Gulzar is a writer, a lyricist, a director and, at heart, a poet. His films, sensitive, lyrical, and yet successful, were a welcome relief from the violent films that filled the 1970s and 1980s.
Gulzar was born Sampooran Singh at Deena in Pakistan in the year 1934. After partition in 1947, he came to Delhi. Gulzar started his career as an assistant to celebrated director Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. He joined Bimal Roy Productions in 1961 and got his first break as a lyricist writing for Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963). The success of this film made him Bimalda's full-time assistant and got him writing for films by acclaimed directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Asit Sen. Some of the films he has written include Anand (1971), Guddi (1971), Bawarchi (1972), and Namak Haraam (1973) for Mukherjee; and Do Dooni Char (1968), Khamoshi (1969), and Safar (1970) for Sen.
Gulzar made his directorial debut with Mere Apne (1971). Based on Tapan Sinha's "Apanjan," the film looks at an old woman (played by Meena Kumari) caught between two street gangs of unemployed and frustrated youths. He then went on to make Parichay (1972) (loosely based on The Sound of Music (1965)) and Koshish (1972), which gave a superb look at the trials of a deaf and dumb couple (played by Jaya Bhaduri and Sanjeev Kumar). From this film came a mutually beneficial partnership with Kumar, which resulted in fine films like Mausam (1975), Angoor (1982)Namkeen (1982), and the classic film Aandhi (1975), which had been banned for a while. However, Gulzar didn't always depend on Sanjeev Kumar: the stars of the time, such as Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, and Hema Malini, worked with him in unglamorous roles and gave some of their best and introspective performances in films like Achanak (1973), Khushboo (1975), and Kinara (1977). Sadly, the 1980s and 1990s saw a decline in Gulzar the director, and although films such as Lekin... (1990) and Maachis (1996) had their moments, his last film to date, Hu Tu Tu (1999), was a misfire. However, he tried his hand at television with the much acclaimed television film Mirza Ghalib (1988) (TV). Made about the poet's life and starring Naseeruddin Shah in the title role, the serial was a landmark in Indian Television. Gulzar has also directed documentaries on Amjad Khan and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi as well as "Shaira," a film based on Meena Kumari. He has also turned his creativity into other channels--he has written screenplays for films like Masoom (1983) and Rudaali (1993), and has written the lyrics for films like Dil Se.. (1998) and Saathiya (2002).
Musically, Gulzar was unbeatable. Being a lyricist and collaborating with film composers, he always had a high quality of music in
his films, especially with Rahul Dev Burman. And while Burman became a pop icon with his tunes from Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973) and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977), he also gave Gulzar classic pieces with which to work in Khushboo (1975) and Ijaazat (1987).
After getting recognition as a sensitive lyricist, he started writing scripts and stories for films. Then with Mere Apne in 1971, He turned Director. In a career spanning 40 years Gulzar has written stories for around 60 films and directed 17 movies, each one a masterpiece. During 1980's he did one of the most outstanding jobs for the small screen, the serial called Mirza Ghalib, a tribute to the legendary poet. Mirza Ghalib will remain one of the most memorable TV productions for its music, direction, dialogues and portrayal of Ghalib by Naseeruddin Shah. 1996 saw Gulzar back in action, behind the camera for the making of Maachis, a candor document on terrorism in Punjab. The success of Maachis got Gulzar back to the film industry.
In his long career, Gulzar has never sighed away from experiment. Some of the notable experiments include Kharaashein - a play by Salim Arif on Gulzar's short stories, Udaas Paani - an experimental music album by Abhishek Ray and, Gulzar's Poetry on Canvas by a young Painter Ajay Kumar Samir. Kharaashein has now been published in the form of a book on Radhakrishna Prakashan. Gulzar has won 5 National Awards and 17 Filmfare Trophies. He has been awarded the Sahitya Academy Award for his collection of short stories "Dhuaan". Noted celluloid magazine FILMFARE has honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi Cinema.
Last few years are the years of experimentation, where many young artists from different faculties worked with Gulzar and provided new expressions to his work. Some of the notable experiments include Kharaashein - a play by Salim Arif on Gulzar's short stories, Udaas Paani - an experimental music album by Abhishek Ray and, Gulzar's Poetry on Canvas by a young Painter Ajay Kumar Samir. Kharaashein has now been published in the form of a book on Radhakrishna Prakashan. Meghna Gulzar has recently come up with a biographical sketch of Gulzar saab in the form of a book titled "Because He Is...". Recently he penned the theme song "Lau se lau jalti rahe" for Olympic Torch Relay event at New Delhi and "Chal dilli chalein chalna hai" for Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi in 2010.
Lyricist - 38 films, Cast - 32 films, Director - 16 films, Dialogue Writer - 7 films, Screenplay Writer - 6 films, Story Writer - 4 films, Producer - 2 films
* Gulzar has won 5 National Awards and 19 Filmfare Trophies
* FILMFARE has honoured him with a LifeTime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi Cinema in 2002.
* Government of India has conferred Gulzar saab with the National Honour of PADMABHUSHAN.
* Gulzar saab has WON the Oscar for Best Song with Music Director AR Rahman for the song Jai Ho! (Slumdog Millionaire).... Jai Ho!
Gulzar .....The Garden of songs ......Long live Gulzar
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