Irshad Kamil Age, Biography, Wife, Family, Facts & More

Bio
Real Name	Mohammed Irshad
Pen Name	Irshad Kamil
Profession	Poet & Lyricist
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 178 cm in meters- 1.78 m in feet inches- 5’ 10”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 75 kg in pounds- 165 lbs
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	5 September 1971 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2023)	52 Years
Birth Place	Malerkotla, Sangrur district, Punjab, India
Zodiac sign	Virgo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Malerkotla, Sangrur district, Punjab, India
School	Sanatan Dharam Prem Pracharak (SDPP) high school, Ludhiana
College/University	Government College, Malerkotla Panjab University, Chandigarh
Educational Qualification	Post Graduation in Hindi from Panjab University Ph.D. in Contemporary Hindi Poetry from Panjab University Diploma in Journalism from Panjab University
Debut (Lyricist)	Film: Chameli (2003) TV: Kahan Se Kahan Tak (Zee TV)
Family	Father- Mohammed Saddique (Chemistry Teacher) Mother- Begum Iqbal Bano Brothers- 4 Sisters- 2
Religion	Islam
Hobbies	Reading, Writing, Listening to Music
Favourites
Poet(s)/Lyricist(s)	Sahir Ludhianvi, Anand Bakshi, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Naresh Saxena
Filmmaker	Imtiaz Ali
Singer(s)	Kishore Kumar, Mohit Chauhan
Music Directors(s)	Pritam, Sandesh Shandilya, A. R. Rahman
Girls, Affairs and More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Not Known
Wife/Spouse	Tasveer
Marriage Date	Year 2002
Children	Son- Kamraan Daughter- Not Known

Some Lesser Known Facts About Irshad Kamil

All of Kamil’s siblings lived out their lives as their father, Mohammed Saddique wished. It was only Irshad who deviated from his father’s wish and opted poetry as a career.

While at school, he aced writing poetry and articles. His school teachers often complimented him on his essay writing skills.

In a respect to his father’s wish, he enrolled at the Government College to study science. However, Kamil had no aptitude for science.

In February 1985, before the 2nd year Examinations, he went to Shimla for a small trip along with his friends. However, when it came to returning, he told the rest of his friends to head back without him. He stayed there until September.

Kamil considers the 7 or 8 months he spent in Shimla in 1985 were a turning point for him.

In 1986, while studying Hindi and Geography at the Government College in Ludhiana, he met Tejwant Kittu, who later became his close friend. Kittu is now a famous Punjabi Music Composer.

Kittu collaborated with Kamil’s first official song ‘Yaada Chad Gayee Hain Pyaar Di Nishaani Tu, a Punjabi song. It was during this period that he adopted his pen name “Kamil.”

Later, he enrolled at the Panjab University in Chandigarh to get an M.A. in Hindi Literature. He went on to pursue a Ph.D. in Contemporary Hindi Poetry.

While studying at the Panjab University, he agreed to write songs for a play titled ‘Raja Aur Kisaan,’ directed by Zulfiqar Khan, who worked in the theatre department at the Punjab University. He also wrote a number of plays like ‘Jeetega Bhai Jeetega,’ ‘Jaanwar Hota Aadmi,’ and ‘Baat Pate Ki.’

While doing all those things, Kamil always knew that his destination was Mumbai. However, he wanted to be financially secure before showing up in Mumbai.

In 1996, Kamil joined ‘The Tribune’ in Chandigarh, where he spent 2 years translating reports from Punjabi to English. He then moved on as a Reporter at the Indian Express group’s Hindi paper “Jansatta.”

Soon, he started becoming dissatisfied with the job and he quit Indian Express within 6 months. In an interview, he explained, “I was coming back from office after submitting my DC— double column—report, when I asked myself, ‘Irshad Kamil, when you were growing up, did you want to become Kuldip Nayar or Khushwant Singh?’ The answer that came from within me was a clear ‘No’.” The next day he handed over his resignation.

Kamil describes the later phase of his life after quitting journalism as “Dashtnawardi” and “Ghumakkadi.” For the subsistence, he started writing songs for local Punjabi musicians.

In December 2000, on the invitation of an actor friend, Kamil left for Delhi with 9000 INRs., and he arrived in Delhi to find that his friend had abandoned him. He spent a few nights at a Tibetan refugees camp near Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate ISBT area.

As he feared to go to Mumbai alone, he sought out Tejwant Kittu (his old friend from college) who was now working in Mumbai as a music composer. With no work and, after spending a month with his friend, Kamil returned to Chandigarh.

In February 2002, filmmaker Lekh Tandon visited Chandigarh to shoot his teleserial ‘Kahan Se Kahan Tak’ and was looking for a new writer. Someone suggested Kamil’s name to him and Kamil started writing dialogues for his serial. Tandon also invited him to Mumbai with a paid ticket. He landed Mumbai with a full-time job and went on to work on ‘Kartavya’ for Zee TV, ‘Choti Maa… Ek Anokha Bandhan’ for UTV, and ‘Dhadkan’ for Sony Television.

In 2002, a common friend introduced him to music director Sandesh Shandilya, who was working on the music of Imtiaz Ali‘s debut film Socha Na Tha (2005). Shandilya was impressed with Kamil’s poetry and introduced him to Imtiaz Ali, not as a lyricist but as a poet.

Irshad Kamil recited the same Ghazal to Imtiaz that he had earlier shared with Sandesh Shandilya, ‘कुछ ना हुए तो ना सही।,’ which would eventually become the popular song ‘ना सही’ in ‘Socha Na Tha.’

While ‘Socha Na Tha’ was under production, Kamil was asked to write songs for another film on which Shandilya was working, it was titled ‘Chameli’ in which Kareena Kapoor was playing the central character. While the film got mixed reviews, its songs- such as ‘Sajna ve Sajna’ and ‘Bhaage Re Mann Kahin’ blazed through the music charts. Irshad Kamil hasn’t looked back since.

Kamil has developed a strong rapport with Imtiaz Ali since their very first meeting over a common love for poetry. It is this bonding that has contributed to the film industry a number of chartbusters from Ali’s projects- Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar, and Highway.

In Kamil’s song, the rational motif is that of the beloved as the centre of the lover’s universe. Whether it is ‘Tumse Hi’ (Jab We Met) or ‘Tum Tak’ (Raanjhanaa), the admirer’s selfless devotion dominates his/her every other instinct.

In an interview, Kamil revealed that his work in Rockstar helped him reconnect with the poet inside him as identified with the protagonist’s painful journey of self-discovery.
Here’s a conversation with Irshad Kamil: