Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghali ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest

Urdu poets The following is a List of Urdu-language poets. 13th century 15th century 16th century 17th century 18th century * Mirza Muhammad Rafi, ''Sauda'' (1713–1780) * Siraj Aurangabadi, ''Siraj'' (1715–1763) *Mohammad Meer Soz Dehlvi, '' ...

of this era. He started his career with music director

S.D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...

as a lyricist in the 1963 film ''Bandini'' and worked with many music directors including

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 ...

Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This in ...

Vishal Bhardwaj Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bha ...

and

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

. Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues and scripts. He directed films such as ''

Aandhi ''Aandhi'' () is a 1975 Indian political drama film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and directed by Gulzar. At the time it was alleged that the film was based on the life of the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her relationship ...

'' and '' Mausam'' during the 1970s and the TV series ''

Mirza Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

'' in the 1980s. He also directed ''

Kirdaar Kirdaar is an Indian television series aired on DD National directed by Gulzar. It ran between 1993 and 1994, based on short stories written by different writers in different languages, mainly Urdu, Hindi and Bengali writers. The short stories we ...

'' in 1993. He has won 5 Indian National Film Awards; including 2 Best Lyrics, one Best Screenplay, one Second Best Feature Film (director), and one Best Popular Film (director); 22 Filmfare Awards; one

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

; and one

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award - Hindi in 2002, the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 2004, the third-highest civilian award in India, and the

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...

in 2013, the highest award in Indian cinema. In April 2013, Gulzar was appointed as the Chancellor of the Assam University.

Early life

Gulzar was born in a Sikh family as Sampooran Singh Kalra, to Makhan Singh Kalra and Sujan Kaur, in Dina, Jhelum District,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(present-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

). In school, he had read translations of the works of

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resha ...

which he recounted as one of his life's many turning points. Due to the

partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, his family split and he had to stop his studies and come to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(then called Bombay) to support his family. Sampooran took up many small jobs in Mumbai to eke out a living, including one at a garage at ''Vichare motors'' on Bellasis road (

). There he used to touch up accident-damaged cars by mixing shades of paint, in his own words "I had a knack for colours". His father rebuked him for being a writer initially. He took the pen name Gulzar Deenvi and later simply Gulzar. In an interview with Rajyasabha TV, he recounted enjoying his work as a painter as it allowed him a lot of time to simultaneously read, write, attend college and be involved with the PWA (Progressive Writers Association).

Career

Lyricist

It was during his interactions in the PWA Sunday meetings that Shailendra and

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as '' Do Bigha Zamin'', '' Parineeta'', '' Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas'', ''Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' ...

encouraged him to join films. Gulzar began his career under film directors

and

Hrishikesh Mukherjee Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as ''Hrishi-da'', he directed 42 films during his ca ...

. His book ''Ravi Paar'' has a narrative of Bimal Roy and the agony of creation. He started his career as a songwriter with the music director for the movie '' Bandini'' (1963). In films, he found an environment associated with literature in the group he worked with, including Bimal Roy, most of whose films were based on literary works. Shailendra, who has penned the rest of the songs in the movie requested Gulzar to write the song "Mora Gora Ang Layle", 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 con ...

. Directed and produced by

, the 1968 film '' Aashirwad'' had dialogues and lyrics written by Gulzar. Song lyrics and poems written by Gulzar gave the poetic attribute and the "much-needed additional dimension" to

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

's role in the film. Ashok Kumar received the Best Actor at the Filmfare and at the National Film Awards for this role. Gulzar's lyrics, however, did not gain much attention until 1969's '' Khamoshi'', where his song "Humne Dekhi Hai Un Aankhon Ki Mehekti Khushboo" (lit., "I have seen the fragrance of those eyes") became popular. Ganesh Anantharaman in his book ''Bollywood Melodies'' describes Gulzar's lyrics, with the purposeful mixing of the senses, to be "daringly defiant". For the 1971 film '' Guddi'', he penned two songs, of which "Humko Man Ki Shakti Dena" was a prayer which is still sung in many schools in India. As a lyricist, Gulzar had a close association with the music director

Rahul Dev 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 has also worked with

Sachin Dev Burman Sachin may refer to: * Sachin (given name), an Indian given name, including a list of people with the name ** Sachin (actor) (born 1957), Indian actor and filmmaker ** Sachin Tendulkar (born 1973), Indian cricketer Films * ''Sachein ''Sachein' ...

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 ...

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 ...

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

Rajesh Roshan Rajesh Roshan Lal Nagrath (born 24 May 1955) is an Indian Hindi cinema music director and composer. He is the son of music director Roshan and singer Ira Roshan. Personal life Rajesh Roshan has a Punjabi Hindu father and Bengali Brahmin m ...

, and

Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...

. Gulzar worked with

in '' Anand'' (1971) and ''

Mere Apne ''Mere Apne'' is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language film written and directed by Gulzar and produced by Romu, Raj and N. C. Sippy. It was Gulzar's first directorial venture and was almost a frame by frame remake of the National Award-winning Bengali fi ...

'' (1971);

in '' Mausam'' (1975), and more recently with

in ''

Maachis ''Maachis'' (transl. ''Matchsticks'') is a 1996 Indian period political thriller film directed by Gulzar and produced by R. V. Pandit. It stars Chandrachur Singh, Om Puri, Tabu, and Jimmy Sheirgill. The film portrays the circumstances surrou ...

'' (1996), '' Omkara'' (2006) and ''

Kaminey ''Kaminey'' ( en, Scoundrels, italic=yes) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under UTV Motion Pictures, featuring Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Amole Gupte ...

'' (2009);

in '' Dil Se..'' (1998), ''

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

'' (2007), ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...

'' (2008) and '' Raavan'' (2010) and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy in ''

Bunty Aur Babli ''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Ba ...

'' (2005). Gulzar took inspiration from

Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian ...

's "Ay Sarbathe Aashiqui" to pen "Ay Hairathe Aashiqui" for

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...

's 2007 Hindi film ''

'', which had music composed by

. Another Ratnam-Rahman hit, "

Chaiyya Chaiyya "Chaiyya Chaiyya" (" alkin shade") is an Indian pop-folk song, featured in the soundtrack of the Bollywood film '' Dil Se..'', released in 1998. Based on Sufi music and Urdu poetry, the single was composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Gulzar, an ...

" from ''Dil Se..'' also had lyrics written by Gulzar, based on the Sufi folk song "Thaiyya Thaiyya", with lyrics by poet

Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...

. For another collaboration with Rahman for

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

's 2007 Hollywood film ''

'', Rahman and Gulzar won the

for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for " Jai Ho" at the

81st Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...

. The song received international acclaim and won him a

(shared with Rahman) in the category of

Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked ...

. He also wrote a song for the Pakistani Drama ''

Shehryar Shehzadi ''Shehryar Shehzadi'' is a Pakistani television drama series originally shown on the Urdu 1 and A-Plus Entertainment channels. This drama is a Mastermind Production, directed by Syed Ahmed Kamran and written by Zafar Imran. In an interview, S ...

'', and this song ''Teri Raza'', has been sung by

Rekha Bhardwaj Rekha Bhardwaj (born 24 January 1964) is an Indian singer and live performer. She has received two Filmfare and one National Awards. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi and Malayalam languages. Personal l ...

and was composed by

Direction

After writing dialogues and screenplay for films such as ''Aashirwad'', ''Anand'' and ''Khamoshi'', Gulzar directed his first film ''

'' (1971). The film was a remake of

Tapan Sinha Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...

's Bengali film ''

Apanjan ''Apanjan'' (also ''Apan Jan''; roughly translated in English as "One's own people") is a 1968 Bengali film directed by Tapan Sinha. Set against the backdrop of the political violence that rocked India, and West Bengal in particular, in the late ...

'' (1969).

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 ...

played the lead role of Anandi Devi, an old widow caught in between the local fights of unemployed and tormented youngsters. Anandi Devi's death in one of the fights makes them realise the futility of violence. The film was rated "Above Average" at the box office. He then directed '' Parichay'' and ''

Koshish ''Koshish'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama movie starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri, written and directed by Gulzar. The movie depicts a deaf and mute couple and their conflicts, pain and struggle to carve out a niche for ...

''. ''Parichay'' was based on a Bengali novel, ''Rangeen Uttarain'' by Raj Kumar Maitra and inspired from the Hollywood film ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

''. He wrote the story of ''Koshish'' based on the struggle faced by a deaf-dumb couple wherein

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. He is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. He acted in genres ranging from romantic dramas to thrille ...

won

National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...

. In 1973, he directed '' Achanak'', inspired by the 1958 murder case KM Nanavati v State of Maharashtra, and the story writer

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...

earned a Filmfare nomination for Best Story. Later he directed ''

'', based on the Hindi novel "Kaali Aandhi" by

Kamleshwar Kamleshwar may refer to: * Kamleshwar (writer) * Kamleshwar Dam * Kamleshwar Patel {{Hndis, Kamleshwar ...

. Along with various wins and nominations, the film also won

Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie The Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film is awarded during annual Filmfare Awards, given by the Filmfare magazine. The awards are the oldest and most prominent film awards given for Hindi films in India. The yearly awards started in 1954. Mo ...

. Although the film was believed to be based on the life of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the film was based on life of

Tarkeshwari Sinha Tarkeshwari Sinha (26 December 1926 – 14 August 2007) was an Indian politician and independence activist from Bihar. Among the first female politicians of the country, she took active role in the Quit India Movement. At the age of 26, she wa ...

. In the 1975's emergency, the film was banned from theatres. His next film '' Khushboo'' was based on

Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee ( bn, শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়; 15 September 1876 or ৩১ শে ভাদ্র ১২৮৩ বঙ্গাব্দ � ...

's ''Pandit Mashay''. His '' Mausam'', which won the National Award for 2nd Best Feature Film, Filmfare Best Movie and Filmfare Best Director awards, along with other six Filmfare nominations, was loosely based on the story ''"Weather"'', from the novel, ''

The Judas Tree ''The Judas Tree'' is a 1961 novel by A. J. Cronin. It is considered one of the author's finest works and demonstrated a keen understanding of sin. Cronin described the book as "a complete dissection of a supreme Egotism, egoist - a well-inte ...

'', by

A.J. Cronin Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896 – 6 January 1981), known as A. J. Cronin, was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known novel is ''The Citadel'' (1937), about a Scottish doctor who serves in a Welsh mining village before achievi ...

. His 1982 film '' Angoor'' was based on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. ...

''. His films told stories of human relationships entangled in social issues. '' Libaas'' was a story of an extra-marital affair of an urban couple. Due to its objectionable subject, the film never got released in India. ''Mausam'' pictured a story of a father who tries to improve the life of his prostitute-daughter. In ''

'', a young Punjabi boy engages in terrorism to fight a bad situation only to realise its temporary nature. '' Hu Tu Tu'' dealt with corruption in India and how a man decides to fight it. Gulzar uses "flashback" in the narration of his stories very effectively (''Aandhi, Mausam, Ijaazat, Machis, Hu Tu Tu''). He also has mutual partnerships with various actors and other crew. The Gulzar –

partnership resulted in few fine films (''Koshish, Aandhi, Mausam, Angoor, Namkeen'') which represent Sanjeev Kumar's finest work as an actor. Actors like

Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early lif ...

(''Parichay, Khushboo, Kinara''),

Vinod Khanna Vinod Khanna (6 October 1946 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who is best known for his work in Hindi films; while also being a notable spiritual seeker. In Bollywood, he was the recipient of two Filmfare awa ...

(''Achanak, Meera, Lekin'') and

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

(''Khushboo, Kinara, Meera'') worked with Gulzar to gain respectability as artists and delivered some of their best and most introspective work in films.

R D Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian people, 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 d ...

composed songs for almost all the movies directed by him in the 1970s and the 1980s (''Parichay, Khushboo, Aandhi, Angoor, Ijaazat, Libaas''). Many of their popular songs were sung by Kishore Kumar,

and

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

. These include "Musafir Hoon Yaron" (''Parichay''), "Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi" (''Aandhi''), and "

Mera Kuch Samaan "Mera Kuch Samaan" (Hindi: मेरा कुछ सामान, literally: Some of my things) is a popular song from the acclaimed 1987 movie ''Ijaazat'', directed by Gulzar, who also wrote the song. The song was composed by R D Burman and sun ...

" (''Ijaazat''). In 1988, Gulzar directed an

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous television serial ''

'', starring Naseeruddin Shah and broadcast on Doordarshan. Later he also directed ''Tahreer Munshi Premchand Ki'' about the novels of Premchand.

Poetry

Gulzar primarily writes in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi; besides several other languages such as Braj Bhasha,

Khariboli Kauravi ( hi, कौरवी, ur, ), also known as Khaṛībolī is a set of Western Hindi varieties of Shauraseni Prakrit mainly spoken in Northwestern Uttar Pradesh. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on Khariboli, specifically on its De ...

Haryanvi Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharib ...

and Marwari. His poetry is in the Triveni type of stanza. His poems are published in three compilations; ''Chand Pukhraaj Ka'', ''Raat Pashminey Ki'' and ''Pandrah Paanch Pachattar''. His short stories are published in ''Raavi-paar'' (also known as ''Dustkhat'' in Pakistan) and ''Dhuan'' (smoke). For the peace campaign ''

Aman ki Asha Aman ki Asha ( ur, , hi, अमन की आशा, translation: "Hope for Peace") is a campaign jointly started by two leading media houses, The Jang Group of Pakistan, and The Times of India in India. The campaign aims for mutual peace a ...

'', jointly started by India's and Pakistan's leading media houses, Gulzar wrote the anthem "Nazar Main Rehte Ho", which was recorded by

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...

and

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi, ; born 9 December 1974) is a Pakistani Singer, primarily of Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. Khan is one of the biggest and highest paid singers in Pakistan. He is the nephew of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ...

. Gulzar has written ghazals for Ghazal Maestro

Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian cl ...

's albums "Marasim" (1999) and "Koi Baat Chale" (2006).

Other contributions

Gulzar has written lyrics and dialogues for several Doordarshan TV series including ''

Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'', '' Alice in Wonderland'', '' Hello Zindagi'', ''Guchche'' and '' Potli Baba Ki'' with

. He has more recently written and narrated for the children's audiobook series ''

Karadi Tales Karadi Tales is an independent children's publishing house based in Chennai, India focusing primarily on picture books and audiobooks. It was started in 1996 with an intent to create a space for Indian culture in the world of children's publishi ...

''. Gulzar is also associated with Aarushi,

Eklavya foundation Eklavya is an Indian NGO based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh working in the field of education. It was registered as an all India in 1982. The organization is named after Eklavya, the protagonist of a story in the Mahabharat, for his determination ...

an NGO based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh working in the field of education. He has written stories and poetry for the magazine

Chakmak ''Chakmak'' (Hindi: चकमक) is a children's science monthly magazine published by Eklavya foundation, a non-profit organization to support critical and creative thinking in schools. History ''Chakmak'' was launched in July 1985.P. Devara ...

. Gulzar has also worked in Bollywood movies like Anand ,

, Omkara and many more.

Academic

In April 2013, Gulzar was appointed as the Chancellor of the

Assam University Assam University is a collegiate central public university located at Silchar, Assam, India. It was founded in the year 1994 by the provisions of an act enacted by the Parliament of India. The Governor of Assam is the Chief Rector and the ...

Personal life

Gulzar is married to actress

Raakhee Raakhee Gulzar (born Rakhee Majumdar on 15 August 1947 and known as Raakhee) is an Indian actress who has appeared in many Hindi films and Bengali films as well. In four decades of acting, she has won three Filmfare Awards and one National Fil ...

. The couple has a daughter,

Meghna Gulzar Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, film director, director and film producer, producer. She is best known for directing of Bollywood film Raazi in 2018. After debuting as a screenwriter with her father's 1999 directorial ''Hu Tu Tu'', Meghn ...

. Meghna Gulzar grew up with her mother and father and, after completing her graduation in filmmaking from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, went on to become a director of films such as ''

Filhaal ''Filhaal...'' () is a Bollywood film released in 2002 directed by Meghna Gulzar(in her feature directorial debut). It stars Sushmita Sen, Tabu, Sanjay Suri and Palash Sen. Meghna Gulzar, daughter of lyricist Gulzar and actress Raakhee, made ...

'', ''

Just Married ''Just Married'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, written by Sam Harper, and stars Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy. Produced by Robert Simonds, the film was successful at the box office despite generally negative ...

'', ''

Dus Kahaniyaan ''Dus Kahaniyaan'' () is a 2007 Indian anthology film comprising ten short films telling ten different stories which are directed by a host of six directors: Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy, Hansal Mehta and Jasmeet Dhodhi ...

'',

Talvar ''Madan's Talwar'', later known as ''The Talvar'', was an early-20th-century Indian Nationalist periodical published from Berlin. Originally named after Madan Lal Dhingra, one of the heroes of the Indian independence movement who had been execu ...

, ''

Raazi ''Raazi'' (''Agree'') is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banners of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions ...

'', and

Chhapaak ''Chhapaak'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Deepika Padukone in leading role of a character inspired by Agarwal alon ...

(for which Gulzar wrote the lyrics) and authored the biography of her father Gulzar, in 2004.

Awards and nominations

As on 2019, Gulzar has won a total of 36 awards and honours, including 5 National Film Awards, 22 Filmfare Awards, Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for 1999-2000, 1 Academy Award for Best Original Song (2008), 1

(2010), 2002 Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu,

(2004), and 2013

Works

; Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; Audiobooks * * ; English novel ''Two'' is Gulzar's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

released in English. It examines the status of refugees after partition. ''Two'' was originally written in Urdu. ; Comics Gulzar served as the Script Consultant for the '' Supremo'' comic book series by Pammi Bakshi. ; Theatre ''Chakkar Chalaaye Ghanchakkar''

Biographies

Books

* * * *

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulzar 1934 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu Best Original Song Academy Award-winning songwriters Best Lyrics National Film Award winners Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award Recipients of the Gangadhar National Award Film producers from Punjab, India Film directors from Punjab, India Hindi-language film directors Indian Sikhs Urdu-language poets Urdu-language short story writers Urdu-language writers from India Hindi-language poets Filmfare Awards winners Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners People from Jhelum District Punjabi people Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Indian Academy Award winners 20th-century Indian film directors Hindi-language lyricists 20th-century Indian poets Indian male screenwriters 20th-century pseudonymous writers