Sampooran Singh Kalra )Urdu: سمپورن سنگھ کالرا, born 18 August 1936), better known by his pen name Gulzar (Urdu: گُلزار ), is an Indian poet, lyricist and director. He primarily writes in Hindi-Urdu, but has also written in Punjabi, several dialects of Hindi such as Braj Bhasha, Khadiboli, Haryanvi and Marwari.
Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his contribution to the arts, and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He has also won a number of National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards in various categories. In 2009, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). On 31 January 2010, the same song won him a Grammy Award in the category of Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media.
As a lyricist, Gulzar is best known for his association with the music directors Rahul Dev Burman, A. R. Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj, and has also worked with other leading Hindi movie music directors including Sachin Dev Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Hemant Kumar, Madan Mohan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy and Anu Malik.
Gulzar was born in a Kalra Arora Sikh family, to Makhan Singh Kalra and Sujan Kaur, in Dina, Jhelum District, Pakistan. Before becoming an established writer, Sampooran worked as a car mechanic in a garage. He took the pen name Gulzar Deenvi after becoming an author.
Gulzar is best known in India as a lyricist for songs that form an integral part of Indian movies. He began his career under the film directors Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. His book Ravi Paar has a narrative of Bimal Roy and the agony of creation.
Gulzar started his career as a songwriter with the music director Sachin Dev Burman for the movie "Bandini" (1963). The song was "Mora gora ang layle", picturised on Nutan. Gulzar's most successful songs as a lyricist came out from his association with Sachin Dev Burman's son Rahul Dev Burman, whom he once described as the anchor in his life. R D Burman composed songs for almost all the movies directed by Gulzar in the 1970s and the 1980s, including Libaas (1988), Ijaazat (1987), Angoor (1982), Khushboo (1975), Mausam (1975), Aandhi (1975) and Mere Apne (1971). Many of their popular songs were sung by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. These include Musafir hoon yaron (Parichay), Tera bina zindagi se koi (Aandhi), Mera kuch saaman (Ijaazat), Tujhse naraz nahi zindagi (Masoom) etc.
Gulzar also has had award-winning associations with the music directors Salil Chowdhury (Anand), Madan Mohan (Mausam), and more recently with Vishal Bhardwaj (Maachis), A. R. Rahman (Dil Se, Guru, Slumdog Millionaire, Raavan) and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (Bunty aur Babli).
Gulzar's film Aandhi was banned for a time because it was seen as a criticism of Indira Gandhi for the imposition of the emergency. He also depicted a flair for adapting stories/concepts from literature as well as from other films. Angoor is based on Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors, and Mausam is an adaptation of A. J. Cronin's The Judas Tree. Gulzar also adapted the Hollywood classic The Sound of Music into Parichay. He directed an eponymous Television serial on Mirza Ghalib starring Naseeruddin Shah shown on Indian Television Channel Doordarshan in 1988. Gulzar also worked, as a song writer or dialogue writer for several Doordarshan programs for kids such as Jungle Book, Alice in Wonderland, Guchche and Potli Baba Ki together with Vishal Bhardwaj. He has more recently written and narrated for the children's audiobook series Karadi Tales.
As a poet-lyricist, Gulzar has developed a new style of writing poems called Triveni which comprises stanzas comprising three lines rhyming with each other. His private album "Koi Baat Chale" with Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh has all the songs written in Triveni.
As a director, Gulzar is known for making brilliantly sensitive portrayal of subjects ranging from human relations, biographical profiles and often controversial social issues. For his contributions to Indian cinema, Gulzar was honored with Padma Bhushan in 2004, the third highest civilian award in India. Also, Gulzar and his movies have won numerous awards at the National level including awards for best director and best lyrics. He also won the 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award for 'Dhuan', a collection of Urdu short stories.
Gulzar is married to actress Raakhee. They have a daughter, Meghna Gulzar, who is a film director. Meghna Gulzar has also penned a biography of Gulzar, titled "because he is".
As a director, Gulzar is known for making brilliantly sensitive portrayal of subjects ranging from human relations, biographical profiles and often controversial social issues. For his contributions to Indian cinema, Gulzar was honored with Padma Bhushan in 2004, the third highest civilian award in India. Also, Gulzar and his movies have won numerous awards at the National level including awards for best director and best lyrics. He also won the 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award for 'Dhuan', a collection of Urdu short stories.
Gulzar is married to actress Raakhee. They have a daughter, Meghna Gulzar, who is a film director. Meghna Gulzar has also penned a biography of Gulzar, titled "because he is".
No comments:
Post a Comment