Masroor Anwar (6 January 1944 – 1 April 1996) was a ghazal poet, film song lyricist and a film screenwriter. He wrote the lyrics for '

Ko Ko Korina "Ko Ko Korina" (Urdu:) is a song which appeared in the 1966 Urdu-language film '' Armaan'' and is considered the first pop song of Pakistan, and often of all South Asia. Produced during the Golden Age of Pakistani cinema, the song's lyrics were ...

', South Asia's first pop song, and working alongside

Sohail Rana Sohail Rana (born 31 March 1938) is a Pakistani music composer for films and television. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when singer Ahmed Rushdi sang his compositions in such films as ...

, film director Pervez Malik and film producer and actor

Waheed Murad Waheed Murad ( ur, ; 2 October 1938 – 23 November 1983), also known as Chocolate Hero, was a Pakistani film actor, producer and script writer. Famous for his charming expressions, attractive personality, tender voice and unusual talent for a ...

in the 1960s, was part of the country's golden age of cinema helping establish Karachi as a major hub for film production.

Early life and career

He was born in 1944 in

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British ...

and following the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, moved to Karachi, Pakistan. In Karrachi, he grew up to be a chubby and baby-faced young man. After finishing his basic education from Government Islamia Science College, Karachi, he worked for

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

(PIA) for a short period and later for

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...

as a staff artist because of his deep interest in poetry and literature. At Radio Pakistan, he was helped by the film actor Ibrahim Nafees who introduced him to the film producer Iqbal Shehzad. He was hired by Iqbal Shehzad to write his first film song for his film ''Banjaran'' (1962). Then he became part of a group of four people in Karachi –

, Pervez Malik,

and Masroor Anwar that made many big hit films together in the 1960s and 1970s.

Death and legacy

He died 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 ...

on 1 April 1996 at age 51 and was laid to rest at ''Karim Block graveyard'', Iqbal town, Lahore. In the history of Pakistani cinema, Masroor Anwar was considered one of the best film song writers. Besides film songs, he also wrote some touching popular patriotic songs.

Popular songs

Awards and recognition

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 Screenplay Writer for film ''Saiqa'' in 1968 *

for Best Screenplay Writer for film ''Sughaat'' in 1970 *

for Best Film Song Lyricist in 1970 for film Anjuman *

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the President of Pakistan (1997)

References

External links

Filmography of Masroor Anwar on IMDb website
1944 births 1996 deaths Pakistani poets Pakistani lyricists Pakistani screenwriters People from Shimla Urdu-language poets from Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani poets Nigar Award winners Recipients of the Pride of Performance 20th-century screenwriters {{Pakistan-film-bio-stub