Gulzar

'Gulzar' (qv) 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.Born Sampooran Singh Kalra in Deena, in the Jhelum District in what is now Pakistan, he came to Delhi after the partition during independence as a poet. He joined 'Bimal Roy' (qv) Productions in 1961 and got his first break as a lyricist writing for 'Bimal Roy' (qv)'s _Bandini (1963)_ (qv). The success of this film made him Bimalda's full-time assistant and got him writing for films by acclaimed directors like 'Hrishikesh Mukherjee' (qv) and 'Asit Kumar Sen' (qv). Some of the films he has written include _Anand (1971)_ (qv), _Guddi (1971)_ (qv), _Bawarchi (1972)_ (qv), and _Traitor (1973)_ (qv) for Mukherjee; and _Do Dooni Char (1968)_ (qv), _Khamoshi (1970)_ (qv), and _Safar (1970)_ (qv) for Sen.'Gulzar' (qv) made his directorial debut with _Mere Apne (1971)_ (qv). Based on 'Tapan Sinha' (qv)'s "Apanjan," the film looks at an old woman (played by 'Meena Kumari' (qv)) caught between two street gangs of unemployed and frustrated youths. He then went on to make _Parichay (1972)_ (qv) (loosely based on _The Sound of Music (1965)_ (qv)) and _Koshish (1972)_ (qv), which gave a superb look at the trials of a deaf and dumb couple (played by 'Jaya Bachchan' (qv) and 'Sanjeev Kumar' (qv)). From this film came a mutually beneficial partnership with Kumar, which resulted in fine films like _Mausam (1975)_ (qv), Angoor (1982)_Namkeen (1982)_ (qv), and the classic film _Aandhi (1975)_ (qv), which had been banned for a while. However, 'Gulzar' (qv) didn't always depend on 'Sanjeev Kumar' (qv): the stars of the time, such as 'Jeetendra' (qv), 'Vinod Khanna' (qv), and 'Hema Malini' (qv), worked with him in unglamorous roles and gave some of their best and introspective performances in films like _Achanak (1973)_ (qv), _Khushboo (1975)_ (qv), and _Kinara (1977)_ (qv).Musically, 'Gulzar' (qv) 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' (qv). And while Burman became a pop icon with his tunes from _Procession of Memories (1973)_ (qv) and _Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977)_ (qv), he also gave 'Gulzar' (qv) classic pieces with which to work in _Khushboo (1975)_ (qv) and _Permission (1987)_ (qv).Sadly, the 1980s and 1990s saw a decline in 'Gulzar' (qv) the director, and although films such as _Lekin... (1990)_ (qv) and _Maachis (1996)_ (qv) had their moments, his last film to date, _Hu Tu Tu (1999)_ (qv), was a misfire. However, he tried his hand at television with the much acclaimed television film _Mirza Ghalib (1988)_ (qv). Made about the poet's life and starring 'Naseeruddin Shah' (qv) in the title role, the serial was a landmark in Indian Television. 'Gulzar' (qv) has also directed documentaries on 'Amjad Khan' (qv) and Pandit 'Bhimsen Joshi' (qv) as well as "Shaira," a film based on 'Meena Kumari' (qv). He has also turned his creativity into other channels--he has written screenplays for films like _Masoom (1983)_ (qv) and _Rudaali (1993)_ (qv), and has written the lyrics for films like _Von ganzem Herzen (1998)_ (qv) and _Saathiya - Sehnsucht nach dir (2002)_ (qv).::Q. Leo Rahman