Gazi Mazharul Anwar, a renowned lyricist and film director, dies at 79

He was honoured with Ekushey Padak in 2002 and Independence Award in 2021 by the Bangladesh government

Gazi Mazharul Anwar, a renowned film director, producer and lyricist, has died at the age of 79.

Mazharul's family rushed him to the United Hospital in Dhaka after he fell sick on early Sunday. His daughter-in-law Shahana Mirza said a doctor at the hospital pronounced him dead.

“He was suffering from an acidity problem for the past few days. We took him to the doctor on Saturday. He went through some medical tests and was scheduled to get some more today,” Shahana said.

He worked as a lyricist in the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra. He was honoured with the Ekushey Padak in 2002 and the Independence Award in 2021 by the Bangladesh government. He won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Lyricist six times, a record in the film industry.

Over the course of a long and illustrious career, he penned nearly 21,000 songs, including a number of timeless classics such as "Joy Bangla Banglar Joy", "Ekbar Jete De Na Amar Chotto Shonar Gae", "Ektara Tui Desher Kotha Bolre Ebar Bol", "Ganer Khatae Shorolipi Likhe", and "Akasher Hate Ekrash Neel".

"Joy Bangla” is known as a Liberation War standard and has lent its stirring melody to countless newsreels, documentaries and other audiovisual depictions of Bangladesh’s struggle for independence.

“Ekbar Jete De Na Amar", first sung by Shahnaz Rahmatullah, has endured as a celebration of pastoral life. Mazharul wrote the song in the immediate aftermath of the Liberation War in 1971 when thousands of people started migrating to the capital Dhaka away from poverty in villages.