Milan, Himalaya Ki God Mein and Jab Jab Phool Khile were the movies which made Anand Baksha lyricist in a class of his own.
Anand Bakshi, whose full name is Bakshi Prakash Anand Vaid, was one of the most prominent and successful lyricists of Bollywood. He initially wanted to sing and his dream was fulfilled in the film Charas. But the way this man touched music lover’s heart through his words in songs like “Dum Maaro Dum” to “Yaadein”, made him immortal. It is his 85th birth anniversary today, and thus we bring to you a few details about his life, and also a few iconic songs which were penned by Anand Bakshi.
Anand was born in a family of Mohyal Brahmins from Kurree on 21 July 1930 in Rawalpindi. He was just five-years-old when his mother passed away. After the partition, the family migrated to India. They first came to Delhi, after which they migrated to Pune, Meerut and finally settled in Delhi.
At the age of 14, Anand Bakshi joined the Royal Indian Navy at Karachi. He worked on H. I. M. S. Dilawar from 12 July 1944 to 4 April 1945. But, Anand was dismissed from the Navy. He then went on to join the army, which he left on 12 April 1950. It was then that he came to Bombay, in October 1956, to find work for himself as a singer or lyricist in the film industry.
Brij Mohan gave him his first break of writing songs for his film Bhalaa Aadmi. He wrote four songs for the Bhagwan Dada starrer. On 9 November 1956, Anand recorded his first song Dharti Ke Laal Na Kar Itna Malaal during an All India Radio interview. In 1962, Anand Bakshi found his first success with the song Mehendi Lagi Mere Haath, to which Kalyanji-Anandji gave their music.
Milan, Himalaya Ki God Mein and Jab Jab Phool Khile were the movies which made Anand a lyricist in a class of his own. Meri Tasveer Lekar Kya Karoge Tum, a qawwali from the 1962 movie Kala Samundar gave recognition to his work. Bakshi won four Filmfare Awards for Aadmi Musafir Hai, Tere Mere Beech Mein Kaisa Hai Ye Bandhan, Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jaana Sanam and Ishq Bina, respectively.
Here is a list of a few memorable songs of Anand Bakshi:
As a result of his smoking habit, he suffered from heart and lung disease. In March 2002, he underwent a heart surgery, during which he caught a bacterial infection. At the age of 72, Bakshi breathed his last on 30 March 2002 at Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. His last film as a lyricist was Mehbooba starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan and Manisha Koirala.
With over 3500 songs to his credit, Anand Bakshi remains a legend.
