Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra, known professionally as Gulzar, is an Academy Award-winning Indian poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director. His poetry is celebrated for its rich imagery, colloquial warmth, and keen observation of modern human relationships.
The lyricist of cups, keys and monsoon letters
Sampooran Singh Kalra was born in 1934 in Dina, now in Pakistan, and moved to Mumbai after Partition. He worked in a garage and wrote on the side before meeting Bimal Roy and writing 'Mora Gora Ang Lai Le' for Bandini (1963).
He went on to direct films such as Aandhi, Mausam, Angoor, Ijaazat and Maachis, and wrote verse collections including Raat Pashmine Ki. He has also written children's poetry and short stories.
He won an Academy Award and a Grammy for 'Jai Ho' (2009), the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2013) and the Jnanpith Award (2023).
Recurring themes
- Domestic objects as emotion
- Memory and nostalgia
- Rain, winter and the night
- Quiet loss
- The child's view of the world
Where to start
Listen to 'Mera Kuch Saamaan' and read the nazms in Raat Pashmine Ki; then compare how each handles absence.
Worth knowing
He is among very few writers who moved with equal ease between poetry, screenplay, direction, children's literature and lyric writing.
Classical Couplets by — Gulzar
Chhota sa saaya tha dhoop mein chhota sa thikana,
Wo din bhi kya din the jab yaad tha sirf muskurana.
Aankhon mein jo nami hai use rona mat samjho,
Ye to bas uski yaad ka ek chhota sa tohfa hai.
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