Nostalgic Nuggets: From patriotism to Tamil dubs, this lyricist wrote for all

Born in Ambala on June 13, 1923, Prem Dhawan as a lyricist debuted in 1946 and ended in 1989. His style which was highly patriotic was appreciated for the nationalistic-themed films that were made then. Old timers remember his songs in the 1965 Manoj Kumar film ' Shaheed'.

He was among the earliest of cine celebrities who was awarded the Padma Shri in the 1970s. He wrote for more than 30 films as a lyricist and composed music for over 15.

From a progressive, radical milieu of the 1950s, Dhawan's opportunities for writing kept dwindling by the time it was the 1980s.

He was involved then in the dubbed lyrics for two films of Kamal Haasan – 'Do Dil Deewane' (1980) and ' Appu Raja' (1989) his last assignment. This was because Haasan had become popular as a hero in Hindi cinema too by then.