Lyricist Abhilash passed away last night (27th September) in Bombay. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He could not afford good treatment, his wife reportedly said, which is why he had to undergo surgery at a local hospital. Abhilash had written the songs for Ankush (1986), among other films. His prayer-song, Itni shakti humein dena daata, was a hit then and continues to be a favourite of many even today. He was also one of the song writers of Rajshri’s Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979), having penned Tere bin suna more mann ka mandir, aa re aa re aa. Kuldip Singh, a close friend of Abhilash, and the music composer of the Itni shakti song, rued the fact that despite the song being such a rage, neither Abhilash nor he himself had received a single naya paisa by way of royalty from it. He said, had Abhilash earned royalty, he would not have died due to the cancer which could have been cured with better medical facilities.
Abhilash was also a writer and had worked in the industry for 48 years. He started young and was adept at writing geets, ghazals, shairis and nazms. Among his other well-known songs were Aaj ki raat na jaa and Sansar hai ek nadiya.