Rajendra Krishan (June 6, 1919 Jalalpur Jattan - Mumbai -1988), also credited as Rajinder Krishan, was an Indian poet, lyricist and screenwriter.

Biography

Rajendra Krishan was born on June 6, 1919 in a Duggal family of Jalalpur Jattan of Gujrat District (in present day Pakistan). Even when he was studying in the eighth class he was attracted towards poetry. In his early work life he had a clerk's job in the municipal office in Simla, where he toiled up to 1942. During that period, he read eastern and western authors extensively and wrote poetry. He expresses his indebtedness to the Urdu poetry of Firaq Gorakhpuri and Ahsan Danish, as well as to the Hindi poems of Pant and Nirala.In those days the newspapers in the Delhi-Punjab brought out special supplements and held poetry contests to mark Krishna Janmashtami, in which he participated regularly.He was attracted towards poetry during his school days.

In the mid-1940s, Krishan shifted to Mumbai to become a screenwriter. His first screenplay was Janta (1947). His first film as a lyricist was Zanjeer (1947). He was first noted for the script and lyrics of the Motilal-Suraiya starrer Aaj Ki Rat (1948). After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Krishan wrote a song Suno Suno Aye Duniyawalon, Bapu Ki Yeh Amar Kahani. The song was sung by Mohammed Rafi and composed by Husnlal Bhagatram, and was a great hit. He also tasted success as a lyricist with the films Badi Bahen (1949) and Lahore (1949).

Rajendra Krishan knew Tamil language and wrote 18 scripts for AVM Studios films. Rajendra Krishna is known for his association with the composer C. Ramchandra. He worked with several other music directors including Shankar-Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Hemant Kumar, Sajjad Hussain, Sachin Dev Burman, Rahul Dev Burman, S Mohinder, Chitragupta, Salil Chowdhury, and Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

After his death, HMV brought out an LP containing 12 of his songs.