Today is the 19th death anniversary of a famous romantic songwriter and a remarkable poet Qateel Shifai.

Qateel Shifai whose real name was Aurangzeb Khan was born on December 24, 1919, at Haripur in the Hazara district (Pakistan). Renowned literary critic Prof Fateh Muhammad Malik termed Qateel a blessed lyricist who took the genre of songwriting to new heights.

 Initially, he showed his poetry to Hakeem Yahya Shifai Khanpuri for correction and advice, which is why his ‘Takhallus’ Shifai was in honor of his Ustaad Hakim Mohammed.

He joined the Lahore film industry in 1947 as a lyricist, the first film he wrote the lyrics for was “Teri Yaad”, a major hit film of that era. He wrote 201 songs for films in Inda and Pakistan and has a total of 2500 songs written by him.

He received the Pride of Performance Award in 1994 for his contribution to literature Adamjee Award, Naqoosh Award and Abasin Arts Council Award.