in both India and Pakistan. He is credited as being one of the most original and inventive music directors of his generation. He was the Programme Producer (Music) at (AIR),

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 ...

Akashvani (radio broadcaster) Akashvani may refer to: * Akashvani (radio broadcaster), previously known as All India Radio * Akashvani (word), a Sanskrit term commonly used in Hindu mythology See also * ''Akaash Vani ''Akaash Vani'' is a 2013 Hindi romantic drama film ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

in 1939.

Early life

Khwaja Khurshid Anwar was born on 21 March 1912 in

Mianwali Mianwali (Punjabi/ ur, ) is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan. The 81st largest city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse population of, Punjabi and Pashtun ethnicities. History Mianwali District was an agricult ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

(now in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

) where his maternal grandfather Khan Bahadur Dr.Sheikh Atta Mohammad (whose eldest daughter was married to philosopher-poet

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

, to whom he was thus a nephew)Harjap Singh Aujla
Khurshid Anwar, a prince among the music directors of the sub-continent and his exploits in British and Independent India
Khurshid Anwar Biography, Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) website, Retrieved 18 December 2021 was serving as civil surgeon. His father Khwaja Ferozuddin Ahmad was a well-known Barrister settled 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 ...

. The ace jurist had a love for music so much so that he had a huge collection of gramophone records of

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...

and neo-classical music and his precocious son had an unhindered access to them all. Moreover, in the weekly music performances held in the lawyer's home, renowned music masters used to perform, and it was here that the young Khurshid Anwar developed a taste for classical music. Considering Khrshid Anwar's keen interest, Khansahib Tawakkal Hussain agreed to take him as his disciple and train him in 1934. Khurshid Anwar was also a brilliant student at

Government College, Lahore The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002. Overview In 1864, Go ...

, the renowned seat of learning at that time. Having topped in the master's degree in Philosophy in (1935), he appeared in the examination for

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million p ...

(ICS) but due to his

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

and anti-British Raj activities, the British colonial masters did not like his activities. He was also absent from the prize-distribution ceremony of the Punjab University held to honour the students with distinctions. When his name was called to receive the Gold Medal in Philosophy, nobody turned up. The British Chancellor of the University who was awarding medals remarked that the student having forgotten to receive the medal, is a true philosopher.

Career in India

In 1939, Khurshid Anwar joined AIR

or (

), Delhi as Programme Producer (Music). It was from here that he acceded to the requests of

Abdur Rashid Kardar Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan).Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...

, "Shabnam kyon neer bahaye" Sung by ''Gauhar Sultan'', and "Dil deke dagha nahin dena" by ''Vatsala Kumathekar''. Some of his other Hindi films were Parakh (1944, with Saraswati Devi),

Yateem ''Yateem'' is a 1988 Indian action romance drama film directed by J. P. Dutta. The movie stars Sunny Deol, Farha Naaz, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Danny Denzongpa and Amrish Puri. Plot Yateem revolves around a police officer Shiv Kumar Yadav (Kulbh ...

(1945), Aaj Aur Kal (1947), Pagdandi (1947), and Parwaana (1947) which was the last movie in which

K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

acted and sang in. For "Singaar" (1949) he got the ''Clare Award'' for ''Best Music Director''. His later films "Nishaana" (1950) and "Neelam Pari" (1952) added new feathers to his cap. He remained an inspiration to many later day music directors in both India and Pakistan. For many years, renowned Indian film music director Roshan was a disciple of his, as was Shankar of

Shankar Jaikishan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist * S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sanka ...

fame. He was regularly praised by his contemporary Indian film music director

Naushad Ali Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

, who considered him to be one of the finest film composers in the subcontinent.

Filmography

Writer

*Hamraz : Story, Screenplay and Dialogues (1967) *Chingari : Story and Screenplay (1964) * Ghunghat : Story and Screenplay (1962) *Jhoomer : Story and Screenplay (1959) *Zehr-E-Ishq : Story and Screenplay (1958) *Intezar : Story and Screenplay (1956)

Director

* '' Ghunghat'' (1962) * ''Chingari'' (1964) * ''Hamraz'' (1967)

Producer

*Hamraz (co-Producer) (1967) *Chingari (co-Producer) (1964) * Ghunghat (co-Producer) (1962) *Jhoomer (Producer) (1959) *Zehr-E-Ishq (co-Producer) (1958) *Intezar (co-Producer) (1956)

Music director in India

:1. Kurmai (Punjabi) (1941) :2. Ishara (1943) :3.

Parakh (1944 film) ''Parakh'' is a Bollywood social film. It was released in 1944. Directed by 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 ...

(1944) :4.

(1945) :5. Parwana (1947 film) (1947) :6. Paghdandi (1947) :7. Aaj Aur Kal (1947)Khurshid Anwar filmography on Cinestaan.com website
Retrieved 20 December 2021 :8. Singhar (1949) :9. Nishana (1950) :10. Neelam Pari (1952)

Music director in Pakistani films

:1. Intezar (1956) :2. Mirza Sahiban (1956) :3. Zehr-E-Ishq (1958) :4. Jhoomer (1959) :5. Koel (1959) :6. Ayaz (1960) :7. Ghunghat (1962) :8. Chingari (1964) :9. Haveli (1964) :10. Sarhad (1966) :11. Hamraaz (1967) :12. Guddo (Punjabi) (1970) :13.

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

(Punjabi) (1970) :14. Parai Aag (1971) :15. Salam-e-Mohabbat (1971) :16. Shirin Farhad (1975) :17. Haider Ali (1978) :18. Mirza Jat (Punjabi) (1982)

Some of his popular songs

* "Paapi papeeha ray pee pee na bol bairi" Sung by

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...

, lyrics by D. N. Madhok, film Parwana (1947 film) * "Jab tum hi nahin apne dunya hi begaani hai" Sung by

, lyrics by D. N. Madhok, film Parwana (1947 film) * "Jis din say piya dil lay gaey, dukh dey gaey, chaen nahin aaey" Sung by

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

, lyrics by

Qateel Shifai Muhammad Aurangzeb or Qateel Shifai ( ur, ), (24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and lyricist. Early life and career Qateel Shifai was born in Haripur District as Muhammad Aurangzeb in 1919 in British India (now Paki ...

, film Intezar (1956) * "Chali re chali re, barri aas laga kay chali re" Sung by ''Nahid Niazi'', lyrics by ''Tanvir Naqvi'', film Jhoomar (1959) * "Rim Jhim Rhim Jhim Parray Phuwaar, Tera Mera Nit Ka Pyaar" Sung by

and ''Munir Hussain'', lyrics by ''

Tanvir Naqvi Tanvir Naqvi (born Syed Khursheed Ali; 16 February 1919 1 November 1972), also spelled Tanveer Naqvi, was a Pakistani lyricist and poet. He wrote lyrics for 200 uncertain films, including Lollywood and Bollywood. He made his debut in Indian cin ...

'' film ''Koel (1959)'' * "Suno arz meri kamli waalay" Sung by

Zubaida Khanum Zubaida Khanum (1935 – 19 October 2013) was a Pakistani playback singer who recorded over 250 songs during Golden Age of Pakistani film music of 1950s and 1960s. She was considered Pakistani equivalent to Marni Nixon of Hollywood for giv ...

, lyrics by

film ''Zehr-E-Ishq (1958)'' * "Sallu alahi-e-wa-alle-hee, jo na hota tera jamal hee" Sung by

,''Kausar Perveen'', lyrics by Tanvir Naqvi film ''Ayaz (1960)''

Death and legacy

Khurshid Anwar died on 30 October 1984 in Lahore after a protracted illness and was laid to rest at

Miani Sahib Graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ur, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore.https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21727124-it-may-make-death-unequal-life-pakistan-inaugurates-luxury-graveyard ...

. In recognition of his contribution in enrichment of film music, the

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film industry awarded him the coveted Mortal-Men-Immortal-Melodies Award (1982). Great

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Outsi ...

was a lifelong friend of Khurshid Anwar. During an interview, in reply to a query of

Anwar Maqsood Anwar Maqsood Hameedi (born 7 September 1939, Urdu:), popularly known as Anwar Maqsood, is a Pakistani scriptwriter, television presenter, satirist, humorist, and infrequent actor. He was well known for his drama write-ups for PTV in the lat ...

, Faiz acknowledged that he was inspired by Khurshid Anwar. He has also been praised for his efforts to keep alive classical music not only through his compositions but also through his unique collection of classical music (considered his magnum opus) performances recorded by EMI Pakistan, known as ''Aahang-e-Khusravi'' in two parts in 1978. Raag Mala has ten audio cassettes that include 90 Raags in ten Thaths. Each Raag has a short introduction in the voice of Khurshid Anwar explaining the characteristics of the Raag followed by its audio performance by renowned classical singers of

. The second part of Aahang-e-Khusravi is Gharanon Ki Gaiyki on 20 audio cassettes which consists of audio recordings of representatives of the main

Gharanas In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

of classical singers in Pakistan. In recognition of his services for the cause of music, he was awarded the coveted

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...

award by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

in 1980. His activity in 1976 was to pay tributes to a historical music legend

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural his ...

(1253 A.D.-1325 A.D.) on the occasion of this music innovator's 700th Birth Anniversary Celebrations in Pakistan. The above-mentioned music recordings by EMI Pakistan and the accompanying book on the history of music by Khurshid Anwar were all part of those celebrations.

Awards and recognition

(Star of Excellence) Award by the President of Pakistan in 1980Profile and awards of Khwaja Khurshid Anwar on Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation website
Retrieved 18 December 2021 *

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

for Best Music in film Ghunghat (1962 film) *Mortal-Men-Immortal-Melodies Award in 1982 in India

References

External links

Profile of Khwaja Khurshid Anwar on pakmag.net website
* , Filmography of Khwaja Khurshid Anwar {{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar, Khwaja Kurshid 1912 births 1984 deaths Pakistani composers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Nigar Award winners Film directors from Lahore Government College University, Lahore alumni Pakistani screenwriters Pakistani film producers Pakistani film score composers Pakistani music video directors Writers from Lahore Musicians from Lahore 20th-century composers Pakistani musicologists Punjabi people 20th-century musicologists 20th-century screenwriters People from Lahore