Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi (18 February 1927 – 19 August 2019), better known mononymously as Khayyam, was an Indian music director and background score composer whose career spanned four decades. He won three

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

: for

Best Music Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

in 1977 for '' Kabhi Kabhie'' and 1982 for '' Umrao Jaan'', and a lifetime achievement award in 2010. He was awarded the 2007

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in Creative Music, by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Theatre. He was awarded the third-highest civilian honour,

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

, by the Government of India for 2011.

Early life

Khayyam was born to a Punjabi Muslim family on 18 February 1927 in Rahon in

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

, British India. As a boy, Khayyam ran away to his uncle's house in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

. There he was trained under classical vocalist and composer Pandit Amarnath.

Career

Khayyam went to Lahore looking for roles in films. There he met Baba Chishti, a famous Punjabi music director. After listening to a composition by Chishti, he sang to him its first part. Impressed, Chishti gave him an offer of joining him as an assistant. Khayyam assisted Chishti for six months and came to

Ludhiana Ludhiana ( ) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the most densely populated urban centre in the state. I ...

in 1943. He was only 17 then. After a stint in the Army in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Khayyam went to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

to fulfil his dream and made his debut as Sharmaji of the Sharmaji-Varmaji composer duo with the film ''Heer Ranjha'' in 1948. He went solo after his co-composer Rehman Verma went to the newly created

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 ...

post partition. One of his earliest breaks was in the film ''Biwi'' (1950) in which the song ''"Akele Mein Woh Ghabrate To Honge"'' sung by

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

was a hit. ''"Shaam-e-Gham Ki Kasam"'' sung by Talat Mehmood from the film ''

Footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

'' (1953) struck a chord among the masses. He gained greater recognition from the film ''

Phir Subha Hogi ''Phir Subah Hogi'' (Also spelled ''Phir Subha Hogi''; Morning will dawn again) is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Ramesh Saigal. It stars Raj Kapoor, Mala Sinha, Rehman in lead roles. The film is an adaption o ...

'' (1958) starring

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

and

Mala Sinha Alda Sinha (born 11 November 1936), better known by her stage name Mala Sinha is a former Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and Nepali films. Initially starting her career with regional cinema, she went on to become a top leading ...

, in which songs written by Sahir Ludhyanvi and sung by

Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...

and

Asha Bhonsle 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 the ...

were set to tune by Khayyam. Notable amongst them are ''"Wo Subha Kabhi To Aayegi", "Aasman Pe hai Khuda Aur Zameen Pe Hum"'' and ''"Chin-o-Arab Humara"''. Songs from the film '' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1961) written by

Kaifi Azmi Kaifi Azmi (born Athar Husain Rizvi; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participat ...

established Khayyam's reputation as a composer. From the Chetan Anand directed ''

Aakhri Khat ''Aakhri Khat'' (English: The Last Letter) is a 1966 Bollywood film written and directed by Chetan Anand. This film marked the debut of Rajesh Khanna, who became the first superstar of Indian Cinema from 1969. The music of the film is by Khayya ...

'' (1966) ''"Baharon Mera Jeevan Bhi Sawaron"'' by Lata and ''"Aur Kuch Der Theher"'' by Rafi were huge hits. Other notable songs are from the film '' Shagoon'' (1964) which had Khayyam's wife

Jagjit Kaur Jagjit Kaur (May 1930 – 15 August 2021) was an Indian Hindi/Urdu singer and was married to the music director, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam. Personal life and death Kaur belonged to an aristocratic family from Punjab. She married composer Mohamme ...

sing ''"Tum Apna Ranj-o-Gham"'' and ''"Tum Chali Jaogi"''. The 1970s saw Khayyam team up with Sahir Ludhyanvi once again to work in the

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...

-directed '' Kabhi Kabhie'' (1976). The songs showed Khayyam's versatility with hits such as ''"Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai"'' (Sung by

and Lata), ''"Tere Chehre Se Nazar Nahin"'' (by Kishore & Lata) and ''"Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon"'' (by Mukesh). Khayyam provided music to the films of the late-1970s and early-1980s. Songs from '' Trishul, Thodi Si Bewafaai,

Bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

, Dard, Noorie, Nakhuda, Sawaal, Bepannah'', and '' Khandaan'' are some of his best works. Khayyam was still to deliver his best, and the opportunity came in

Muzaffar Ali Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. Biography Ali was born in Lucknow in 1944. The eldest son of Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, the ruling prince of ...

's '' Umrao Jaan'' in 1981. He had

sing the songs "In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke", "Ye Kya Jagah Hai Doston", and "Dil Cheez Kya Hai", which are evergreen.

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

liked the songs of the film '' Kabhi Kabhie'' so much that he gifted Khayyam one of his cars. Subsequently, Khayyam composed music for '' Thodisi Bewafai, Dard'' (both 1981) and ''

Dil-E-Nadaan ''Dil-e-Nadaan'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Prada and Smita Patil. It is a remake of Sridhar's 1978 Tamil film '' Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu' ...

'' (1982), all of them starring Khanna in the lead. Khayyam created music for the Kamal Amrohi directed film '' Razia Sultan'' (1983) and his song ''"Aye Dil-e-Nadan"'' sung by Lata is considered as a milestone. He also composed non-film songs. Some of them include ''"Paaon Padun Tore Shyam, Brij Mein Laut Chalo"'' and ''"Ghazab Kiya Tere Vaade Pe Aitbaar Kiya"''. He also gave music for Meena Kumari's album, ''I Write, I Recite'' (1971) featuring the "nazms" written and sung by her. Khayyam always preferred to work with poets rather than film lyricists. That is the reason one finds

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

playing an equal role in Khayyam's compositions as the music or the singer. Khayyam prefers to give full freedom to the poets for expressing their views thereby making the expression of songs more poetic and meaningful. He worked with both his contemporaries in the field of poetry. That's the reason one finds in his account the work profiled by Mirza Ghalib,

Daagh Nawab Mirza Khan Daagh Dehlvi ( ur, , 25 May 1831 – 17 March 1905) was a poet known for his Urdu ''ghazals''. He belonged to the old Delhi school of Urdu poetry.

, Wali Mohammed Wali, Ali Sardar Jafri,

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

, Sahir Ludhianvi, and among the new ones Naqsh Lyallpuri,

Nida Fazli Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli, known as Nida Fazli (12 October 1938 – 8 February 2016), was a prominent Indian Hindi and Urdu poet, lyricist and dialogue writer. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 by the government of India for his contribution t ...

, Jan Nisar Akhtar and Ahmed Wasi. Khayyam's music had the touch of

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

but was rooted in Indian classical music. The compositions were soulful, melodious and emotional, the songs were rich in poetry and purpose and the style was noticeably different from the popular brand of music in those days, which used to be either semi-classical, ghazal or light and peppy. On his 89th birthday, Khayyam announced the formation of a charitable trust, Khayyam Jagjeet Kaur KPG Charitable Trust, and decided to donate his entire wealth to the trust to support budding artists and technicians in India. His wealth at the time of announcement was valued at around . He decided not to celebrate his birthday after the

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

on India's border post of Pulwama and donated to the kin of the martyrs.

Personal life

Khayyam married

in 1954 in one of the first inter-communal marriages in the Indian film industry. They had a son, Pradeep, who died of a heart attack in 2012. Inspired by their son's helping nature, they started a trust, "Khayyam Jagjit Kaur Charitable Trust" to help artistes and technicians in need.

Death

In his last days, Khayyam was suffering from various age related ailments. On 28 July 2019, Khayyam was admitted to Sujay Hospital in Juhu,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

due to lung infection. He died on 19 August 2019 following a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possi ...

at the age of 92. He was buried the following day with full state honours.

Awards and nominations

Won *1977: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Kabhi Kabhie'' *1982: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Umrao Jaan'' *1982:

National Film Award for Best Music Direction The National Film Award for Best Music Direction (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals to a musician who has composed the best score for films produced within th ...

: '' Umrao Jaan'' *2007:

: Creative Music *2010: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award *2011:

*2012: Mirchi Music Lifetime Achievement Award *2018: Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award Nominated *1980: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Noorie'' *1981: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Thodisi Bewafai'' *1982: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: ''

'' *1984: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Razia Sultan''

Filmography

;Singer *''Romeo & Juliet'' (1947) — sang a duet with

Zohrabai Ambalewali Zohrabai Ambalewali (1918 – 21 February 1990) was an Indian classical singer and playback singer in Hindi cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. She was considered one of the most popular female playback singers of early and mid 1940s. She is best k ...

; Music director *''Heer Ranjha'' (1948) — as Sharmaji (of Sharmaji-Varmaji duo, with Rahman Varma and Aziz Khan) * ''Biwi'' (1950) *''Pyaar Ki Baatein'' (1951) *'' Foot Path'' (1953) — adopted the screen name Khayyam. * ''Gul Sanobar'' (1953) — with Bulo C. Rani *''Gul Bahar'' (1954) *''

Dhobi Doctor ''Dhobi Doctor'' is a 1954 Bollywood film starring Kishore Kumar, Usha Kiran in lead roles. Plot Young and smart Ramu (Jagdeep) lives with his father, who is an washerman (''Dhobi'') and sister Laxmi. Once Laxmi becomes ill & dies only for the ...

'' (1954) *'' Tatar Ka Chor'' (1955) *''

'' (1958) *'' Lala Rukh'' (1958) *''Barood'' (1960) *''Bombai Ki Billi'' (1960) *'' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1961) *'' Shagoon'' (1964) *''Mohabbat Isko Kahete Hain'' (1965) *''

'' (1966) *''Mera Bhai Mera Dushman'' (1967) *'' I Write, I Recite'' (1971) — Album consisting of ''nazms'' written and sung by Meena Kumari. *''Pyaase Dil'' (1974) *''Sandhya'' (1975) *''Mutthi Bhar Chawal'' (1975) *'' Sankalp'' (1975) *'' Kabhi Kabhie'' (1976) *''

Shankar Hussain ''Shankar Hussain'' is a 1977 Bollywood film directed by Yusuf Naqvi. It has memorable songs; ''Kahin ek Masoom nazuk si ladki'' sung by Mohammed Rafi and ''Aap yoon faaslon se'' and 'Apne aap raaton mein', sung by Lata, classics of Khayyam's re ...

'' (1977) *'' Trishul'' (1978) *'' Khandaan'' (1979) *'' Noorie'' (1979) *''Meena Kumari ki Amar Kahani'' (1979) *'' Thodi Si Bewafaai'' (1980) *''

Chambal Ki Kasam ''Chambal Ki Kassam'' is a 1980 Hindi action movie directed by Ram Maheshwari. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Moushumi Chatterjee, Farida Jalal, Amjad Khan, Bhagwan and Nirupa Roy. The film's music is by Khayyam. ...

'' (1980) *'' Nakhuda''(1981) *'' Umrao Jaan '' (1981) *'' Dard'' (1981) *'' Ahista Ahista'' (1981) *''

Dil-e-Nadaan ''Dil-e-Nadaan'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Prada and Smita Patil. It is a remake of Sridhar's 1978 Tamil film '' Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu' ...

'' (1982) *''

'' (1982) *'' Baawri'' (1982) *'' Sawaal'' (1982) *''Dil...Akhir Dil Hai'' (1982) *'' Razia Sultan'' (1983) *''Mehndi'' (1983) *'' Lorie'' (1984) *''

Bepanaah ''Bepanaah'' is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Jagdish Sidana, starring Shashi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Poonam Dhillon, Rati Agnihotri, Suresh Oberoi, Madan Puri, Kader Khan in pivotal roles. Summary Bajrang, a naive youngs ...

'' (1985) *''Tere Shahar Mein'' (1986) *'' Anjuman'' (1986) *''Devar Bhabhi'' (1986) *'' Ek Naya Rishta'' (1988) *'' Parbat Ke Us Paar'' (1988) *''Jaan-E-Wafa'' (1990) *''Mohabbaton Ka Safar'' (1995) *''Ek Hi Manzil'' (2000) *''

Yatra ( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated ...

'' (2007) *''Mission-The Last War'' (2008) *'' Bazaar E Husn'' (2014) *''Ghulam Bandhu'' (2016) — Unreleased

References

External links

*
Best of Khayyam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khayyam, Mohammed Zahur 1927 births 2019 deaths Indian film score composers Indian Muslims Filmfare Awards winners Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award People from Punjab, India Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Best Music Direction National Film Award winners People from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district Punjabi people