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Kaifi Azmi

1919–2002

Kaifi Azmi was a Progressive Writers' Movement poet and a card-carrying communist who wrote Urdu verse of the first rank and then wrote film songs without lowering his standard, which almost nobody managed.

Kaagaz Ke Phool, Haqeeqat, Heer Raanjha, Garam Hawa, Arth. Haqeeqat's Kar Chale Hum Fida is still sung on Republic Day. He wrote Heer Raanjha entirely in verse - every line of dialogue - which has not been attempted since. Shabana Azmi is his daughter; Shaukat Kaifi, also here, was his wife.

Dates and credits from Wikidata.