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Khayyam Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 5, 2026 • 4 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth18 February 1927

Age92 Years (at time of death)

BirthplaceRahon, Nawanshahr District, Punjab, British India

ProfessionMusic Director

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried (at time of death)

SpouseJagjit Kaur

FamilySon - Pradeep Khayyam (died 2012); siblings living in Pakistan

Net worth₹10 crore (as in 2016)

Khayyam Biography

Mohammed Zahur "Khayyam" Hashmi was an Indian music director and composer whose career spanned seven decades. Known for film scores that drew on ghazal and

Early life and background

Mohammed Zahur "Khayyam" Hashmi was born on 18 February 1927 in Rahon, in what was then the Nawanshahr District of Punjab, British India. He grew up in a family with strong literary and musical interests; his father encouraged an early exposure to films and poetry that shaped Khayyam’s lifelong passion for music. As a child he spent time in Jalandhar watching films with his family and left home as a young teenager to pursue musical study in Delhi and later Lahore.

In Lahore he became an apprentice to the Punjabi music director Baba Chishti, rehearsing singers and musicians and serving as his assistant. Khayyam also experienced life outside music in his youth: in 1943 he enlisted in the British Army during the Second World War before moving to Bombay to try his hand in the film industry.

Career

Khayyam’s film career began in the late 1940s. Early credits include work as part of a composer duo billed as Sharmaji-Varmaji on the 1948 film Heer Ranjha, and he took the screen name Khayyam with the 1953 film Foot Path. His reputation rose after the soundtrack of Phir Subha Hogi, where songs penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle became widely popular. He consolidated his standing as a composer with Shola Aur Shabnam in 1961 and went on to score films across many decades, while maintaining a deliberate, quality-focused approach to his output.

Across a career that began in 1947, Khayyam composed music for 57 films and also worked on ten television serials. He often chose to collaborate with poets and lyricists rooted in classical poetry, and his songs frequently carried the textures of ghazal and poetic expression. His notable melodies include work that produced enduring songs such as “Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein,” “In Ankhon Ki Masti,” “Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon,” “Dil Cheez Kya Hai,” and “Aaja Re O Mere Dilbar Aaja.”

Khayyam won multiple awards during his career. He received the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Kabhi Kabhie (1977) and for Umrao Jaan (1982), and in 2010 he was honored with Filmfare’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was the National Film Award recipient for Best Music Director for Umrao Jaan in 1982, and he later received recognition from the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2008 and the Padma Bhushan in 2011. Other lifetime-achievement accolades followed in later years.

His collaborations with leading singers shaped several landmark recordings. He worked extensively with Asha Bhosle, whose performances on Umrao Jaan he guided, and he also collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar beginning with the 1951 film Pyaar Ki Baaten. Khayyam also provided occasional vocals himself, with early singing credits and later songs in films such as Anjuman (1986).

Public profile

Khayyam married singer Jagjit Kaur in 1954; their marriage was one of the early inter-communal unions within the film community. The couple had a son, Pradeep Khayyam, who worked as an actor and composer and predeceased his father in 2012. Jagjit Kaur came from an aristocratic family in Punjab and remained a visible companion in Khayyam’s later life.

Known for choosing projects selectively, Khayyam said he preferred to do fewer films to preserve quality, a stance that made him one of the highest-paid composers for a sustained period. He emphasized giving complete attention to each assignment and said the industry rewarded that approach. At age 90 he announced plans to donate his earnings to a charitable trust established with his wife to support artists and technicians in need.

Later years and death

Khayyam remained active in public life into his later years. In August 2019 he was admitted to a hospital in Juhu after a fall at home. He died on 19 August 2019 at Sujay Hospital in Mumbai from cardiac arrest at the age of 92. His passing followed a long and celebrated career that left a distinct mark on Indian film music.

Latest updates

A charitable trust bearing the names Khayyam and Jagjit Kaur was part of his late-life plans to assist artists and technicians. His body of work and the recognition he received from peers and national institutions continue to be cited when reflecting on his contributions to Indian film music.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Khayyam, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded
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Recent Work

Umrao Jaan

Award-winning score that earned national and Filmfare recognition

1981
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Career Highlights

  1. Composed music for 57 films and ten television serials
  2. Filmfare Best Music Director for Kabhi Kabhie (1977) and Umrao Jaan (1982)
  3. National Film Award for Best Music Director for Umrao Jaan (1982)
  4. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2011)
  5. Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2010)
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Net Worth

₹10 crore (as in 2016)

Figures are editorial estimates based on publicly available reporting and may change as new information emerges.

Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Khayyam born?

Khayyam was born on 18 February 1927.

What is Khayyam known for?

Khayyam is known for music Director.

What is Khayyam’s marital status?

Khayyam's marital status is listed as Married (at time of death).

Who is Khayyam married to?

Khayyam is publicly listed as married to Jagjit Kaur.

What is Khayyam’s net worth?

Khayyam's net worth is commonly listed as ₹10 crore (as in 2016), based on available public profile information.