Lyricist Gulzar, or Gulzarsaab as he is respectfully referred to as by the Hindi film industry, has often been described as the poet who has revolutionized the Hindi film lyrics by using simple words in a complicated phraseology. Yet he has succeeded in making the ethereal connection both to the classes as well as the masses,without compromising on his intellectual self.
Gulzarsaab began his film career as an assistant to Mr.Bimal Roy,he left an indelible impression on the young Gulzarsaab by his non-compromising definition of good cinema being automatically commercial, with special emphasis on a comprehensive screenplay, and on appropriate usage of music. Gulzarsaab's early influences also included Mr.Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Mr. Hemant Kumar, both of whom he had the honour of being an assistant to. With the necessary confidence one acquires after assisting such legendary filmmakers, Gulzarsaab, penned his first songs for films especially also being acutely aware that one of his mentors would give him the window of opportunity to showcase his poetic talents. Bimal Roy's "Bandini" was the first film for which he was assigned the role of lyricist although his first Hindi film, as a lyricist, to be released was "Kabuliwala". His reputation was established from this first film itself with such all-time great songs like 'Ae mere pyare watan…' and 'Ganga aaye kahan se…'. These two films were quickly followed by a lot of lyricist assignments in the 60s notable amongst which were the lyrics penned for films like "Sannata", "Biwi Aur Makaan","Do Dooni Char", and especially "Khamoshi". The last mentioned film redefined the direction film lyrics would take in the next decade with special emphasis on the songs capturing the pathos of the given situation rather than being a relief filler with inane love couplets.
After getting his due recognition as a lyricist, Gulzarsaab turned his attention towards scriptwriting, and as a natural extension, towards making his own films. His directorial debut, "Mere Apne"(1971), was a brave attempt in capturing the generation gap of the prevalent times, as seen through the eyes of its two main protagonists, an old widow (Meena Kumari in her brilliant last screen performance) and a young unemployed youth (Vinod Khanna). Gulzarsaab, since then, has given us a lot of beautiful poignant moments in the films he has made. His great contribution to the annals of great
Indian filmmaking is exemplified by films like "Aandhi", "Koshish", "Parichay", "Mausam", "Lekin","Maachis" and "Hu Tu Tu". He has continued to pen lyrics gaining critical as well as commercial acclaim (his hits include the soundtracks of "Satya" and "Dil Se"). Besides the innumerable songs that he has penned, Gulzarsaab has written over 60 films and directed 17 films. He also continues to write poetry in Urdu (his successful collaboration with singer Jagjit Singh titled "Marasim" is the latest of his poetic ventures).
