Remembering Abrar Alvi on his 97th Birth Anniversary

He was born in the year 1927 and he entered into rest on 18^th November 2009 at the age of 82. He was one of the legendary Screenwriters and Directors from the 1950s to the 1960s with some notable names such as Guru Dutt.

Abrar Alvi: Guru Dutt's Collaborator in Iconic Screenplays

He first worked with Guru Dutt to write Aar- Paar (1954), after which Abrar became his right hand and an integral part of his team. They worked together in so many projects and became the classic for extraordinary screenplay writers not only in Bollywood but all over the world.

The duo had to part ways due to the controversy around the film Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) which was a box-office hit, around who directed the movie. He was unable to do any notable directorial work after this incident.

He went into deep screenplay and also continued to pen dialogues for hit movies like Professor (1962), Prince (1969), Kaagaz ke Phool (1959), Pyaasa (1957), Mr.  & Mrs. 55 (1955), and so many more to count on one hand.

He last appeared in the deeply moving and emotionally stirring Three-part documentary on Guru Dutt, remembering his work and the days spent with the Guru Dutt Team. This documentary was included in the extra features section of Kaagaz ke Phool and Chaudhavi ka Chand DVDs as well.

After the controversy around Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam (1962) and followed by the disaster of Kaagaz ke Phool at the Box-office he lost a ton of his earnings, However as a turn of events this movie went on to get the Film of the Year Award from the Bengal Film Journalist Association. The film was also screened at the Berlin Film Festival in June 1963 and was India’s Official entry to the OSCARS that year as well.

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