he leading poets in India looked favorably at the medium and genre of film. They did not hesitate to contribute to writing the lyrics of the film songs. However, this was not the case in Pakistan. The leading poets apparently thought it was beneath them to write for the films. Very few actually chose to do so.

The genesis of this lack of a natural transformation may lie in history. As the theatre tradition was resurrected with the coming of the European sailors in the ports, the theatrical forms that evolved were a mixture of the East and the West. As theatre became more mainstream, the dramatist was seen to be a step below the poet and the serious writer. Amanat Lakhvani, considered to be the first Urdu dramatists for his Indar Sabha has never been given the same artistic status as the poets of that era. The tradition has continued through the decades, right through the very successful decades of the Parsi Theatre, this distinction was never actually challenged. Rather, it was reinforced and the two strands more or less ran independently. Agha Hashr, the most successful of the Parsi tradition dramatist and seen by many to be a poet of merit too was never accorded the literary respect that many of his contemporary poets enjoyed.

Perhaps, this hiatus was narrowed by the rise of the Indian People Theatre Association. In a way, they saw the performing arts as having a parallel function: a political-flavoured activity as many of the serious writers and poets sympathetic to the cause of the Left chose to consider this option with seriousness. Also, it distinguished them from the mere song and dance entertainment-ridden performing arts format. Josh Malihabdii, in the pre-Partition era, was cajoled into writing songs for some films that achieved moderate success. This was not be in the years that he lived in Pakistan.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz did not write many songs, nor did Ahmed Faraz or Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi. Muneer Niazi’s foray into the field, too, can be seen as a one off effort. Despite some success, he did not continue. Nasir Kazmi never ventured exclusively into the arena. It can be said that Habib Jalib was enticed more often than not to lend his talent for the bigger screen but it never became an activity at the same level and generating the same results as in India.

Most of the major poets thus stayed away from the films in Pakistan. But in India at one point it was thought right that the films should be made the conduit for spreading the idea of socialist realism. The film domain was hence penetrated by major poets like Sahir Ludhanvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakil Badayuni and Kaifi Azmi. The songs took their poetry to the man in the street. It is debatable whether the idea of social awareness was taken to the people and they were affected by it but it certainly did raise the general level of poetry. It went far beyond that of the tuk-bands who wrote poetry for the films because they were hardly recognised as front-rank poets by the literati.

The most successful and creative composer-poet duo has been that of SD Burman and Sahir Ludhianvi. Both died in the last week of October, albeit five years apart. Both worked in 15 films together and proved that it is possible to marry good poetry and good composition that enhance the impact rather than cancel the other out. It all started with Chal Chal Ray Naujawaan and became popular and acceptable with Baazi and ended with Pyaasa which many consider to be one of the best films made by the popular Bollywood industry. Its outstanding lyrics by Sahir are composed in equal measure by SD Burman. Some of the most outstanding numbers were hence created. However, the two fell out on the quibble as to what matters more: the words or the note?

Their falling out took place because Sahir thought that poetry took precedence over composition while SD Burman believed that poetry was written to suit the musical requirement. Ironically, when Sahir was taken to Burman for the first time he was not impressed by the poetry of Sahir for he did not really know Urdu or Hindustani to the extent of appreciating the subtleties of poetry. However, his ability to write verses instantly and with a great deal of facility impressed Burman. As Burman composed, Sahir wrote what suited the musical composition, the two ended up working together and ratcheting up the general level of film music in the process. There was also some problem with Lata Mangeshkar when she sang the lyrics as fit for a song rather than truthful sequence of words in a misra’. This created some distance between the two.

The great debate about the primacy of either the sur or the lafz has been the basis of the discord. Its significance should not be underestimated. When Bob Dylan was awarded the Noble Prize for literature a few years ago, the controversy rose again and sharpened the contours of the same debate with many pulling their weight in opposite directions.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore.