BY 
t’s been 12 years since lyricist Yogesh last had his name in the opening credits of a Hindi film. The name, by itself, might not jog your memory. But his works — rather words — must have held your attention at some point. Songs like Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye, Zindagi kaisi hai paheli that defined the superhit film Anand (1971) were written by Yogesh Gaur — credited as Yogesh. A staple in the 1970s, the songwriter has worked with prominent names likes Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Now, he has made a comeback with the recent release Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain, directed by Harish Vyas. Yogesh has written three songs for the film.
“I had first met Yogeshji in 1997 as a fan. I had grown up on his songs, like most people of my generation, and I kept thinking that whenever I could, I would use him in my films. Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain is an everyday story featuring everyday people — a genre and demography that was the core of Yogeshji’s writing. Woh baat ko ghuma phira ke, lehze mein nahin kehte thhey. Seedhi baat, seedhe shabdon mein (he doesn’t mince words, talks straight) — that is his forte, which deeply attracted me to his writing,” says Vyas.
“Jo dekhta tha, jo jeeta tha, wohi likha hai (I wrote what I saw and lived),” says Yogesh, 78, who lives in Goregaon, Mumbai. Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye has the melancholic Rajesh Khanna staring into the vista, at the setting sun. The idea for the lyrics came from the many evenings he spent watching the sun go down from his balcony. While many in his fraternity sought the solace of nature for creativity to blossom, Yogesh thrived on the urban cacaphony. “I have always written about the people around me, unke beech mein hi rehkar, duur jaaunga toh kaise likhunga,” says Yogesh, who moved to Mumbai after the death of his father, an engineer with the public works department in Lucknow. At the time, the 17-year-old had just completed his intermediate studies. “There was only Rs 500 in the bank. We had a huge family — my siblings, sisters of my father and mother also stayed with us. I had a cousin Vrajendra Gaur, a dialogue writer in Mumbai, and thought of seeking his help in getting a job in the film industry. I reasoned with myself that film-making had many sections — technical, creative, etc.,” says Yogesh.
