A titan honoured

The conferment of this year’s Dadasahib Phalke award on Gulzar is very appropriate and is the right tribute to one of the titans of Indian cinema. 

The award is given for life time contribution to Indian cinema and in its long history it has honoured many greats -- directors, actors, singers and others -- who have in different ways made Indian cinema what it is now.

Gulzar is a lyricist, scriptwriter and director, and has worked even in television.

He has been associated with Indian cinema for over five decades but is best known as a lyricist who changed the very nature of film music with his originality and the evocativeness of his words and diction.

 

His lyrics made film music more popular and moved many generations, young and old and from all classes, some of whom were not even film-goers.

 

Gulzar is basically a poet. He infused poetry into film music and took it to a magical level.

 

All poetry has an internal music to it and all music has an underlying poetic ring.

 

But they fuse differently at individual and popular levels and take on new dimensions of sensibility.

 

His numbers like Tujse naraz nahi and Tere bina zindagi nahi became big hits and are among all-time favourites among film songs.

 

Gulzar has also been a scriptwriter and has directed films, some of which attracted attention for the novelty of their themes.

 

He was the first to base a film on the theme of students unrest in the early 197Os. His view of cinema has had a social underpinning and he was always alive to the changes taking place in society.

 

He handled human relationships in some of his films with dexterity and sensitiveness.

 

Gulzar has been an important face of Indian cinema for over five decades and it is his creativity and originality that made him cater to the changing tastes for so many years.

 

As a refugee from Pakistan in the 1940s,  he had to find his place in a new world, and the journey from a garage mechanic to a great and much-feted leader of cinema attests to his genius. 

Important honours like the Grammy and the Oscar and most Indian awards for achievements in cinema have gone to him.

 

His contributions will continue to be valuable for cinema in the coming many years.