Rafeeq Ahmed (born 17 December 1961) is a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

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 ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

. He has won the

Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry The Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry is an award given every year by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi (Kerala Literary Academy) to Malayalam writers for writing poetry of literary merit. It is one of the twelve categories of the Kerala Sahitya A ...

and is a five-time winner of the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyrics The Kerala State Film Award for Best Lyricist is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to a lyricist for best lyrics in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Depar ...

. With more than 600 songs in his credit, Rafeeq Ahamed is regarded by one source as the most successful and critically acclaimed lyricist of contemporary

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

Early life

Rafeeq Ahamed was born to Syed Sajjad Hussain and Thithayikutty on 17 December 1961 in Akkikavu, Trichur. He graduated in English literature from

Sree Krishna College, Guruvayur Sree Krishna College is a Guruvayur Devaswom Board arts and science college in Guruvayoor, Thrissur District. The college comes under Calicut University and was established in 18 July 1964. Graduate courses were started in 1967 and Post gradua ...

Literary career

Film career

He started his film career through the 1999 film ''

Garshom ''Garshom'' is a 1999 Indian Malayalam film, directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed. The film stars Urvashi, Murali, Madhu and Siddique in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Ramesh Narayan. It was the debut film of noted lyricist Rafeeq ...

'' directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed. His second work as a lyricist was ''

Perumazhakkalam ''Perumazhakkalam'' (English: The season of heavy rains) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language romantic drama film directed by Kamal and written by T. A. Razzaq. It stars Meera Jasmine, Kavya Madhavan, Dileep, Vineeth and Biju Menon. Notable asso ...

'' , directed by Kamal. It was music director

M. Jayachandran Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...

who suggested Rafeeq to Kamal, based on an experience of working with Rafeeq for the title song of a television serial ''Samanathaalam''. Rafeeq penned the lyrics of much acclaimed song '' Rakkilithan'' for ''perumazhakalam'' and has since written more than 600 songs for about 300 Malayalam films.

Bibliography

Poetry Collections Novel * ''Azhukkillam''

Partial filmography

Awards

Literary awards

Odakkuzhal Award ''Odakkuzhal'' is a 1975 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by P. N. Menon and produced by M. P. Navakumar. The film stars Sheela, Jose Prakash, P. J. Antony and Alummoodan in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. K. Arjunan ...

for ''Rafeeq Ahammedinte Kavithakal'' (2014) *

Kerala Sahitya Akademi The Kerala Sahitya Akademi or Academy for Malayalam literature is an autonomous body established to promote the Malayalam language and Malayalam literature, literature. It is situated in City of Thrissur, Kerala in India. History The academy ...

Award for ''Alamara'' (2006) *

Olappamanna Olappamanna Mana Subramanian Namboothirippad (January 10, 1923 – April 10, 2000), better identified by his family name, Olappamanna , was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature. A former chairman of Kerala Kalamandalam and an author of 20 bo ...

Memorial Award for ''Paarayil Pathiinjathu'' (2000) * Edappally Award * Kunchupilla Award * Kanakasree Award * Vailoppilli Award * P. Kunjiraman Nair Award (2017) * Ulloor Award * Swathi-Ayyappa Panicker Literary Award (2019)

Film awards

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahamed, Rafeeq Living people 1961 births Indian male poets 21st-century Indian Muslims Malayali people Writers from Thrissur Poets from Kerala Malayalam poets Malayalam-language writers Malayalam-language lyricists Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award 20th-century Indian poets Malayalam novelists Indian male novelists 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Kerala Malayalam screenwriters Indian lyricists Screenwriters from Kerala 21st-century Indian male writers