Cinemaazi remembers Akhtar Romani on his death anniversary
14 Jul 2015
Remembering film-writer and lyricist Akhtar Romani on his death anniversary—the lyricist, film-writer and publicity campaign designer had passed away on 14 July, 2015. Possessing a flair for Urdu poetry, he began writing film songs in the mid-1950s, soon after college. Later, he turned to writing dialogues and screenplays occasionally. When his college mate Ameen Sayani became a household name as the writer and voice of the popular film song show Binaca Geetmala, and also started producing radio advertising campaigns for Radio Ceylon to promote Hindi films, Romani joined him as writer. He worked with Sayani for nearly 15 years. In the late 60s, Romani moved on to penning dialogues for big films such as Do Raaste (1969), even as he continued with radio as an independent freelance producer, for a few years. Among the films Romani penned lyrics for are Noor-e-Yaman (1956), Hatimtai (1956), Hurricane Express (1961), Johar Mehmood In Goa (1964), Insaaf (1966), Gunehgar (1967), Hasina Maan Jayegi (1968), and Gehra Raaz (1971). Films he penned dialogue for include Rickshawala (1973), Kachhe Dhaage (1973), Ajnabee (1974), and Kabeela (1976). He also penned the screenplay for Chunaoti (1979).
