The Lyricist-poet Gulzar turned 87 on Wednesday. Gulzar Born as Sampooran Singh Kalra, he began his journey in Bollywood, penning the song Mera Gora Rang Lei Le from Bimal Roy’s Bandini in 1963 and continues to charm with his poetry. Before finding his feet in the film industry. 

Gulzar worked in a motor garage where he did odd jobs. Gulzar had once revealed how his family was not impressed with his passion for writing and wanted him to take up a “regular job”. 

On his birthday, we rethink his May 2021 interview with Anupam Kher. “Everyone wanted me to take up a regular job. No one can live off writing. Even today, you can not live off writing if you are writing books. Now, writers have other jobs as well,” Gulzar said to Anupam Kher on his chat show The Anupam Kher Show. 

Asked about sharing with the opposition from his family, the writer-filmmaker added, “I was never a big rebel. Ahinsa jo rasta hai revolution dhundhne ka, Gandhi ji hain na, bata dete hain (There is this way of non-violence. A revolution is possible this way too. Mahatma Gandhi taught us). Bus Mujhe Woh Nahin 

Banan na tha, jo Woh chahte the (I just did not want to become that which my family wanted me to become).” 

Gulzar said, “I always loved reading. I used to read Rabindranath Tagore, Sharat Chandra. Sharat Chandra’s short stories show you a huge family. When I refer to my family…it was a very complex family. I started seeing my family in Sharat Chandra’s stories. 

I could see the relationships that hold on and stay together despite all troubles. Kahin dab jate hain, kahin kho jate hain, kahin tange rehte, kahin us paar ho jate hain (Sometimes they just cling on, sometimes they move ahead).” 

About Gulzar Sahab: 

Sampooran Singh Kalra known professionally as Gulzar or Gulzar Saab, is an Indian lyricist, poet, author, screenwriter, and film director.

He started his career with music director S.D. Burman was a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj, and A. R. Rahman. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2004, the third-highest civilian award in India, the Sahitya Academy Award, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award the highest award in Indian cinema. 

He has won 5 numerous Indian National Film Awards, 22 Filmfare Awards, one Academy Award, and one Grammy Award. 

Gulzar also writes poetry, dialogues, and scripts. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam during the 1970s and the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s. He also directed Kirdaar in 1993.