Himayat Ali Shair

Who is Himayat Ali Shair?

Himayat Ali Shair is a renowned Urdu poet, writer, lyricist, actor,radio drama artist from Pakistan. He is the recipient of Pride of Performance Award given to him in 2002 for his literary services to Urdu literature by then President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf.

Shair was born in Aurangabad, India on July 14, 1926. His mother died when he was three years old. At a very young age, he was exposed to the leading leftist writers of that time. He worked for All India Radio and arrived in Pakistan in 1951 to began his remarkable career with Radio Pakistan at Karachi.

His first poetry book was published in 1956 "Aag Main Phool" which received the Presidential Award in 1958. Later, he started his successful career as a lyricist, receiving Nigar Awards for the films Aanchal and Daaman in 1962 and 1963 respectively. In 1966, Shair produced and directed "Lori" starring Muhammad Ali, Zeba, Santosh Kumar. The movie completed its Golden Jubilee by running for 52 weeks in Karachi.

Shair wrote few of the evergreen songs ever written in the cinema of Pakistan. Some of the songs include Na Chura Sakogay Daaman, Jaag Utha Hai Sara Watan, Khudawanda Yeh Kaisi Aag, Jab Raat Dhali, Har Qadam Per Nit Naye Sanchay Main Dhal Jatay Hain Log, Tujh Ko Maloom Naheen and many others.