On August 18, 1934, Sampooran Singh Kalra, professionally known as Gulzar, was born in a Kalra Sikh family in Dina, Jhelum District, British India (present-day Pakistan). Post his struggle, Gulzar saab had bagged his big break in the Hindi film industry as a lyricist in the film, Bandini (1963). From giving words to some famous childhood songs to penning dialogues that had stayed forever in our minds, Gulzar saab is truly the jack of all trades. It was his magic in the words that made times timeless, movies ageless and songs priceless. The best wordsmith we have, has ruled millions of hearts with his soulful poetry and lyrics. (Also Read: Raakhee And Gulzar Love Story: One Condition And A Fateful Night Which Broke Their Marriage)
Gulzar saab had married the golden girl of the Hindi film industry, Raakhee Majumdar, and it was in 1973, when the lovebirds had welcomed their first child, their daughter, Meghna Gulzar. A year after Meghna’s birth, Gulzar saab and Rakhee had parted ways. For the happiness of their daughter, Meghna, who couldn’t accept her parents’ separation, Rakhee and Gulzar saab never filed for divorce. Way before being friends with exes became a norm, Rakhee and Gulzar saab’s relationship had set the goals with the way they had maintained a cordial bond after separation and had let the bygones be bygones.
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On August 18, 2020, Gulzar saab turned 86 and to mark the special day, his daughter, Meghna Gulzar posted a monochrome picture with her father. In a heartfelt note as the caption, Meghna wrote, “I know I’m protected, Because his arms cradle me. I know I walk the right path, Because his little finger leads me. He dabbles in celluloid. So I know I can see. I know I can write Because his ink flows in me. I know I can. Because he believes. I know I am Because he is.” Just like Gulzar saab’s words, Meghna’s words too had touched our hearts.
In an interview with Peeping Moon, Meghna Gulzar had revealed what she has learnt from her father, Gulzar saab and her mother, Rakhee Majumdar. Meghna had remarked, “My mother has lived her professional and personal life with tremendous dignity and grace. I try to do that every day of my life. My father, in his films and writing, and in life, is a very simple and subtle person. There is a dialogue from Ijaazat (1987 which was directed by Gulzar) that says something like ‘jo sach hai aur sahi hai, wahi karo’.” (Also Read: Indian Vocalist, Pandit Jasraj's Grandchildren, Shweta Pandit And Avitesh Share Emotional Notes)
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Meghna Gulzar had spoken about the close relationship she shares with her parents, Gulzar saab and Rakhee Majumdar, and how she respects them for raising her together, separately. Meghna had said, “I have a close relationship with both my parents. I believe my childhood was conventional. Whatever else they were in their public and professional lives, at home they were always my father and my mother. If anything, I respect them for having raised me together, separately.” When she was asked whom she would love to direct, Meghna had taken her mother, Rakhee’s name. Revealing her father’s influence on her as a filmmaker, Meghna was quoted as saying, “Yes. What I learnt from him is that even though making money is important, it is equally important for your film to leave a lasting impression on the audience.”
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While Meghna Gulzar had expressed her wish to direct her mother, Rakhee Majumdar, she had said in an interview that she’ll never direct a film based on her father, Gulzar saab’s life. In an interview with the DNA, when Meghna was asked, “Would you ever like to document his life on celluloid?” she had retorted, “No! With books, there is no word or page limit. You can do justice to the life he has lived. You cannot do that in a film. That is the case for a lot of people and stalwarts who have lived really full lives. I feel this way about them. By trying to encapsulate their lives in two-and-a-half hours, it feels that you’re trivialising their being and their existence. Unless, you take a chapter from their life and talk about it. There are so many facets to my father, from moving to India during partition to his entry in films to being an assistant, then a lyricist, dialogue writer, scriptwriter, filmmaker, and all along being an author and a poet. How do you do justice to one chapter and leave everything else out? They are all interrelated to make him the person he is. So no, I would never do it. I won’t let anybody do it either. I don’t think he would like it either. If he does, I’m no one to stop it but I know he wouldn’t.” (Also Read: Hema Malini Collaborates With Her Daughters Esha Deol And Ahana Deol For The First Time To Sing Song)
Here's wishing a very happy birthday to Gulzar saab!
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