Real name: Shankardas Kesarilal

Effective period / Period of releases: 1962 - 2008

Popular Indian-Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu) poet and lyricist in Bollywood of the 1950s and '60s with the pen name "Shailendra", he was born in Rawalpindi on 30 August 1923 and died in Mumbai on 14 December 1966. Noted for his association with the filmmaker Raj Kapoor and the composers Shankar-Jaikishan he wrote lyrics for several successful Hindi film songs in the 1950s and the 1960s.

Shailendra won the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award three times:
1958: "Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai" (Film: Yahudi)
1959: "Sab Kuch Seekha Hamne" (Film: Anari)
1968: "Main Gaoon Tum So Jao" (Film: Brahmachari)

Not to be confused with the Indian singer: Shailendra Singh