Khayyam funeral: Composer accorded full state honours, Sonu Nigam, Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj pay last respects

Legendary music composer Khayyam was buried with full state honours in Mumbai on Wednesday. The 92-year-old music director who gave Indian cinema a host of timeless compositions in films such as Razia Sultan, Kabhi Kabhi, Umrao Jaan and Bazaar, died on Monday; he was ailing for some time.

Lyricist Gulzar, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and actor Poonam Dhillon were among the first ones to arrive at his residence to meet the bereaved family and pay their tributes.

A Padma Bhushan recipient, he was accorded full state honours. The funeral procession started from his home in Dakshina Park Society, Juhu, at 4 p.m., and wend till the Four Bungalows Kabrastan.

 

Khayyam’s last journey begins. (Varinder Chawla)

Javed Akhtar at Khayyam’s residence.

Sonu Nigam offers flowers on Khayyam’s mortal remains. (Varinder Chawla)

Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar pay their last respects at Khayyam’s funeral. (Varinder Chawla)

Poonam Dhillon at Khayyam’s funeral. (Varinder Chawla)

Raza Murad at Khayyam’s funeral. (Varinder Chawla)

A family friend gets emotional. (Varinder Chawla)

Actor Tabassum arrives at Khayyam’s residence. (Varinder Chawla)

Sanjay Khan (left) at Khayyam’s residence. (Varinder Chawla)

Pritam Sharma, the spokesperson of the late music composer’s trust, had said in a statement, “Veteran music composer Khayyam Saab is no more. He breathed his last at Sujoy Hospital, Juhu, Mumbai at 9:30 PM on 19/08/2019. He was admitted there since last few days for age related illness.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of the late music maestro. He wrote on Twitter,“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.”

 

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar had also shared their memories of working with Khayyam. Lata had revealed how Khayyam considered her his younger sister and Raag Pahadi was his favourite. She wrote, “Khayyam sahab mujhe apni choti behen maante the. Wo mere liye apni khas pasand ke gaane banaate the.Unke saath kaam karte waqt bahut accha lagta tha aur thoda darr bhi lagta tha kyo ki wo bade perfectionist the.Unki shayari ki samajh bahut kamaal thi (Khayyam Sahab considered me his little sister. He used to make his favourite tunes for me. I used to love working with him and was also bit scared of him because he was a perfectionist. He was an expert in shayari).”

Originally named Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, the music composer was married to singer Jagjit Kaur. He reportedly donated all his wealth to a trust named after his late son, Pradeep Khayaam to help artists and technicians in need.