Filmmaker Muzaffar Ali worked with Khayyam on films like Umrao Jaan and Anjuman
As told to Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; August 21, 2019)

Khayyam saab’s music is larger than life and his demise has created a vacuum that can only be filled by his greatness and creativity, which he has left behind as a legacy in abundance. Khayyam saab and I worked together on three projects. Umrao Jaan was a long, intense journey. We went through the throes of creating the characters and the lyrics because that film was poetry. Ek ek lamha was musically and poetically crafted. The time we invested in composing the songs is not something that often happens. Two years is a long time; we took long gaps between creating our songs so that each one sounds distinct and has the right mix of emotions.

Khayyam saab's process was long drawn out. Khayyam saab and I shared that beautiful journey called Umrao Jaan. It was a creative part of our lives that we shared with people at large, and no one can ever get it out of their mind. Creating that kind of music needs people who are rare to find like Khayyam saab. He was always ahead of his time and had the patience to nurture tunes.

The film Anjuman was a naayab project where I could make him sing. He sang a ghazal by Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Shabana Azmi sang her own songs, too, for that film. It was a dilchasp raasta where we explored the new and revolutionary phase of Lucknow, ek bilkul naye tareeqe se. It was an intense and interesting journey.

The third film we worked together for was titled Zooni, which was set in Kashmir. It was a dream which remained unfulfilled, although I want it to be fulfilled some day. I have preserved the songs that Khayyam saab had created for it, and for the sake of those, I want that film to see the light of day. The songs he created for this film deserve to reach their final destination -- the hearts of the listeners.

Unka yun guzar jaana ek bahut bada haadsa hai. It's a loss to the fraternity, because with him, we have lost a generation and a school of music. Some of us are fortunate to have worked with him and a lot of us are fortunate to have grown up on the songs he created.