[1] He worked in Bollywood films, as a writer for a number of classics, from the first Indian cinematic blockbuster Kismet (1943), to the Palme d'Or nominated Mujhe Jeene Do (1963), to Naya Zamana (1971).

He was known for writing his dialogues in literary Urdu, which eventually went out of vogue after Salim–Javed popularized a more colloquial style in the 1970s.

[2] Agha Jani Kashmiri was born on 16 October 1908, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

[4] In part, he was inspired by his first cousin, Nawab Kashmiri, also of Lucknow, the best-known character actor in early Indian cinema, with hits such as Yahudi ki Ladki (Daughter of the Jew), in which Nawab played an elderly Jew.

[citation needed] He wrote for Bollywood producer-directors including Subodh Mukherjee, Sashadhar Mukherjee, Sunil Dutt, Mehboob Khan, Himanshu Rai of Bombay Talkies, Franz Osten, Pramod Chakravorty; and actors Ashok Kumar, Veena, Devika Rani, Noor Jehan, Suraiya, Sadhana, Saira Banu, Joy Mukherjee, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Nimmi.