Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (23 September 1915 – 29 July 1966) was an Indian poet, writer and a lyricist.

Early life and career

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was born on 23 September 1915 at Karamabad village, near

Wazirabad Wazirabad (Urdu/ pa, ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Wazirabad District. Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous for its foods. Wazirabad is situated on the banks of th ...

, Gujranwala District of Punjab, British India. Mehdi Ali lost his father when he was four. His mother Hubia Khanum who was the sister of

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Zafar Ali Khan (1874– 27 November 1956) ( pnb, – ), also known as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, was a Pakistani writer, poet, translator and a journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement against the British Raj. He is genera ...

, got him educated and he completed his basic education at

Islamia College (Lahore) Government Islamia College Civil Lines ( ur, اسلامیہ کالج ), formerly called Dayanand Anglo Vedic College, is a government college in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded by Arya Samaj as the school of Dayanand Anglo Vedic on June 1, 1 ...

. As he grew up, Mehdi Ali started working at the editorial staff of '' Phool'' and '' Tehzeeb-e-Niswan'' Urdu magazineas from

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. ...

. Then he joined as a writer at the

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 a ...

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 w ...

in 1942. Here he got acquainted with the noted writer Saadat Hasan Manto. Manto, who was active in the Hindi film industry, asked film actor Ashok Kumar to find Mehdi Ali some kind of a job. He soon got a film called ''Aath Din'' (1946) in which he not only wrote dialogues but also acted. Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of the partners in

Filmistan Studio Filmistan is an Indian film studio based in Goregaon, Mumbai. Spread over five acres, near Patkar College on S.V. Road, the studio has seven shooting floors, and a temple and garden for outdoor locations. Patkar College's reputation has incr ...

, gave Mehdi Ali a chance to write lyrics for his film, ''Do Bhai'' (1947). Songs from the film such as "Mera Sunder Sapna Beet Gaya" and "Yaad Karoge" became instant hits.Filmography of Raja Mehdi Ali Khan on Cinestaan.com website
Retrieved 13 January 2021 In 1947, Mehdi and his wife Tahira decided to stay in India instead of migrating to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. They came to this decision despite the wave of riots plaguing the country. In 1948, his patriotism manifested in his songs, "Watan Ki Raah Mein" and "Todi Todi Bachche"'','' which were used in the film '' Shaheed''. He worked with music composers including Sachin Dev Burman, Iqbal Qureshi, Babul,

S. Mohinder Bakshi Mohinder Singh Sarna (24 February 1925 – 6 September 2020), known professionally as S. Mohinder, was an Indian music composer. Early life He was born in Sillanwali Tehsil, Sargodha District in 1925. Mohinder’s father Bakhsi Sujan ...

Chic Chocolate Chic Chocolate (1916 – May 1967) born Antonio Xavier Vaz, was a Goan trumpeter who led a Jazz band at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay and was one of Bombay's best known jazz musicians. He was also a Hindi film music composer and played trumpet i ...

, and Rono Mukherjee. He also wrote songs for

C. Ramchandra Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (12 January 1918 – 5 January 1982), also known as C. Ramchandra or Chitalkar or Anna Sahib, was an Indian music director and playback singer.Datta Naik ("Sare Jahan Se Acha Hindustan Hamara"),

O. P. Nayyar Omkar Prasad Nayyar (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industr ...

("Main Pyar Ka Raahi Hoon") and Laxmikant Pyarelal ("Jaal","Anita"). He formed a successful partnership with

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

which began with Madhosh in 1951. It was also

's third film as a music director. The two shared a great rapport and their later collaborations in films such as ''

Anpadh Anpadh (Hindi: अनपढ़, Urdu: اَنپڑھ, translation: ''illiterate'') is a 1962 Hindi film. It stars Balraj Sahni, Dharmendra, Mala Sinha, Shashikala. Actress Bindu made her first prominent appearance in this film with the song Ji ...

'', ''

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 Sadhan ...

'', ''

Woh Kaun Thi? ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' () is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by Raj Khosla, starring Sadhana, Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra. Though the screenplay was written by Dhruva Chatterjee, parts were later rewritten, wherein Manoj K ...

'', ''Neela Akash'', '' Dulhan Ek Raat Ki'', '' Anita'' and ''Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah'' proved to be massive hits. His song '' Lag Jaa Gale'' from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' was named among the top ten all-time favorites in film history to be "retired" from Antakshari on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

. Raja Mehadi Ali Khan also worked with Laxmikant-Pyarelal for

Raj Khosla Raj Khosla (31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top director, producer and screenwriter in Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "neo-noir" and style in Indian cinema, and also as a "women's direc ...

musical Anita, 1967 ''Samne Mere Sawariyan'', ''Tum Bin Jeevan Kaise Beeta''. Second film was Jaal, 1967.

Death

He died in Mumbai on 29 July 1966. He and his wife Tahira, remained childless even though he himself loved to interact with children. It is said that when he was seriously ill and was on his deathbed, even then he kept his humorous side and was seen laughing with his visitors.

Films and popular songs

* Mera sundar sapna beet gaya — Do Bhai (1947) * Watan Ki Raah Mein — Shaheed (1948) * Preetam meri dunya mein do din tau rahe hotay —

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

(1951) * Meri yaad me tum na aansoo bahaana — Madhosh (1951) * Raat sard sard hai —

Jaali Note ''Jaali Note'' () is a 1960 Hindi-language crime film directed by Shakti Samanta, based on the theme of counterfeit money. It stars Dev Anand and Madhubala, along with Helen, Madan Puri, Om Prakash. The film was unsuccessful with critics but ...

(1960) * Poochho na humein — Mitti Me Sona (1960) * Aap yuhin agar hum se milte rahe —

Ek Musafir Ek Haseena ''Ek Musafir Ek Hasina'' ''(English: A Traveller and A Beauty)'' is a 1962 Bollywood film directed by Raj Khosla and starring Joy Mukherjee, Sadhana Shivdasani, Sadhana in lead roles. The film was produced by Sashadhar Mukherjee. The film's musi ...

(1962) * Maye pyar ka raahi hoon — Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962) * Aap ki nazron ne samjha pyar ke qaabil mujhe —

(1962) * Hai issi me pyar ki aabroo — Anpadh (1962) * Jiya lay gayo ri mera sanwaria — Anpadh (1962) * Agar mujhse mohabbat hai, mujhe sab apne gham de do — Aap Ki Parchhaiyan (1964)Albums with Raja Mehdi Ali Khan as Lyricist
MySwar website, Retrieved 12 January 2021 * Main nigaahen tere chehre se — Aap Ki Parchhaiyan (1964) * Jo hum ne dastaan apni sunaai, aap kyun roye —

(1964) * Lagg ja gale ke phir yeh raat ho na ho —

(1964) * Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim — Woh Kaun Thi? (1964) * Aakhri geet mohabbat ka — Neela Aakash (1965) * Tere paas aa ke mera waqt — Neela Aakash (1965) * Nainon me badra chhaye —

(1966) * Tu jahan jahan chalega mera saaya saath hoga — Mera Saaya (1966) * Aap ke paheloo me aa kar ro diye — Mera Saaya (1966) *

Jhumka Gira Re "Jhumka Gira Re" (Hindi: झुमका गिरा रे, "Earring Has Fallen") is an Indian Hindi song from the 1966 Bollywood film ''Mera Saaya''. It was sung by Asha Bhosle. The song was picturized on Sadhana Shivdasani. It was written b ...

Bareilli ke bazaar mein — Mera Saaya (1966) * Sapno me agar mere tum aao — Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) * Kayee din se ji hai bekal — Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) * Ek haseen sham ko — Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) * Tere Bin sawaan kaise beeta — Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai (1967) * Aari o shokh kaliyion muskuraa dena — Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai (1967) * Akela hoon mein humsafar dhoondta hoon — Jaal (1967) * Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta poochho mere dil se — Anita (1967)

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Raja Mehdi Ali Urdu-language lyricists Hindi-language lyricists Indian lyricists Indian male songwriters 1966 deaths 1915 births People from Wazirabad 20th-century Indian musicians Place of death missing