Mahabharata scriptwriter Rahi Masoom Raza passes away

suchandra · November 4, 2007

Mahabharata scriptwriter Rahi Masoom Raza passes away

http://www.newkerala.com/oct.php?action=fullnews&id=16554

Mumbai, Nov.2 : Rahi Masoom Raza, the Muslim scriptwriter of popular Hindi serial Mahabharata and many other famous Bollywood movies, passed away at Mumbai's Nanavati Hospital on Thursday following a brief illness. He was in his early eighties.

Also known as Ali Raza, he was hospitalised a week ago.

A Muslim by religion, Raza captivated millions of Hindus all around the world with his scripting skills for the serial on Mahabharata, which was produced by B.R. Chopra.

In a career spanning 35 years, Raza wrote lyrics, dialogues and stories for various movies and television series.

He reached the pinnacle of his career with the serial 'Mahabharata', which went on to become the most watched TV series in India. At one time, its TRP was a staggering 86 per cent, certifying that a cross-section of communities was watching it at prime time on Sundays, so engrossed were they with the picturisation and the refined use of language particular to the times.

Prior to his writing of the epic, Raza's stint in Bollywood began with the movie Andaaz, starring Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Nargis, and directed by Mehboob Khan, in 1949. The film was the first love triangle in Bollywood history.

Raza also penned down the script for popular films like Mother India starring Rajendra Kumar, Nargis and Sunil Dutt. The other noted scripts included Saraswati Chandra (1968), Sawan Bhadon (1970), Raja Jani (1972), Bhai Bhai, Reshma Aur Shera (1971) and Dus Numbri (1976).

Rahi Masoom Raza was a famous author, playwright and novelist of Independent India.

epic India: http://www.pem.org/epicindia/

Born in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, Raza completed his early education in and around Ghazipur from where he went to Aligarh Muslim University to complete his higher studies. He did his doctorate in Hindustani Literature.

In 1968, Raza won the Filmfare Award in the best dialogue writer category for his film "Saraswatichandra".

He was married to actress Nimmi, who made her Bollywood debute in "Aan" with Dilip Kumar and Nadira as her co-stars. Raza was the dialogue writer for this film.

--- ANI