Shailendra
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Briefly
Shailendra was born in Rawalpindi on August 30, 1923, as Shankardas Kesrilal Shailendra. he wrote lyrics for several successful Hindi film songs in the 1950s and the 1960s. Among other well-known songs for which he gave lyrics are 'Awara hun, gardish mein hun asmaan ka taara hun,' 'Ramaiya Vastavaiya', 'Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh', 'Mera Joota Hai Japani', 'Gata Rahe Mera Dil' and 'Khoya Khoya Chand'.
He studied and spent his formative years in Mathura.
The lyricist died in 1966 at the rather young age of 43. The three-time Film Fare Award winner for his lyrics also had a commemorative stamp released in his name in 2013.
Shailendra lived in the railway colony and his two friends were Dwarika Seth and Babu Lal Sharma. But their family members fondly recall the times. Dwarika named his son after Shailendra.
Shailendra's son Dinesh is a film director in Mumbai and [in 2015 was] making a documentary on his father's life. Another son, Shaily, completed one of his father’s songs for Mera Naam Joker and, for a few years beginning 1970, inherited his father’s mantle as lyricist for A list films.
Mathura MP Hema Malini reminisced how Shailendra was instrumental in getting her launched in Raj Kapoor's 'Sapnon ka Saudagar'.
Mr Vinod Viplav, an activist for scheduled caste causes, writes, ‘the songs penned by Shailendra have been quite popular but for a long time few were aware that he was a Dalit and had to struggle to reach the position that he ultimately did.’
