D. N. Madhok

D. N. Madhok Biography

D. N. Madhok was one of the earliest lyricists of Bollywood. He was one of the prominent names in the early talkies to 1960s. Started his career with the 1932 film Radhey Sham he wrote over 800 songs in a career spanning to four decades. Madhok, along with Kidar Sharma and Kavi Pradeep are credited to the first trio of Hindi film lyrics. He has also written several screenplays and directed 17 films. He was active during pre-independent era. "Barso Re" sung by Khursheed and "Diya Jalao" sung by K. L. Saigal belonging to Tansen are still popular.

D. N. Madhok was born on 22 October 1902 in Gujranwala of British India, Present day Pakistan. Born into a middle class family, his father worked as a first class post master. Madhok couldn’t complete graduation, but he managed to earn a job in Indian Railways, where he worked for many years. He reached in Mumbai, then known by the name Bombay in 1931 and started off his career as a lyricist. Radhey Shyam in 1932 marked his debut as a lyricist, where he wrote 29 songs and also did a small role in the film. He has also assisted in composing its music and was uncredited. Same year he marked his directorial debut as well.

In his debut year 1932, he directed three movies - Lure of Gold, Flame of Love and Three Warriors and continued with his job as lyricist. Since then he directed 17 movies belonging to Hindi and Punjabi languages. Nadi Kinare (1939), Musafir (1940), Pagal (1940), Ummeed (1941), Bansari (1943), Nurse (1943), Bela (1947), Bhakt Surdas (1942), and Tansen (1943) were his noted works as a lyrist. Naushad has worked as an assistant under Madhok during his early days. Madhok is also credited to introducing this legendary musician to Bollywood through Prem nagar in 1940. Madhok continued to work till the 1960s, writing over 2,000 songs in all.

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Updated: March 06, 2016