Riaz-Ur-Rehman Saghar ( Punjabi, ur, ریاض الرحمان ساغر, (born 1 December 1941,

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth l ...

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 ...

; died 1 June 2013, at

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 ...

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 ...

) was a

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 wri ...

and a film

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

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 incom ...

active in

Pakistani cinema Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

. He had been awarded numerous awards in recognition of his services to the Pakistani film industry. He is credited with having written over 25000 songs in his lifetime, including many for noted Pakistani singers such as

Hadiqa Kiani Hadiqa Kiani (in Punjabi and ur, ) is a Pakistani singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, composer, actress, and philanthropist. She has received numerous local and international awards and also has performed at the Royal Albert Hall and The Kennedy ...

("Dupatta Mera Malmal Da" �وپٹا میرا ململ دا "Yaad Sajan Di Ayi" �اد سجن دی آوے and a duet song with

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

and

Adnan Sami Khan Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1971) is an Indian singer, musician, music composer and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music, including for Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India's fourth hi ...

("Kabhi to Nazar Milao" �بھی تو نظر ملاؤ. Saghar also wrote prose and film dialogue in some of the films.

Early life

Riaz-ur-Rehman Saghar was born on 1 December 1941 in

(بٹھنڈا),

to Maulvi Muhammad Azeem (مولوی محمد عظیم) and Sadiqan Bibi (صدیقن بی بی). In 1947, his family emigrated to Pakistan as refugees following the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. During the journey, Saghar's father was murdered by a Sikh extremist, and his infant brother died of starvation. In

Walton Cantonment Walton Cantonment is a cantonment area situated in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is named after Sir Cusach Walton, son of Frederick Walton. History Lahore Cantonment with its increasing population and extensions to the boundaries had become diffi ...

and later

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

, where Saghar and his mother settled, they made their living making and selling paper bags in the marketplace. Saghar enrolled in Millat High School where he discovered his love of poetry. He later entered Emerson College Multan for Intermediate Studies, where his poetry readings attracted large crowds. After several warnings, he was expelled from Emerson, after which he traveled to

to begin his career. He finished his schooling in Multan and then moved to Lahore in 1957.

Career

In journalism

In Lahore, Saghar found a job at ''Lail o Nahar'', an Urdu-language weekly magazine, where he worked for a year but soon realized it was not his place of interest. He moved on to ''Nawa-i-Waqt'' daily newspaper and while there, he did his Intermediate and bachelor's degrees in 'Punjabi Fazil'. He worked as a culture and film editor at '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' (newspaper) and the weekly 'Family' magazine till 1996.

As a newspaper columnist

Saghar was the first columnist to write on national political situations in the form of a ballad. His first column was published in 1996 by the title of "Arz Kia Hai" (Urdu عرض کیا ہے), covering political, social and cultural Issues. His last column was published in ''Nawa-i-Waqt'' on 24 March 2013 by the title of "Subah ka sitara chup gya ha" (صبح کا ستارہ چُھپ گیا ہے) .

Career in the film industry

As a songwriter

While working as a journalist, Saghar's love for poetry remained strong. In 1958, he wrote his first song for a film that was never released. His first released song was in the film ''Alia'', but his first real success came with the song "Mere dil kay sanam khane mei ek tasveer aisi hai" from the film ''Shareek e Hayat''. He wrote film song lyrics for a Punjabi movie "Ishq Khuuda"(2013) which was released after his death. Saghar worked as a journalist but his passion for poetry drove him to the film world as well. He wrote more than 2000 songs during his professional career.

Film dialogue and script writer

Saghar worked as a dialogue and story writer for about 75 films, including ''Shama'' (1974), ''Naukar'' (1975), ''Susraal'' (1977),

Shabana Shabana is a feminine given name. People named Shabana include: *Shabana (actress), Bangladeshi actress * Shabana (dancer), a Pakistani dancer killed by the Taliban * Shabana Akhtar, Pakistani athlete *Shabana Azmi, Indian actress *Shabana Bakhsh ...

(1976), ''Nazrana'' (1978), ''Aurat aik paheli'', ''Aawaz'' (1978), ''Bharosa''(1977) ''Tarana'' and

Moor (film) Moor ( ps, مور, ur, , meaning ''Mother'') is a 2015 Pakistani drama film directed, written by Jami and co-produced by Nazira Ali, Nadeem Mandviwalla and Jami under the production banner of Azad Film Company and Mandviwalla Entertainment. Th ...

(2015)

As a film and TV songwriter

Saghar has written over 2,000 songs for many singers and music directors for Pakistani films, radio and TV. Some of his popular songs were: *''Chalo Kahin Dur Yeh Samaj Chorr Dein'' Sung by Mala and Mehdi Hassan, music by A. Hameed, film ''Samaj'' (1974) *''Ankhein Ghazal Hain Aapki Aur Hount Hain Gulab'' Sung by Asad Amanat Ali Khan, music by M. Ashraf, film ''Saheli'' (1978) *''Dekha Jo Chehra Tera Mausam Bhi Pyara Laga'' Sung by

Arshad Mehmood (singer) Arshad Mehmood is a Pakistani singer. Many of his songs for the Pakistani film industry, Lollywood, have been popular. He won the Nigar Award for Best Playback Singer in 1992 and then again in 1996. Super-hit film songs * "Dekha Jo Chehra T ...

, music by Amjad Bobby, film Ghunghat (1996 film) *''Mujh Ko Bhi Koi Lift Karadey'' Sung by

*''Dupatta Mera Malmal Da'' Sung by

, lyrics by Riaz ur Rehman Saghar (1998) *''Kal Shab Dekha Mein Nay Chaand Jharoke Mein'' Sung by

Waris Baig Waris Baig ( pa, ) is a Pakistani film playback singer. Early life and career Waris Baig was born in Lahore. He completed his education at Government College Lahore. His first music album was released in 1989 called “Music 89”. He sta ...

, music by

Sajjad Ali Sajjad Ali (born 1962) is a Pakistani semi-classical, pop and rock singer, poet, actor, film director as well as a film producer from Karachi, Pakistan.Mujhe Chand Chahiye ''Mujhe Chand Chahiye'' (Urdu: مجھے چاند چاہیے) is a 2000 Pakistani Urdu-language romantic film which was released in March 2000. The film was Shaan's second directorial venture and was a huge success at the box office. The f ...

(2000) *''O' Vela Yaad Kar'' Sung by Fariha Pervez, music by ''M. Arshad'' (2001) *''Yaad Sajan Di Aaii'' Sung by

, lyrics by Riaz ur Rehman Saghar (2002)

Publications

; Song books * ''Main Nay Jo Geet Likhay'' ; Prose * ''Woh Bhi Kia Din Thay'' (autobiography) * ''Camera, Qalam aur Dunya'' (Travelogue of 7 Countries)'Kabhi Tau Nazar Milao' fame lyricist Riaz ur Rehman Saghar dies
Geo News website, 2 June 2013, Retrieved 13 May 2018 * ''Lahore Ta Bombay Brasta Delhi'' (Travelogue of India) * ''Sarkari Mehmaan Khaana'' (Book on events inside Jail) ; Poetry * ''Chand Jharoke Mein'' * ''Piare Piare Geet Hamare'' * ''Arz Kia Hai, Sur Sitarey'' * ''Aangan Aangan Taray'' ( Poems in this book were presented on PTV for children. All poems started from Urdu alphabets. Federal Ministry of Education also instructed all syllabus book boards to utilize this book). * ''Chalo Cheen Chalain '' (travelogue to China: the first ballad travelogue in Urdu) * ''Sooraj Kab Nikle Ga'' (incomplete autobiography in ballad form) * ''Pakistan pe jaan qurban'' ( a national song recited by him on

Pakistan Television Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

)

Awards and recognition

Saghar has received many awards in recognition of his services to the film industry of Pakistan. Prominent ones are: * National Film Award * PTV Award * Cultural Graduate Award *

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 ...

in 1995 for Best Film Song Lyricist in the film Sargam (1995 film) * Bolan Award

Death and legacy

After being ill for a few months, Riaz ur Rehman Saghar lost his battle to cancer in Jinnah Hospital,

on 1 June 2013 and was laid to rest in Kareem Block, Iqbal Town, Lahore graveyard on 2 June 2013.Obituary of Riaz ur Rehman Saghar on The Nation (newspaper)
Published 6 June 2013, Retrieved 13 May 2018 "He could write a poem in 10 to 15 minutes no matter how noisy it was." said a Pakistani journalist Sajid Yazdani who had associated with him for 10 to 15 years. Among his survivors were a wife and a daughter. Veteran Pakistani musician

Arshad Mehmood (composer) Arshad Mehmood is a Pakistani actor, music composer, and a singer. Early life and career He had started composing music for Pakistan Television Corporation back in 1972. EMI Pakistan period He later was the driving force behind EMI Pakistan ...

said at his death that he was one of the poets who understood music as much as he understood poetry.

Books

* Saghar, Riaz-ur-Rehman ''Woh bhi kia din thay'' (Autobiography)

References

External links

Filmography of Riaz ur Rehman Saghar on IMDb website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saghar, Riaz ur Rehman 1941 births 2013 deaths Pakistani poets Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Punjabi-language poets Pakistani lyricists Pakistani songwriters Punjabi people Nigar Award winners PTV Award winners