BOMBAY, May 10: Renowned Urdu poet and film lyricist Kaifi Azmi died in Bombay on Friday after a prolonged illness. He was 82. A founder of the Progressive Writers Association, Azmi is survived by his actress wife Shaukat Azmi, actress-politician daughter Shabana Azmi and cinematographer son Baba Azmi.

Born Akhtar Hussain Rizvi in a small town in Uttar Pradesh state, Azmi wrote his first poem at the age of 11.

He arrived in Bombay in 1943 to work with an Urdu paper and five years later began his career as a lyricist and screenwriter which was to produce some of Urdu cinema’s most celebrated songs.

A Communist Party member and committed social activist, Azmi wrote many poems about the plight of the exploited, including the famous Makaan which highlights a system where poor, homeless footpath dwellers build palaces for the rich.

At the other end of the spectrum were his love poems, which also included some of his better film lyrics.

“It is a great personal loss for me and my family. He was like a father figure to me. He left us when he was needed the most,” said son-in-law Javed Akhtar, himself a well-known lyricist and screenwriter.

“He was the last of the progressive writers of Urdu literature,” Akhtar said.

President K.R. Narayanan paid tribute to Azmi’s commitment to secular values, and said his works should be seen as a source of inspiration at a time when communal violence continues to rage in the western state of Gujarat.—AFP