But even during those harsh times, his love for poetry did not waver. In his youth, Shailendra shifted to Bombay where he started working as a welding apprentice at the Matunga Railway workshop. His family had originally migrated from Bihar to Rawalpindi in search of work but left for Mathura due to financial troubles. Shailendra’s childhood was spent amid a financial crisis.
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On the occasion of Shailendra’s 98th birth anniversary, ThePrint takes a look at his life’s journey. The pain and anguish of partition, anti-establishmentarianism, and hope for the oppressed are some of the recurring themes of his songs. They also held out the promise of love and hope for the future.ĭue to his pro-Left leanings - he was a member of the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) - his songs spoke to the working class and their problems. His songs also drew on contemporary issues and echoed the struggle and pain of poverty which he had known in his own life. Shailendra became popular among the masses as his lyrics pulled the heartstrings with their linguistic simplicity, spontaneity, emotional ring, and its ‘common touch’. Well versed in the folk tradition of Uttar Pradesh, he started writing songs for Hindi cinema, after a period of great struggle. From Rawalpindi, his family migrated to Mathura. Hindi-Urdu poet Shailendra, who gave Raj Kapoor some of his biggest hits - ‘ Awara hoon’ and ‘ Mera joota hai Japani’ - was born on 30 August 1923, in Rawalpindi in undivided India. The Urdu language played a dominant role in the songs of that era as the front-ranking poets and lyricists of that time, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote in that language. Lyrics played a pivotal role in shaping the personalities of actors and actresses who lit up the silver screen.
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The first decade of mainstream cinema, the 1950s, was in fact, a period when songs and their picturisation were a key focus of moviemakers. As commercial Hindi cinema had the widest audience, its music and songs were of great importance. Post Independence, Indian cinema was in search of new narratives that would speak of the dreams of a new nation.