BOLLYWOOD is mourning the death of one its greatest legends. Prolific lyricist Anand Bakshi, who wrote more than 4,000 songs, died unexpectedly aged 72 after a protracted illness last week.

In a career that spanned 45 years, the great talent wrote songs that touched three different generations of filmgoers.

Born in pre-partition Rawalpindi, Bakshi served in the army before he landed in Bombay with aspirations of becoming a writer.

He struggled working as a scenarist in the 1940s before he rejoined the army. He returned in 1958 and soon established himself.

"Remember we had stalwarts like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri and Majrooh Sultanpuri," Bakshi said in one of his last interviews.

"Whereas I hadn't even passed school, I used to get scared when I was writing and naturally I had to prove myself."

He worked with a number of big-name directors that ranged from the legendary Raj Kapoor to modern-day hotshot Aditya Chopra.

Bakshi will be remembered for great songs in films including Naam, Jab Jab Phool Khile, Laawaris and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the biggest grossing movie of all time.

Big Bollywood names like Rajesh Khanna, Yash Chopra, Gulzar, Subhash Ghai and Rishi Kapoor offered floral tributes before Bakshi's body was cremated on Sunday.

"From his writing, you could never guess how old he was. He thought and wrote like a young boy in love," remembered film-maker Subhash Ghai.

Film-maker Yash Chopra said: "Bakshi was a legend in his own right. His forte was romance, but he could do justice to any situation that you asked him to write for."