>JJMC89 bot III at 06:24, 26 March 2021

2021-03-26T06:24:30Z

New page

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Aghajani Kashmeri
|image = Aghajani kashmeri portrait.jpg
|birth_name = Syed Wajid Hussain Rizvi
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1908|10|16}}
|death_date = {{Death date|df=yes|1998|3|27}} (age 89)
|birth_place = [[Lucknow]], Uttar Pradesh, India
|death_place = [[Toronto|Toronto, Ontario]], Canada
|occupation = Screenwriter, [[Urdu Poet]]
|years_active = 1938 – 1976
| spouse = Khursheed Kashmeri (née Kazi)
|children = Zuhair Kashmeri and Sarwar Kashmeri
|awards=
}}
'''Syed Wajid Hussain Rizvi''' ([[Urdu]]: {{Nastaliq|''سيد واجد حسین رضوی''}}, born 16 October 1908 – 27 March 1998), better known by his film screen name, '''Agha Jani Kashmiri''' ([[Urdu]]: {{Nastaliq|آغاجانی کشمیری}}), was an Indian [[screenwriter]], former actor and [[Urdu poet]].<ref name=cinestaan/>

He worked in [[Bollywood]] films, as a writer for a number of classics, from the first [[Indian cinema]]tic blockbuster ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]]'' (1943), to the [[Palme d'Or]] nominated ''[[Mujhe Jeene Do]]'' (1963), to ''[[Naya Zamana (1971 film)|Naya Zamana]]'' (1971). He was known for writing his dialogues in literary [[Urdu]], which eventually went out of vogue after [[Salim–Javed]] popularized a more [[colloquial]] style in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gahlot|first=Deepa|title=Take-2: 50 Films That Deserve a New Audience|date=2015|publisher=[[Hay House]]|isbn=9789384544850|page=245|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEqwDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT245|language=en}}</ref>

==Early life and acting career==
Agha Jani Kashmiri was born on 16 October 1908, in [[Lucknow]], Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref name=cinestaan1/> He ran away from home in his late teens to star in an early [[Bollywood]] film, ''Shan e Subhan'' (1933) (variously listed as ''Shan e Subhan'' and ''Shane Subhan'').<ref name=muvyz>[https://muvyz.com/people/xb879510 Agha Jani Kashmiri's filmography on MuVyz.com website] Retrieved 10 July 2020</ref> In part, he was inspired by his first cousin, Nawab Kashmiri, also of Lucknow, the best-known character actor in early Indian cinema, with hits such as ''Yahudi ki Ladki'' (Daughter of the Jew), in which Nawab played an elderly Jew. Subsequently, Aghajani returned to [[Calcutta]], did some small roles and a few lead roles, two of them opposite [[Begum Akhtar]]. Three of the movies he acted in were ''Miss Manorama'' and ''Anokhi Ada'' and [[Bhabhi (1938 film)|Bhabhi]] - all three films in the 1930s.<ref>[https://www.citwf.com/film35416.htm Bhabhi (1938 film) on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website] Retrieved 9 July 2020</ref><ref name=muvyz/>

==Screenwriting==
Given his literary upbringing in Urdu – he was a pupil of the famous Urdu poet Arzoo Lackhnavi and was schooled in Urdu literature – Kashmeri joined the film studio [[Bombay Talkies]], learned screenplay writing with [[Himansu Rai]], and wrote his first movie in the early 1930s. It was directed by German director [[Franz Osten]], who worked in Bombay Talkies at the time. The movie, named ''[[Vachan (1938 film)|Vachan]]'' (1938), proved successful and Kashmeri went on to write more than 50 movies.<ref name=muvyz/>

==Personal life==
In Bombay (now [[Mumbai]]) he and his wife lived with their sons Zuhair Kashmeri and Sarwar Kashmeri.{{Citation needed|date= May 2012}} He wrote for Bollywood producer-directors including Subodh Mukherjee, Sashadhar Mukherjee, [[Sunil Dutt]], [[Mehboob Khan]], [[Himanshu Rai]] of [[Bombay Talkies]], Franz Osten, [[Pramod Chakravorty]]; and actors [[Ashok Kumar]], Veena, [[Devika Rani]], [[Noor Jehan]], [[Suraiya]], Sadhana, [[Saira Banu]], [[Joy Mukherjee]], Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and [[Nimmi]].<ref name=cinestaan/>

==Death and legacy==
Agha Jani Kashmiri died on 27 March 1998.<ref name=cinestaan>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2018/mar/28/12084|title=Remembering the maestro of words, Agha Jani Kashmiri – death anniversary special |author=Sukhpreet Kahlon|website=Cinestaan.com website|date=28 March 2018|accessdate=9 July 2020}}</ref> His son Zuhair Kashmeri is a journalist in Canada.<ref name=globe>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-journalist-zuhair-kashmeri-wrote-extensively-about-the-air-india/ |title=Journalist Zuhair Kashmeri wrote extensively about the Air India bombing|author=Ron Csillag|date=16 January 2019|newspaper=The Globe And Mail (Canada newspaper)|accessdate=10 July 2020}}</ref>

==Filmography==
The following is a partial filmography:

* ''[[Naya Zamana (1971 film)|Naya Zamana]]'' (1971) (writer)
* ''[[Parwana (1971 film)|Parwana]]'' (1971) (dialogue and screenplay)<ref name=cinestaan1>[https://www.cinestaan.com/people/agha-jani-kashmiri-80790 Agha Jani Kashmiri profile and filmography on Cinestaan.com website] Retrieved 10 July 2020</ref>
* ''[[Tumse Achha Kaun Hai (1969 film)|Tumse Achha Kaun Hai]]'' (1969) (dialogue)<ref name=cinestaan1/>
* ''[[Love in Tokyo]]'' (1966) (dialogue)<ref name=cinestaan/><ref name=cinestaan1/>
* ''[[April Fool (1964 film)|April Fool]]'' (1964) (dialogue)
* ''[[Gazal (1964 film)|Gazal]]'' (1964) (writer)<ref name=cinestaan1/>
* ''[[Ziddi (1964 film)|Ziddi]]'' (1964) (dialogue)<ref name=cinestaan1/>
* ''[[Mujhe Jeene Do]]'' (1963) (written by)<ref name=cinestaan/>
* ''[[Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke]]'' (1963) (written by)
* ''[[Junglee (1961 film)|Junglee]]'' (1961) (dialogue)<ref name=cinestaan/>
* ''[[Love in Simla]]'' (1960) (dialogue) (as Aghajani Kashmiri) (screenplay)<ref name=cinestaan/>
* ''[[Chori Chori]]'' (1956) (dialogue) (screenplay)<ref name=cinestaan/>
* ''[[Amar (1954 film)|Amar]]'' (1954) (dialogue)
* ''[[Aurat (1953 film)|Aurat]]'' (1953) (screenplay) (as Agha J. Kashmiri)
* ''Malkin (film)'' (1950s) (screenplay/dialogue)
* ''[[Anokhi Ada (1948 film)|Anokhi Ada]]'' (1948) (screenplay and dialogue)
* ''[[Chandralekha (1948 film)|Chandralekha]]'' (1948) (dialogue)<ref>{{cite AV media | title=Chandralekha | publisher=[[Gemini Studios]] | date=1948 | people=[[S. S. Vasan|Vasan, S. S.]] (director) | medium=motion picture | location=India | time=1:11}}</ref>
* ''[[Taqdeer (1943 film)|Taqdeer]]'' (1943) (screenplay/dialogue)
* ''[[Najma (1943 film)|Najma]]'' (1943) (screenplay/dialogue)
* ''[[Anmol Ghadi]]'' (1946) (writer)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/anmol-ghadi |title=Film review of Anmol Ghadi (1946)|website= University of Iowa website|accessdate= 10 July 2020}}</ref>
* ''[[Humayun (film)|Humayun]]'' (1945) (writer)
* ''[[Lal Haveli (film)|Lal Haveli]]'' (1945) (dialogue)<ref name=Review>{{cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Baburao|journal=Filmindia|date=February 1945|volume=2|issue=2|pages=19|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmindia194511unse#page/n67/mode/2up/search/Haveli|accessdate=10 July 2020|title=Lal Haveli – Crude But Entertaining! – a film review}}</ref>
* ''[[Vachan (1938 film)|Vachan]]'' (1938) (screenplay)<ref name=muvyz/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0440589}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmeri, Aghajani}}
[[Category:Indian lyricists]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Writers from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Urdu-language writers from India]]
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Poets from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]

Agha Jani Kashmiri - Revision history

>JJMC89 bot III at 06:24, 26 March 2021