बेहज़ाद लखनवी

Behzad Lakhnavi (also transliterated Behzad Lucknavi), born Sardar Hasan Khan on 1 January 1900 in Lucknow, was an Urdu poet and Hindi film lyricist. He came from a literary family and began composing verse and performing at mushairas (poetry gatherings) from around the age of twelve, later adopting the pen name 'Behzad.' After years working with the Indian Railways, he was introduced to All India Radio by veteran broadcaster Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari, and it was through his radio contacts that he entered the Bombay film industry as a lyricist.

Behzad Lakhnavi wrote lyrics for close to 20 Hindi films between the late 1930s and early 1950s, including Taj Mahal (1941) and Mehboob Khan's Roti (1942). His best-known film lyric is the despairing ghazal 'Zinda Hoon Is Tarah Ke Gham-e-Zindagi Nahin' from Raj Kapoor's Aag (1948); he also wrote 'Mere Liye Woh Gham-e-Intezaar' for Anokha Pyar (1948), sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and 'Tum Dekh Rahe Ho' for Sheesh Mahal (1950). Outside cinema, his ghazal 'Diwana Banana Hai Toh Toh Diwana Bana De' was among the songs that first brought recognition to ghazal singer Begum Akhtar, and it remains one of his most enduring works.

Following the Partition of India in 1947, Behzad Lakhnavi migrated to Pakistan, where he worked for Radio Pakistan in Karachi and continued writing ghazals and naats. Over his career he published more than a dozen poetry collections, including Naghma-o-Noor, Kaif-o-Suroor, Mauj-e-Tahoor, Chiraagh-e-Toor, and Wajd-o-Haal. He died in Karachi on 10 October 1974.