Hussain Haidry – The poet who wrote ‘Hindustani Musalmaan’

Hussain Haidry is a promising young poet and writer from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, who shot to fame after penning the poem on religious harmony, Hindustani Musalmaan. Earlier associated with spoken word poetry forums in Mumbai circle, this single poem brought him to spotlight at the age of 31, and the poem was celebrated by social media too. He had already written 150 others, including nazms and gazals. Yet his poem starting with the question, “Main kaisa musalman hoon bhai?” which means “What kind of a Muslim am I, brother?” changed his life journey forever. Later he marked his Bollywood debut as a lyricist for Qarib Qarib Single in 2017 and also penned lyrics for Gurgaon and Mukkabaaz.

Hussain Haidry wanted to become a Chartered accountant. He completed PGDM from IIM, Indore and also worked in Kolkata in healthcare sector for a while before he quit his job in 2015 and moved to Mumbai. He wanted to become a lyricist and screenwriter in Bollywood film industry, and started off presenting his poems at spoken word poetry forums. One of his poems presented in a forum, Hindustani Musalmaan went viral, and equally praised by all irrespective of all religious beliefs. It also helped him to fulfil his dreams to become a lyricist. He penned the songs – “Tu Chale Toh” and “Tanha Begum” for the film. As a lyricist he earned recognition penning seven out of ten songs for highly acclaimed film Mukkabaaz. Haidry has also appeared in many TV shows and has presented his poetry.

The poet says that before writing the poem, he has been always confused about his identity, spoke many languages and travelled through different states, which coloured his personality. Though he identifies himself as a Muslim, he is not just that. Once he heard the sound of the azaan one morning, and penned the first few lines in his diary. He lost his dairy and the poem which he rewrote later was completely different from this one. He has gone through almost all experiences he wrote in the poem, including a dip in the holy Ganga in Rishikesh, and has visited temples, churches, gurudwaras etc.

Hussain Haidry – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. He is a spoken word poet, who recites his poetry at different forums.

2. He recited Hindustani Musalman at Kommune, a performing arts forum in Mumbai. It was shared by the FB page of the forum which later went viral. Within a week, over 2,000 Facebook users shared the thought provoking and really touching poem.

3. He worked as Head of Finance at a company in the healthcare sector before he turned a full-time writer. He moved to Mumbai in March 2016.

4. Apart from films, he pens lyrics for web series too. Chacha Vidhaayak Hai Humaare, and TVF Tripling season 2 are among his web series works.