Biography of Gulzar

(August 18, 1936)

Gulzar was born in 1936. He was extremely sensitive from his very childhood. Bimal Roy gave him a break in 'Bandini', for which he wrote a song - Mora gora ang lai le, which was rich with imagery. He worked for a while as an assistant and later wrote scripts for films like Anand.

The first film he directed was Mere Apne in 1971. Gulzar fashioned his own style in filmmaking, merging the art film style with the commercial format. With his films Parichay, Koshish', Achanak, Aandhi', 'Khusboo', and Mausam', Gulzar achieved new cinematic parameter. The film Aandhi was briefly banned because the heroine, Suchitra Sen, who played the role of a political leader in the film, was made to look like Indira Gandhi.

But in films like ‘Ijazat' and 'Lekin', it was Gulzar's lyrical output, which won more attention than his directorial abilities. His film ‘Maachis’ too was hugely popular, especially among the youth. The film dealt with the problem and frustrations of the youth. His film 'Hu Tu Tu', however, did not achieve success at the box office.