Akhtar Ul Iman

Akhtar Ul Iman Biography

Akhtar ul Iman was a noted Urdu poet and screenwriter of Bollywood, known for the movies – Dharmaputra and Waqt. He bagged the Filmfare Award for best dialogue for both these movies for the years 1963 and 1966 respectively. He made a distinct mark in the Hindi film industry as a scriptwriter and dialogue writer. He received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, for his Poetry Collection, Yaadein for the year 1962. He preferred Nazm over Ghazal and has given a significant contribution to modern Urdu nazm. Noted actor Amjad Khan of Sholey fame was his son-in-law.

Iman was born in 1915 in a small village near Najibabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father was a moulvi in a local mosque. His early education was done at Bijnor. He developed a long time association with Ralph Russell, a British scholar of Urdu literature during his younger days and also the noted scholar and Urdu writer, Khurshid ul Islam. He completed graduation from Zakir Husain College, Delhi. He also completed Master of Arts in Urdu Literature from Delhi University. He began his professional career in Civil service department of government sector and also worked in AIR.

Iss Aabad Kharabe Mein, Sabrang, Bint-e-Lamhaat and Tareek Sayyara are among his published works. Iman never wrote ghazals. He married Sultana Iman and the couple had one son and three daughters. He moved to Mumbai in 1945 and started association with Bollywood as a scriptwriter and dialogue writer. He worked as a freelancer and also for B.R. Films as an assigned cine writer during the period 1960-1980. He wrote the lyrics of the movie - Bikhare Moti. Kanoon, Gumrah, Waqt, Patther ke Sanam, and Daag are among his noted movies as a screenwriter.

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Updated: July 21, 2014