Gulshan Kumar Mehta, popularly known by his pen name Gulshan Bawra (literally: "Gulshan The Mad")
/ref> (12 April 1937 – 7 August 2009), was an Indian songwriter and actor in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. In a career spanning 42 years, he has to his credit about 240 songs, he collaborated with noted music directors like

Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

Shankar Jaikishan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist * S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sanka ...

, and

R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...

. He composed almost half of the songs in films like '' Khel Khel Mein'' (1975), ''

Kasme Vaade ''Kasme Vaade'' () is a 1978 Hindi action thriller film produced and directed by Ramesh Behl. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Randhir Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Amjad Khan. Randhir Kapoor earned a Filmfare nomination as Best Supporting A ...

'' (1978) and ''

Satte Pe Satta ''Satte Pe Satta'' (transl. 'Seven on Seven') is an Indian Hindi-language action-comedy film released in 1982 and directed by Raj N. Sippy, and produced by Romu N. Sippy. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Amjad Khan, Ranjeeta Kaur ...

'' (1982). Apart from R. D. Burman hits, he is most remembered for his songs like '

Mere Desh Ki Dharti "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" () is an Indian Hindi song from the Bollywood film ''Upkar'' (1967). The lyrics of the song were written by Gulshan Kumar Mehta, and the music was composed by Kalyanji–Anandji. Mahendra Kapoor was the playback singer. Th ...

" in '' Upkaar'' (1968) and "Yaari Hai Imaan Mera" in '' Zanjeer'' (1974), both of which got him the

Filmfare Best Lyricist Award The Filmfare Lyricist Award is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The awards were first given in 1954; however, the Award for the best lyricist was first given in 1959. List of winners ...

. The latter also topped the

Binaca Geetmala ''Binaca Geetmala'' was a weekly countdown show of top filmi songs from Hindi cinema. It was popular and had millions of listeners. ''Binaca Geetmala'' was broadcast on Radio Ceylon from 1952 to 1988 and then shifted to the Vividh Bharati Servic ...

annual list of 1973. As a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, he also appeared in a small number of Hindi films.

Early life and education

Gulshan Kumar Mehta, popularly known as Gulshan Bawra was born 30 km from

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

in a place called

Sheikhupura Sheikhupura ( pa, ; ur, ) also known as Qila Sheikhupura, is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Jahangir, Jehangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is the List of most populous citie ...

. His father had a construction business, and his immediate family were Shri Labh Chand Mehta, father of Roop Lal Mehta and Chaman Lal Mehta, incidentally both their families were victims of the partition riots where young Gulshan witnessed his father and his cousins' father killed in Labh Chand Mehta's haveli, in front of their own eyes. His elder sister at

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

, brought him and his elder brother up. After his brother got a job, they shifted to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, where he graduated from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

. During college, he began to write poetry.Hamara forums
/ref>

Career

He wanted to come into films and applied for a job with the

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. He was posted to Kota,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, but when he arrived there, the vacancy was filled. His next call was luckily that for the post of a clerk at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and he arrived in the city in 1955. Gulshan struggled to get a film break, initially keeping his job on. Kalyanji (of Kalyanji- Anandji), then on his own as

Kalyanji Virji Shah Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

, gave him his first opening in Chandrasena (1959) in the song "Main kya jaanu kahan laage yeh saawan matwala re", sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

. K-A's first joint film, the

Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...

- Balraj Sahni starrer ''

Satta Bazaar ''Satta Bazaar'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language film starring Meena Kumari and Balraj Sahni in lead roles. The music of the film was composed by Kalyanji Anandji. Plot Ramesh (Balraj Sahni) is a widower who lives with his young daughter Ka ...

'' later the same year marked his first brush with success with hits like "Tumhein yaad hoga kabhi hum mile the" (

Lata Lata (Hindi: लता) is a Hindu/Sanskrit Indian female given name, which means "creeper" and "vine". Lata may refer to: Notable people named Lata *Lata Bhatt (born 1954), Indian singer. * Lata (born 1975), Musician. *Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2 ...

Hemant Hemant, ( sa, हेमन्त, translit=Hemanta) is an Indian male given name. It is the namesake of ''Hemanta'', one of the six Indian ecological seasons— Ritu—in northern half of Indian subcontinent, which runs in early winter approximat ...

), "Aakde ka dhanda" ( Rafi) and "Chandi ke chand tukdon ke liye" (

Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...

). It was during the making of this film that the film's distributor Shantibhai Patel christened him "Bawra". Almost half of his songs have been with R.D.Burman. His last release was ''

Zulmi ''Zulmi'' is an Indian Hindi action drama crime film directed by Kuku Kohli, released on 16 April 1999. It stars Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna. Plot Balraj Dutt is a bodyguard of Baba Thakur, who, while dying, makes Balraj promi ...

'' (1999) and his last hit was "Le pappiyaan jhappiyaan paale hum" for '' Haqeeqat'' (1995), which landed him in his only controversy - of writing a vulgar song. His films in the '90s include, besides '' Haqeeqat'' and ''

'', ''

Qurbani Rang Jaayegi Qurbani can refer to: * Qurbani (film), a 1980 Bollywood film * Qurban (Islamic ritual sacrifice) ''Qurbanī'' ( ar, قربانى), ''Qurban'', or ''uḍḥiyah'' () as referred to in Islamic law, is a ritual animal sacrifice of a livestock a ...

'', '' Tehkiqaat'', '' Laat Saab'', ''

Maidan-E-Jung ''Maidan-E-Jung'' () is a 1995 Hindi film directed by K.C. Bokadia, starring Dharmendra, Akshay Kumar and Karishma Kapoor along with Amrish Puri, Manoj Kumar, Jaya Prada, Gulshan Grover, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Mukesh Khanna and Dina Path ...

'', ''

Indrajeet ''Indrajeet'' is a 1991 Bollywood action film directed by K. V. Raju. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Prada in lead roles, with Kumar Gaurav, Neelam, Saeed Jaffrey, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Kader Khan in supporting roles. The film was a ...

'' and ''

Chor Pe Mor '' Chor Pe Mor '' is a 1990 Bollywood crime comedy film directed by Kapil Kapoor and starring Naseeruddin Shah, Karan Shah, Neelam, Sonam in lead roles. Cast * Naseeruddin Shah as Inspector Chanakya * Karan Shah as Raja *Neelam Kothari as Ri ...

''. He died on 7 August 2009 at age 72 at his

Pali Hill Pali Hill is an affluent residential area spread across the adjoined suburbs of Bandra and Khar in Mumbai, India (sharing postal codes 400050 and 400052 respectively). Geography Pali Hill lies on the western side of Mumbai. It runs parallel to ...

residence in Mumbai.

Filmography

As actor

* Jija Ji (1961) Punjabi movie * '' Upkar'' (1967) *'' Parivar'' (1967) * Vishwas (1969) * ''

Pavitra Paapi ''Pavitra Papi'' ( Punjabi: ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਪਾਪੀ; English:"The Holy Sinner") is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Rajendra Bhatia. The film stars Balraj Sahni, Parikshit Sahni and Tanuja. The movie was based on a P ...

'' (1970) * ''

Pyar Ki Kahani ''Pyar Ki Kahani'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Ravikant Nagaich. It is a remake of the 1964 Tamil film ''Kai Kodutha Deivam''. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Tanuja. The movie bombed and is one of t ...

'' (1971) * '' Jaane-Anjaane'' (1971) * ''

Jangal Mein Mangal ''Jangal Mein Mangal'' is a 1972 Bollywood romance film directed by Rajendra Bhatia. The film stars Kiran Kumar, Reena Roy and Pran in pivotal roles. Cast *Kiran Kumar as Rajesh *Reena Roy as Leela * Balraj Sahni as Thomas * Pran as Retired ...

'' (1972) * ''

Shehzada ''Shehzada'' () is a 1972 Bollywood drama film produced by Surinder Kapoor and directed by K. Shankar, set during the British Raj. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Raakhee as the lead pair and the supporting cast included Veena, Pandari Bai and ...

'' (1972) * '' Zanjeer'' (1973).. acted in song "Deewane Hain Diwanon Ko Na" * ''

Lafange ''Lafange'' is a 1975 Bollywood film directed by Harmesh Malhotra. It stars Randhir Kapoor, Mumtaz, Pran in lead roles and music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The film became a hit. Plot Beautiful Sapna lives with her wealthy father, Dhanraj, and a ...

'' (1975) * Jai Mata Di (1977) Punjabi Movie * '' Agar... If'' (1977) * ''

Aap Ke Deewane ''Aap Ke Deewane'' () is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language romance film, produced by Vimal Kumar under the Film Krafts banner, presented by Rakesh Roshan and directed by Surendera Mohan. It stars Rishi Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan and Tina Munim, while J ...

'' (1980) * '' Yeh Vaada Raha'' (1982) * ''

Agar Tum Na Hote ''Agar Tum Na Hote'' () is a 1983 Indian Bollywood drama film directed by Lekh Tandon and starring Rajesh Khanna, Rekha and Raj Babbar in leading roles. Lekh Tandon received the Best Director Award for this film in Filmfans Association of Indi ...

'' (1983) * ''

Boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

'' (1984) *''

'' (1991) * ''Basera'' * '' Shrikant'' * ''

English Babu Desi Mem ''English Babu Desi Mem'' () is a 1996 Hindi-language romantic comedy film, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Sonali Bendre. It is loosely based on the American romantic comedy ''It Started in Naples'' (1960). The rights to this film are now owned by ...

'' (1996)

As lyricist

* ''

'' (1959) * ''

Purnima Pūrṇimā () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day (''Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights (paksha), and the Moon is aligned exa ...

'' (1965) * '' Upkar'' (1967) * '' Zanjeer'' (1973) * ''

Haath Ki Safai Haath Ki Safai (; a euphemism for pickpocketing) is a 1974 Bollywood film, written by Salim–Javed, produced by I.A Nadiadwala, and directed by Prakash Mehra. The film stars Hema Malini, Randhir Kapoor and Vinod Khanna, who won the Filmfare ...

'' (1974) * ''

Trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of de ...

'' (1974) * '' Khel Khel Mein'' (1975) * ''

Khalifa Khalifa or Khalifah (Arabic: خليفة) is a name or title which means "successor", "ruler" or "leader". It most commonly refers to the leader of a Caliphate, but is also used as a title among various Islamic religious groups and others. Khalif ...

'' (1976) * ''

Vishwasghaat ''Vishwasghaat'' is a 1996 Bollywood action film directed by Himanshu Brahmbhatt. The film stars Sunil Shetty, Anjali Jathar and Anupam Kher. Plot Rammohan lives a poor lifestyle in India along with his grandson, Avinash, the only child of his ...

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1978) * ''

Bhala Manus A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

'' (1979) * ''

Jhoota Kahin Ka ''Jhoota Kahin Ka'' is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Ravi Tandon. It stars Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh in pivotal roles. Plot The Rai family consists of four: father, mother, Shanti, and two sons, Ajay and Vijay. While traveling on a ship ...

'' (1979) * ''

'' (1982) * '' Yeh Vaada Raha'' (1982) * ''

'' (1983) * ''

Awaaz Awaaz (transl. ''Voice'') is a 1984 Hindi action crime film directed by Shakti Samanta with Rajesh Khanna in the lead role and supported by Jaya Prada, Rakesh Roshan, Suresh Oberoi, Supriya Pathak, Iftekar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and Amris ...

'' (1984) * '' Haqeeqat'' (1995) * ''Rafoo chakkar'' (1975)

Noted lyrics

Awards

References

External links

*
Gulshan Bawra
at

Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Gulshan Kumar 2009 deaths 1937 births Filmfare Awards winners Indian male songwriters Indian lyricists People from Sheikhupura District Hindi-language lyricists Male actors in Hindi cinema Delhi University alumni Punjabi people Pseudonymous writers 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian musicians 20th-century male musicians