Qateel Shifai

Writing

Birthday: December 24, 1919 (age 81)

Died: July 11, 2001

Departments: Writing, Sound, Crew

Qateel Shifai (born Muhammad Aurangzeb Khan; 24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) was a legendary Pakistani Urdu poet and film lyricist celebrated for his deeply lyrical ghazals, nazms, and romantic geets. Born in Haripur, he faced early hardship when his father died in 1935, forcing him to leave school and navigate various early business struggles before pivoting entirely to poetry and relocating to Lahore. Adopting his pen name in 1938—combining "Qateel" with "Shifai" as a tribute to his mentor, Hakeem Mohammed Shifa—he built a prolific literary career spanning over twenty poetry collections, s…