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 ''Kabhi Kabhie'' (English: ''Sometimes'') is a 1976 Indian musical romantic drama film produced and directed by Yash Chopra and written by Pamela Chopra starring an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Shashi Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Ris ...

'' 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 Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in Creative Music, by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Theatre. He was awarded the third-highest civilian honour, Padma Bhushan, 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: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, 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 House ...

. 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 Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. The city has an estimated population of 1,618,879 2011 Indian census, 2011 census and distributed over , making Ludhiana the ...

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 opposin ...

, Khayyam went to

Bombay 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 second- ...

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 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 Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name ( takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. His work influenced Indian cinema, i ...

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 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 participated ...

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 Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer. *Lata (born 1975), Musician. *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–20 ...

and ''"Aur Kuch Der Theher"'' by Rafi were huge hits. Other notable songs are from the film ''

Shagoon ''Shagoon'' is a 1964 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Nazar. The film stars Waheeda Rehman, Kamaljeet, Nazir Hussain, Achla Sachdev, Nivedita (Libi Rana), Pratima Devi, Chand Usmani and Nana Palsikar. The film was shot at Mehboob Studios in ...

'' (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

once again to work in the

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

-directed ''

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

and

), ''"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 Trishul may refer to: Film * ''Trishul'' (film), a 1978 Hindi film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan * ''Trisulam'' (film), a 1982 Telugu film starring Krishnam Raju and Sridevi Military *Trishul (missile), a surface-to-air missile deve ...

Thodi Si Bewafaai ''Thodisi Bewafaii'' () is a 1980 Hindi movie written and directed by Esmayeel Shroff. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi and Padmini Kohlapure. The music is by Khayyam.The film was a commercial hit and in some cities celebrated as a ...

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

, Dard,

Noorie ''Noorie'' is a 1979 Indian romance film produced by Yash Chopra, and directed by Manmohan Krishna; this is his only film as director. The film stars Farooq Shaikh, Poonam Dhillon, Madan Puri and Iftekhar. The film's music is by Khayyam and the ...

, 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's '' Umrao Jaan'' in 1981. He had Asha Bhonsle 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 ''

'' 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 Aadukirath ...

'' (1982), all of them starring Khanna in the lead. Khayyam created music for the Kamal Amrohi directed film ''

Razia Sultan Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din ( fa, ) (died 15 October 1240, ), popularly known as Razia Sultana, was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, and ...

'' (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 meanings i ...

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 Ali Sardar Jafri (29 November 1913 – 1 August 2000) was an Indian writer of Urdu language. He was also a poet, critic and film lyricist. Biography Early life and education Ali Sardar Jafri was born in Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, where he sp ...

, Majrooh Sultanpuri,

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described ...

, and among the new ones Naqsh Lyallpuri, Nida Fazli,

Jan Nisar Akhtar Jan Nisar Akhtar (18 February 1914 – 19 August 1976) was an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood. He was son of Muztar Khairabadi and great grandson ...

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 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 Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...

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 second- ...

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 possib ...

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: ''

'' *1982: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Umrao Jaan'' *1982: National Film Award for Best Music Direction: '' Umrao Jaan'' *2007:

: Creative Music *2010: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award *2011: Padma Bhushan *2012: Mirchi Music Lifetime Achievement Award *2018: Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award Nominated *1980: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: ''

'' *1981: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: '' Thodisi Bewafai'' *1982: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: ''

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

Filmography

;Singer *''Romeo & Juliet'' (1947) — sang a duet with Zohrabai Ambalewali ; 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 Bulo C Rani (6 May 1920 – 24 May 1993) was an Indian music director. He was a music director in Bollywood from the 1940s until the 1960s. He scored music for 71 films from 1943–72, including some evergreens like "hame to loot liya mil ke husn ...

*''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 ''Tatar Ka Chor'' is a Bollywood action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero strug ...

'' (1955) *''

'' (1958) *'' Lala Rukh'' (1958) *''Barood'' (1960) *''Bombai Ki Billi'' (1960) *'' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1961) *''

'' (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 ''Sankalp'' is a 1975 Bollywood film directed by Ramesh Saigal. The song "Tu Hi Sagar Tu Hi Kinara", rendered by Sulakshana Pandit earned her its only Filmfare award. It was composed by Khayyam. Plot Rakesh lives with his widowed businessman ...

'' (1975) *''

'' (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) *''

'' (1978) *'' Khandaan'' (1979) *''

'' (1979) *''Meena Kumari ki Amar Kahani'' (1979) *''

'' (1980) *'' Chambal Ki Kasam'' (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 Aadukirath ...

'' (1982) *''

Baawri ''Baawri'' is a 1982 Bollywood film directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar, starring Jaya Prada, Yogeeta Bali and Shreeram Lagoo. The film was a remake of the director's own Tamil film ''Bhadrakali''. Cast * Rakesh Roshan as Shyam Bhardwaj * Jaya Pra ...

'' (1982) *'' Sawaal'' (1982) *''Dil...Akhir Dil Hai'' (1982) *''

'' (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 youngst ...

'' (1985) *''Tere Shahar Mein'' (1986) *'' Anjuman'' (1986) *''Devar Bhabhi'' (1986) *''

Ek Naya Rishta Ek Naya Rishta () is a 1988 Indian drama film. The film was produced and directed by Vinod Pande, starring Rekha, Raj Kiran, Mazhar Khan and Om Shivpuri among others. The film is a modern take on relationships, business, independence, interdepe ...

'' (1988) *''

Parbat Ke Us Paar ''Parbat Ke Us Paar'' is a 1988 Indian Hindi language romance film directed by Raman Kumar. The film's music was composed by Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, Khayyam. Cast * Abhinav Chaturvedi * Deepak Tijori * Manju Mishra * Rama Vij * Lubna Salim ...

'' (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 w ...

'' (2007) *''Mission-The Last War'' (2008) *''

Bazaar E Husn ''Bazaar E Husn'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language film, based on Munshi Premchand’s renowned Urdu novel Bazaar-e-Husn, released on 18 July 2014. This film stars Reshmi Ghosh, Jeet Goshwami, Om Puri and Yashpal Sharma, and was written by ...

'' (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