Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was an Indian poet, writer and lyricist.
Life
Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was born at Jhelum District of Pakistan. Mehdi Ali lost his father when he was four. His mother Hebay Saheba who was the sister of Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, got him educated in his early years. Muhammad Iqbal acknowledged Hebay Saheba as a leading Urdu poet. As he grew up, Mehdi Ali started working as a writer at the All India Radio, Delhi. Here he got acquainted with Saadat Hasan Manto. Manto, who was active in the Hindi film industry, requested Ashok Kumar to give Mehdi Ali some work. He soon got a film called Aath Din in which he not only wrote dialogues but also acted. Sashadhar Mukherjee, one of the partners in Filmistan Studio, gave Mehdi Ali a chance to write lyrics for his film, Do Bhai. Songs from the film such as "Mera Sunder Sapna" and "Yaad Karoge" became instant hits. In 1947, Mehdi and his wife Tahira decided to stay in India instead of migrating to Pakistan. They came to this decision despite the wave of riots plaguing the country. In 1948, his patriotism manifested in his songs, "Watan Ki Raah Mein" and "Todi Todi Bachche", which were used in the film Shaheed. He worked with music composers including Sachin Dev Burman, Iqbal Qureshi, Babul, S. Mohinder, Chic Chocolate, and Rono Mukherjee. He also wrote songs for C. Ramchandra, Datta Naik and O. P. Nayyar. He formed a successful partnership with Madan Mohan which began with Madhosh in 1951. It was also Madan Mohan's third film as a music director. The two shared a great rapport and their later collaborations in films such as Anpadh, Mera Saaya, Woh Kaun Thi?, Neela Akash, Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Anita and Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah proved to be massive hits. His song Lag Jaa Gale from Woh Kaun Thi? was named among the top ten all-time favorites in film history to be "retired" from Antakshari on Zee TV.
1. Mera sundar sapna beet gaya 2. Meri yaad me tum na aansoo bahaana 3. Raat sard sard hai 4. Poochho na hume 5. Aap yuhin agar hum se milte rahe 6. Maye pyar ka raahi hoon 7. Aap ki nazron ne samjha 8. Hai isi me pyar ki aabroo 9. Agar mujhse mohabbat hai 10. Main nigaahen tere chehre se 11. Jo hum ne dastaan apni sunaai 12. Lag ja gale ke phir ye 13. Naina barse rimjhim 14. Aakhri geet mohabbat ka 15. Tere paas aa ke mera waqt 16. Naino me badra chhaye 17. Tu jahan jahan chalega 18. Aap ke paheloo me aa kar ro diye 19. Jhumka gira re 20. Sapno me agar mere tum aao 21. Kayee din se ji hai bekal 22. Ek haseen sham ko 23. Tere Bin sawaan kaise beeta 24. Aari o shokh kaliyion muskuraa dena 25. Akela hoon maye humsafar dhoondta hoon 26. Tum bin jeevan kaise beeta poochho mere dil se
