Gulzar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gulzar
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Gulzar in 2008
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| Born |
Sampooran Singh Kalra
18 August 1934 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1956–present |
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Works
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Filmography |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Meghna Gulzar (daughter) |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi Award (2002) Padma Bhushan (2004) Academy Award (2009) Grammy Award (2010) Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2013) Jnanpith Award (2024) |
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Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is a famous Indian Urdu poet, lyricist (someone who writes song words), author, screenwriter (who writes film stories), and film director. He is well-known for his amazing work in Hindi cinema. Many people consider him one of the greatest Urdu poets of our time.
He began his career in 1963, writing songs for the film Bandini. He has worked with many top music directors like R. D. Burman, A. R. Rahman, and Vishal Bhardwaj. Gulzar also writes poetry, film dialogues, and scripts. He directed popular films such as Aandhi and Mausam in the 1970s. He also directed the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s.
Gulzar has won many awards, including 5 Indian National Film Awards, 22 Filmfare Awards, an Academy Award, and a Grammy Award. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan in 2004, which is India's third-highest civilian award. In 2013, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honor in Indian cinema. In 2024, he was given the Jnanpith Award, India's top literary award.
Contents
Early Life
Gulzar was born into a Sikh family in Dina, which was part of British India (now in Pakistan). His birth name was Sampooran Singh Kalra. In school, he read translated works of Rabindranath Tagore, which he said changed his life.
Because of the Partition of India, his family faced difficulties. He had to stop his studies and move to Mumbai (then called Bombay) to help his family. In Mumbai, Sampooran did many small jobs to earn money. He even worked at a garage, where he mixed paint colors to fix damaged cars. He said he was good with colors.
His father was not happy about him wanting to be a writer at first. He chose the pen name Gulzar Deenvi and later just Gulzar. He enjoyed his painting job because it gave him time to read, write, attend college, and be part of the Progressive Writers Association.
Career
As a Lyricist
Gulzar started his career as a songwriter in films. He was encouraged by famous people like Shailendra and Bimal Roy. His first song was "Mora Gora Ang Layle" for the 1963 movie Bandini. This song was sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.
In 1968, he wrote dialogues and lyrics for the film Aashirwad. His lyrics made Ashok Kumar's role in the film even better. Gulzar's lyrics became very popular with the 1969 song "Humne Dekhi Hai Un Aankhon Ki Mehekti Khushboo" from Khamoshi. For the 1971 film Guddi, he wrote "Humko Man Ki Shakti Dena," a prayer song still sung in many Indian schools.
Gulzar worked closely with music director Rahul Dev Burman. He also wrote songs for other great composers like Sachin Dev Burman, Laxmikant–Pyarelal, and Madan Mohan. More recently, he has worked with Vishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman.
For the 2007 film Guru, Gulzar wrote "Ay Hairathe Aashiqui," inspired by an old song by Amir Khusrow. He also wrote the lyrics for the super hit song "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the movie Dil Se...
In 2008, Gulzar and A. R. Rahman won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" from the Hollywood film Slumdog Millionaire. This song became famous worldwide. He also won a Grammy Award for "Jai Ho" in 2010.
As a Director
After writing for films like Anand and Khamoshi, Gulzar directed his first film, Mere Apne, in 1971. This film was about an old widow caught between groups of young people. He then directed Parichay and Koshish. Koshish told the story of a deaf-mute couple and won Sanjeev Kumar a National Film Award for Best Actor.
In 1973, he directed Achanak. His film Aandhi (1975) won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie. His film Mausam won the National Award for 2nd Best Feature Film and Filmfare Best Movie and Best Director awards. In 1982, he directed Angoor, which was based on Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors.
Gulzar's films often explored human relationships and social issues. In Maachis, he showed a young man who gets involved in terrorism. Hu Tu Tu looked at corruption in India.
He often used flashbacks in his stories. Gulzar worked well with actors like Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, and Hema Malini. Music director R D Burman composed songs for almost all his films in the 1970s and 1980s. Many of their popular songs were sung by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhosle.
In 1988, Gulzar directed a TV series called Mirza Ghalib, which starred Naseeruddin Shah. He also directed Tahreer Munshi Premchand Ki, about the novels of Premchand.
As a Poet
Gulzar mainly writes poetry in Urdu and Punjabi. He also writes in other languages like Braj Bhasha and Haryanvi. His poetry often uses a special three-line stanza called Triveni. His poems are collected in books like Chand Pukhraaj Ka and Raat Pashminey Ki. His short stories are found in Raavi-paar and Dhuan.
For a peace campaign called Aman ki Asha, Gulzar wrote the song "Nazar Main Rehte Ho." He has also written ghazals (a type of poem) for singer Jagjit Singh's albums.
Other Contributions
Gulzar has written songs and dialogues for many TV shows, including Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland. He has also written and narrated stories for the children's audiobook series Karadi Tales. Gulzar is also involved with Aarushi, an NGO that works in education. He has written stories and poems for the magazine Chakmak.
Academic Role
In April 2013, Gulzar was appointed as the Chancellor of Assam University.
Personal Life
Gulzar is married to actress Raakhee. They have a daughter named Meghna Gulzar. Meghna grew up with her parents and later studied filmmaking. She has become a film director herself, making movies like Raazi and Sam Bahadur. Gulzar wrote the lyrics for her film Chhapaak. In 2004, Meghna also wrote a biography about her father.
Awards and Nominations
As of 2019, Gulzar has won 36 awards and honors. These include:
- 5 National Film Awards
- 22 Filmfare Awards
- 1 Academy Award for Best Original Song (2008)
- 1 Grammy Award (2010)
- Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu (2002)
- Padma Bhushan (2004)
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2013)
He also received the Jnanpith Award in 2024, which is India's highest literary award.
Works
See also
In Spanish: Gulzar para niños
