It was only a few months ago that the entire Kapoor family, often dubbed as the first family of Bollywood, got together to honour late Raj Kapoor on his 100th birth anniversary. A film festival was organised in his memory and the who’s who of the film industry who have grown up idolising him paid their respects. Even the Prime Minister of the country met with them. But was Raj Kapoor the only icon who deserved all the praise for the success of his films? In the 1950s, his films like Shree 420 and Awaara, took India to a global stage. It is said that the older folks in Moscow still remember the words to ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’. Not just that, ‘Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan’, ‘Awaara Hun’, ‘Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai’, ‘Pyaar Hua Iqrar Hua’ – some of the best known Hindi songs of that era, that are still played all over the world, and the songs that first introduced foreigners to Indian cinema, were all written by one man – Shailendra.It is a shame that lyric writers were not paid royalty or any kind of residuals back in those days because it is unimaginable that Shailenra was just getting paid a monthly salary of Rs 500 at RK Studios, and he wrote some of the best songs of that era. Born as Shankardas Kesarilal in Rawalpindi in 1923, Shailendra worked in Railways in Meerut, and eventually moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1940s. He grew up writing and eventually started participating in mushairas at Indian People’s Theatre Association, where he first met Raj Kapoor. Raj was immediately impressed and offered him a job at his newly built company but Shailendra refused. However, things changed and Shailendra eventually became one of the core members of Raj’s musical team comprising of Shankar Jaikishen, Hasrat Japuri and himself. Shailendra wrote ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’. ‘Awaara Hu’, ‘Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan’, among others. (Photo: Express Archives)ALSO READ | Nargis’ brother beat her up because of her relationship with Raj Kapoor; she lost money, opportunities while he set up his studio‘Chote Se Ghar Mein Gareeb Ka Beta’When Raj first heard Shailendra’s poems at an IPTA meeting, he knew that he was the poet of the masses. Many years later, even Javed Akhtar described Shailendra as a philosophy teacher, but the kind who could say the most complicated things in the simplest of ways. In the book ‘Raj Kapoor – The One and Only Showman’, RK’s daughter Ritu Nanda recalled that Raj had tried to convince Shailendra but the writer was adamant, and did not wish to get involved in films.Raj, however, put some money in an envelope and told Shailendra, “I’m keeping it in the office. Any time you’re in trouble and need money, come and take it away. No strings attached.” A while later, Shailendra was going to have his first child and needed some money. He came back for the envelope, and in exchange, gave a few of his poems to RK. When Raj said, “You don’t have to do this,” Shailendra replied, “Do you think I’ll take charity?” These songs became a part of Barsaat, the 1949 film starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis, that also gave RK its iconic logo. Shailendra only wrote two songs for the film and one of them, ‘Barsaat Mein Humse Mile’ became the title song of the film – the first title song in any Hindi film. Lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Jaikishan and Shankar at the song recording of Awaara. (Photo: Express Archives)‘Maana Apni Jeb Se Fakir Hain, Phir Bhi Yaaro Dil Ke Hum Ameer Hain’After Barsaat, the collaborations continued, and Shailendra got himself a job at RK Studios for Rs 500 per month. He even bought his first bungalow, and named it Rimjhim. His daughter Amla Shailendra Mazumdar, in a chat with Antara Nanda Mondal, shared, “Those Rs 500 was Baba’s steady salary all through the years from Raj Uncle. Whether he wrote one song or five songs or no song, he would get that Rs 500 every month.”Shailendra wasn’t a man who was working for money. He grew up in an underprivileged household and held strong Communist beliefs so he only wanted what was enough for him and his family, and would often distribute the rest to technicians and musicians after a song recording. He never even asked RK to increase his salary. “He was happy with what he had, nice house, car, all comforts, money. And he would share the money with whoever wanted it,” his daughter shared, and recalled that sometimes, “If Raj Uncle liked a song, he would give Baba a gold coin.”Story continues below this adALSO READ | Awara, Shree 420: The films that made Raj Kapoor the ‘showman of Indian cinema’ Raj Kapoor and Nargis in Awaara.With Awaara, the fortune of everyone at RK Films changed, and that helped Shailenda as well. The film went global and the song, ‘Awaara Hoon’, became an anthem in the then-USSR. In a 1965 article written in the magazine Dharmayug, Shailendra shared that he wrote the words to this song just on instinct, without even listening to the script and at first, Raj Kapoor rejected it. “Without hearing the script, after just getting to know the name of the title, I wrote this song. When I shared it with Raj Kapoor, he rejected it. After the film was complete, he asked me to share the lyrics with him once again and after that (KA) Abbas sahab heard it. He recommended that this should be the title song of the film,” he was quoted as saying by BBC Hindi.Raj knew that he was deeply indebted to the technicians who built RK Studios with him, and Shailendra was an important part of that foundation. Shailendra’s son Manoj Shailendra, in a chat with Sansad TV, recalled that Raj respected Shailendra to a degree that he always sat at the lyric writer’s feet. “Raj uncle made sure that Baba always sat on a chair and he would sit near his feet. He always addressed Baba as Kaviraj or Pushkin,” he shared.So much so that even after Shailendra’s death in 1966, Raj felt that his magnum opus Mera Naam Joker would only feel complete if it had Shailendra’s blessing. The words for ‘Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan’, which is inarguably one of the most remembered Hindi songs of all time, were written by Shailendra, and used by Raj in his film in 1970.Story continues below this adALSO READ | Guru Dutt dropped Waheeda Rehman ‘like a hot brick’ after he got back together with wife Geeta Dutt; she declared, ‘I won’t let him touch me’ Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker.‘Sab Kuch Seekha Humne Na Seekhi Hoshiyari’Shailendra was one of the most successful lyric writers of his time but, like many other artistes, he wanted to expand his horizon, and thus decided to produce a film in 1961 titled Teesri Kasam. Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman were cast in lead roles and filming began in January 1961. The film began with a budget of Rs 2-3 lakh, but by the time the film was done, after five years, the budget had increased to Rs 22-23 lakh, and Shailendra found himself in a lot of debt.Shailendra’s son Dinesh Shailendra, told Sansad TV, “Teesri Kasam was made with great difficulty. The film that should have taken just one year, took five years and during the last two, Baba was by himself.” Soon after the release of this film, Shailendra passed away and it was believed that the failure of this film led to his untimely demise at 43. After Javed Akhtar blamed Raj Kapoor for his death, Rishi Kapoor, in his memoir Khullam Khulla, asked for an apology from the acclaimed writer. “Javed had claimed that Shailendra died because of the debts that piled up during the making of his film Teesri Kasam, a film my dad worked in. He alleged that Papa had delayed the film with the result that Shailendra had run up those debts. I wonder what debts he was referring to because my father paid for everything and he was not paid for the film either. He even completed the film with his own funds,” he wrote.Raj, as per Ritu’s book, took just one rupee to work in the film, and even offered to produce it as he believed that Shailendra did not have the temperament of a producer. While Amla told Sansad TV that Shailendra died a “heartbroken man” as his “investment in people had gone wrong,” she too, never blamed Raj for her father’s death. In the same chat with Antara, Amla shared, “People blame Raj Kapoor and I feel so upset.” She believed that Raj was a friend, but he was a businessman as well who was also looking after his other business interests, but whenever needed, he was there for his friend. Ritu’s book even claims that Raj even paid the distributors so the film could get a release in Delhi, and sorted out some legal issues as Shailendra’s brother-in-law, who apparently cheated him, sold the distribution rights of the film to multiple people. Such was the crisis that Shailendra couldn’t even attend the premiere of his swan song.Story continues below this adDirected by Basu Bhattacharya, and written by Nabendu Ghosh and Phanishwar Nath Renu, the film had a poetic, heartbreaking story, and Raj suggested that Shailendra should change the ending of the film, as he believed that a tragic end would not work with the audience. Shailendra stuck to his guns, and released the film as it is. While it did not work at first, the film got a re-release after the lyric writer’s death, and after receiving a National Film Award. This is when it started making money and the family could pay off all the debts related to the film.ALSO READ | ‘Humiliated’ by Bollywood, how RD Burman created 1942 A Love Story; teared up when music was called ‘bullsh*t’ Singer Arati Mukherji and lyricist Shailendra. (Photo: Express Archives)‘Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan’It was shortly after the release of Teesri Kasam that Shailendra passed away due to liver cirrhosis and in a poetic fashion, he passed away on the birthday of one of his closest friends – Raj Kapoor. Shailendra was starting to get sick in the first week of December and as his health started deteriorating, his wife called RK for advice. As Shailendra drove to the hospital, he stopped by at Raj’s house to have a friendly chat, which turned out to be the last chat between them. The next day was Raj’s birthday, December 14. By noon, Raj’s wife Krishna, and singer Mukesh, who was another close friend, were by his side and just a few hours later, he breathed his last. Raj rushed to the hospital but by then, it was too late.Raj wrote an obituary in Dharmyug in Shailendra’s memory with the title ‘Tum amar ho mere dost (You are immortal, my friend)’. He wrote, “’My body was in the studio but my soul was with Shailendra. When we got the news at 3 pm, it was like lightning had struck down. My relationship with him was not just limited to writing songs. It was like we had a connection from our past lives, and it will never cease to exist.”Story continues below this adIf Mukesh was Raj’s voice, Shailendra was his speech, and after his passing, Hindi film music lost a gem who could never be replaced. It is a testament to his evergreen work that his lyrics are considered synonymous with the best lyrics of Hindi cinema of all time.