'JP's Umrao made fun of a classic'

New Delhi: Shahryar, the doyen of Urdu shayari who wrote the lyrics for Muzaffar Ali-directed Umrao Jaan in 1981, says there cannot be any comparison between the classic which stars Rekha and the much-hyped remake with Aishwarya Rai currently playing in cinema halls.

Shahryar, who has been described by Khushwant Singh as the best Urdu poet, said from Aligarh: "Donon filmon ka koi muqabla nahin hai (There cannot be any comparison between the two films)."

"I have not seen the film, but going by the trailers on television I feel... yeh to moonh chidane wali baat hui (This amounts to making fun of the classic)."

Saying the Muzafffar Ali classic should not have been touched, the poet recited a couplet "I can best express my feelings through this shair Mere Rakeeb Banne Mashoor Ho Jayenge (My enemies will become famous now)."

Shahryar, who retired as professor of Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University about a decade ago, says: "But it is for you all to decide objectively."

For many old timers, it's difficult to erase the memory of Rekha singing "In Ankhon ki masti ke mastaane hazaron hain...." or "Dil cheez kya hai aap meri jaan leejeye..." for which Khayaam scored the music.

The JP Dutta remake, for which lyricist Javed Akhtar and music composer Anu Malik were roped in, has not gone down too well the audience. "Salaam karne ki aarzoo hai, idhar jo dekhe salaam kar lo..." seems no match for Shahryar's lyrics.

The poet, who in his entire career penned songs for only Umrao Jaan, says "there has to be poetry in my lyrics. I cannot write lyrics like everyone. I did write the songs for Anjuman for which Shabana Azmi lent her voice. But the movie ran into trouble and was never released."

Shahryar's works of prose and verse have been translated into English, Hindi, Russain, Bengali, Marathi and Telegu. When told his fans miss his lyrics, he said: "I am based in Aligarh and rather low-profile. If people contact me, I give them lyrics. Like, Jagjit Singh sometimes takes my ghazals. But it's important that my lyrics have poetry."