Akhtar ul Iman (12 November 1915 9 March 1996) was a noted Urdu poet and screenwriter in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

, who had a major influence on modern Urdu nazm. He won the

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

for Best Dialogue in 1963 for '' Dharmputra'' and 1966 for '' Waqt''. He was awarded the 1962

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in Urdu, for his Poetry Collection, ''Yadein'' (Memories), by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

, India's National Academy of Letters.

Early life and education

Born on 12 November 1915 in Qila Patthargarh,

Najibabad Najibabad is a town in the Bijnor district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, located near the city of Bijnor. It is a major industrial centre and has national transport links via rail and roadways such as NH 119 and NH 74. History Nawab ...

, in the Bijnor district of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

in 1915. He was brought up in an orphanage. He gained his initial education at

Bijnor Bijnor () is a city and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.Ralph Russell. He graduated from the Zakir Husain College at

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

and completed his master's in Urdu degree from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Career

He first joined

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

as a staff artist. Then Iman joined the Filmistan Studio as a dialogue writer in 1945. He preferred nazm over more popular

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

as a mean of poetic expression. Akhtar ul Iman's language is "coarse and unpoetic". He uses "coarse" and mundane poetic expressions to make his message effective and realistic.''Modern Indian Literature: An Anthology'', by K. M. George, various, Sahitya Akademi He left behind a substantial legacy for new generation of poets to follow which explores new trends and themes in modern Urdu poetry giving a new direction to the modern and contemporary Urdu nazm with emphasis on philosophical humanism.

Works

Books

• ''Iss Aabad Kharabe Mein'' (Urdu)-published by Urdu Academy, Delhi, India. Autobiography of a famous Urdu writer of India.

Poetry

He has published eight collections: * ''Girdaab'' (1943) * ''Aabjoo'' (1944–1945) * ''Tareek Sayyara'' (1946–47) * ''Yaden'' (1961) * ''Bint-e-Lamhaat'' (1969) * ''Naya Ahang'' (1977) * ''Sar-o-Samaan'' (1982) * ''Zameen Zameen'' (1983–1990) * ''Kulliyaat-e-Akhter-ul-Iman'' (2000) Play * ''Sabrang'' (1948): a one-verse play.

Translation and compilation by others

* ''Zamistan Sard Mehrika'' (Urdu)- Last Poetic Collection of an unforgettable Urdu poet. Compiled and edited by Sultana Iman and Bedar Bakht. * ''Query of the Road'' – Selected Poems of Akhtar-ul-Iman with Extensive Commentary by Baidar Bakht

Indian cinema

His contribution to Hindi cinema is significant, keeping in mind the number of landmark and hit movies he has contributed as a script writer (dialogue, story and screenplay). His first landmark movie was '' Kanoon'' (1960 film), which became a big hit despite the fact that it had no songs or comedy sequences. Other important movies to which he contributed as a script writer were '' Dharmputra'' (1961) – for which he received a

filmfare award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Time ...

– ''Gumrah'', ''Waqt'', ''Patther ke Sanam'', and ''Daagh''. The one movie which has his lyrics is ''Bikhare Moti''.

Awards

Literary awards * 1962:

– Urdu: ''Yadein'' (Poetry) and Numerous other literary awards. *

** 1963: Best Dialogue: '' Dharmputra'' ** 1966: Best Dialogue: '' Waqt''

Filmography

*''Vijay'' (1988) – writer *''Chor Police'' (1983) – writer *''Lahu Pukarega'' (1980) – director *''Do Musafir'' (1978) – writer *''Chandi Sona'' (1977) – writer *'' Zameer'' (1975) – writer *''36 Ghante'' (1974) – writer *''

Roti Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries. It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...

'' (1974) – writer *''Naya Nasha'' (1973) – writer *'' Bada Kabutar'' (1973) – writer *'' Daag'' (1973) – writer *'' Dhund'' (1973) – writer *'' Joshila'' (1973) – writer *''Kunwara Badan'' (1973) – writer *''Dastaan'' (1972) – writer *''Joroo Ka Ghulam'' (1972) – writer *'' Aadmi Aur Insaan'' (1969) – writer *''Chirag'' (1969) – writer *'' Ittefaq'' (1969) – writer *''Aadmi'' (1968) – writer *'' Hamraaz'' (1967) – writer *'' Patthar Ke Sanam'' (1967) – writer *'' Gaban'' (1966) – writer *'' Mera Saaya'' (1966) – writer *'' Phool Aur Patthar'' (1966) – writer *''Bhoot Bungla'' (1965) – writer *'' Waqt'' (1965) – writer *''Shabnam'' (1964) – writer *'' Yaadein'' (1964) – writer *'' Aaj Aur Kal'' (1963) – writer *''Akeli Mat Jaiyo'' (1963) – writer *'' Gumrah'' (1963) – writer *''Neeli Aankhen'' (1962) – writer *'' Dharmputra'' (1961) – writer *''Flat No. 9'' (1961) – writer *''Barood'' (1960) – writer *''Kalpana'' (1960) – writer *'' Kanoon'' (1960) – writer *''Nirdosh'' (1950) – writer *''Actress'' (1948) – writer *''Jharna'' (1948) – writer

Death and survivors

Akhtar ul Iman died on 9 March 1996 in Mumbai at age 80. He also was the father-in-law of actor Amjad Khan.

References

Cited sources

External links

*
Verses of Akhtarul Iman

Nazm of Akhtarul Iman

Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology By K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi
Akhtar ul Iman - Archived
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iman, Akhtar Ul 1915 births 1996 deaths Urdu-language poets from India 20th-century Indian Muslims People from Bijnor district Delhi University alumni Indian male screenwriters Filmfare Awards winners Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu 20th-century Indian poets Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian male poets 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian screenwriters All India Radio people Zakir Husain Delhi College alumni