Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, filmmaker Muzaffar Ali among others have mourned the death of music composer Khayyam, calling his passing away an end of a musical era. The 92-year-old composer, best known for his music in classic films such as Kabhi Kabhie and Umrao Jaan, passed away after prolonged illnesses at a hospital here on Monday. In a tweet, the PM said: “The country will remain grateful to Khayyam Sahab for giving us some of the most memorable compositions, which will be remembered forever. He will also be remembered for his humanitarian gestures to support upcoming artists. His demise is extremely saddening. Actor Amitabh Bachchan also offered his condolences on Khayyam’s passing away. He wrote on Twitter, “a legend in music .. a soft spoken amiable soul .. one that contributed to several films and some of the more important ones of mine .. passes away .. KHAYAM sahib .. for all the memorable music he conducted and produced .. prayers condolences. Lata Mangeshkar also took to Twitter and wrote that composer was not only a great musician but also a kind hearted man. “Great musician and a man with a kind heart, Khayyam sahab isn’t with us anymore. I am so saddened to hear this, I can’t put it in words. With Khayyam sahab, an era of music has ended. I offer my humble tribute to him,” she posted. In a subsequent tweet, the iconic singer said Khayyam made music to her liking and though she loved working with him, she was also scared because he was a perfectionist. “Khayyam sahab would treat me as his younger sister. For me, he used to make his special songs. I loved working with him but would also be a little scared because he was a perfectionist. His understanding and knowledge of Shayari was exceptional,” she said. Umrao Jaan director Muzaffar Ali remembered Khayyam as a “storehouse of feelings, emotions and music”. “I had a very long association with him starting from ‘Umrao Jaan’. We also did ‘Anjuman’ and ‘Zooni’, which is unreleased, together. I’ve been very close to him and couldn’t imagine music without him,” Ali said. Reminiscing the memories of Rekha-fronted 1982 classic, the director said it took Khayyam and him almost two years to create music for the film. “Day in, day out, I used to go to him. He used to stay at my house. It was an evolution of music. Today, no composer, director or producer will spend so much time on making the music. We left no stone unturned for this film’s music,” he said. Actor Rishi Kapoor too posted on the microblogging site, “RIP. Khayyam sahab.” The musician’s other notable works include films such as Trishul, Noorie and Shola Aur Shabnam.
