नरेंद्र शर्मा

Pandit Narendra Sharma (28 February 1913 – 1989) was an Indian Hindi-language poet, writer, and lyricist, and one of Hindi cinema's most literary songwriters. Born in Jahangirpur in present-day Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, he completed his undergraduate studies and an M.A. in English Literature at Allahabad University. Before entering films, he worked as sub-editor of the Hindi daily Abhyudaya and taught English and Hindi poetry at Banaras Hindu University, and also served the All India Congress Committee at Allahabad as Hindi Secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sharma moved to Bombay in 1942 and made his debut as a film lyricist with Hamari Baat (1943), going on to write for Bombay Talkies and more than a hundred films over the following decades, collaborating with nearly every major music director and singer of his era. He is especially remembered for blending the devotional idiom of Kabir and Meera with the lyricism of Urdu ghazal, bringing a distinctively literary register to Hindi film songs. Among his best-known lyrics are the title song of Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1979) and 'Yashomati Maiya Se Bole Nandlala' from the same film, 'Jyoti Kalash Chhalke' (Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan, 1961), 'Bhanware Ne Khilaya Phool' (Prem Rog, 1982), and 'Preet Ka Naata Jodne Wala' (Afsar, 1950); he received a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Lyricist for the Satyam Shivam Sundaram title song.

Beyond films, Narendra Sharma was the founder of Vividh Bharati, All India Radio's popular entertainment service, and later served as its Hindi Adhikari. He was a mentor to singer Lata Mangeshkar and later served as conceptual adviser and lyricist for the television series Mahabharat (1988). He died in February 1989 in Mumbai at the age of 75.