'Yeh kaali-kaali aankhen' lyricist Dev Kohli dies at 81

Mumbai, August 26

Veteran lyricist Dev Kohli, known for his work in films such as ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, died here on Saturday morning due to age-related ailments, his spokesperson said.

He was 81.

Kohli was being treated for age-related issues at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital and brought back to his Andheri home a few days ago.

“He was in hospital for almost three months. He was brought back home 10 days ago. He passed away at 4am on Saturday due to age-related issues at his residence in Andheri,” Kohli’s spokesperson Pritam Sharma told PTI.

The last rites will be performed at 5pm at Oshiwara crematorium in suburban Mumbai.

Kohli was born in Pakistan and moved to India post Partition in 1948. The family stayed in Delhi for some time and later shifted to Dehradun. He came to Mumbai in 1964 and made his debut as a lyricist with the 1969 film ‘Gunda’.

In his five-decade-long career, Kohli wrote lyrics for more than 100 Hindi films. Some of his most popular songs include ‘Geet gaata hoon main” from ‘Lal Patthar’ and the many tracks of ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun’, the Sooraj Barjatya hit that featured Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit.

He wrote the film’s title song as well as ‘Maye ni maye’, ‘Didi tera devar dewana’, and ‘Pehla-pehla pyar’.

Kohli also wrote superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s hit song ‘Yeh kaali kaali aankhen’ from ‘Baazigar’, ‘Dekho dekho jaanam hum’ from ‘Ishq’, and the item song ‘Saaki saaki’ from ‘Musafir’, among others.

The lyricist collaborated with music directors Anu Malik, Raam Laxman, Anand Raaj Anand and Anand Milind, among others.