Gulzar

If I list down the film personalities, which are spontaneously on my mind, has given me immense joy and satisfaction from a medium of cinema; they are: Gulzar, Maniratnam, Farhan Akhtar, Tabu, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Nagesh Kukunoor and the great Aamir Khan. Don't know why but the names came spontaneously to me. Count they are 7, you can call them 7 Wonders of Vishal’s filmography.

मुश्किल है आकाश पे चलाना, तारे पाऊँ में चुभते हैं

None other than my own Gulzar can say that. There was an era in seventies which got carved separately due to Gulzar’s existence. Excuse for not calling him Gulzar saab, Gulzar jee because maybe these words have been used too often that they have lost the respect that they had thought off to deliver. Or may be I don’t want to separate him from myself by adding tags to him and then separating him from me, because sometimes he says what I never had words to say so. It’s good that he never carried his name Sampporna Singh in film industry that would have been so unromantic. Gulzar, the name is just perfect for ‘him’.

I have lived my best days with Gulzar when I was growing up mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He provided enough food for me to feel complete and made me to starve for more. His Aaj kal paon jameen par nahi padte mere, has remained my top most song and let me share with you a secret that, if anybody wants to bang on my heart, then one can show interest with this song by any means and that fellow can easily get in.
There are some people, I wonder what would have happened if they hadn’t met me at the crucial juncture of my life, Gulzar is one of them.


There are two specialities that I found special in Gulzar.
He made to flow life through the dead objects found around.

मोड़ पे देखा है वो बूढा-सा एक पेड़ कभी ?
मेरा वाकिफ है, बहुत सालों से में उसे जानता हूँ

This is poem titled Humdum। Here ped (tree) has been said to boodha-sa।
He made to show the various, different facets of the some commonly observed objects।


पानी पानी रे खरे पानी रे, नैनो में भर जाए, नींदे खली कर जाए.
पानी पानी यह ढलानों की कगारों से, उतर जाना..

We hear about flowing water, sea water, rain drops but here GUlzar took of water flowing from eyes. Salty water coming out of eyes!!

Gulzar’s collaboration with various peoples like Maniratnam, Vishal Bhardwaj and my favorite actress also happens to be his mooh boli daughter, Tabu. In that way Gulzar happens to be my mooh-bole father-in-law!!

One of the skills that I acquired, appreciating arts, because of my mother who I vividly remember used to listen to Vividhbharathi’s classic marathi and hindi songs, I tasted it early years of my life and then definitely my sister, Ranoo, whose innumerable plays that I saw several times groomed me to appreciate arts and culture in my life otherwise I would have been just another a good-in-maths, exam-scorer-boring fellow.

Watching Hu-Tu-Tu - which happens to be Gulzar’s latest movie - and especially Tabu, is an experience. It puts up the frustration that we see around due to the political situations, the hypocrisy in behaviors and the only solution that is found is suicide not by being afraid of self but from can’t letting it continuing the way it is happening. It portrays me, it’s a complex movie but then that’s how I am sometimes. The way Suhasini Mulay compromises to be on power, how Nana Patekar remains the way ins pite of all odds. Sunil Shetty lives a live totally opposite of his mother Suhasini Mulay. And Tabu represents the frustrations of a common man. It’s a perfect combination.

Gulzar’s association with Vishal Bharadwaj has been best thing happened in my life. Even if you listen the duo RDBurman and Gulzar’s song, which are considered to be one of the best in Indian Cinema to the latest up to ARRehman-Gulzar, believe me no combination is as effective as that of Gulzar and Vishal Bhardwaj. As poetry flows through the blood of Gulzar, so does with music for Vishal Bharadwaj. His wife Rekha Bharadwaj with her Sufi voice has made Tere ishq mein a mesmerizing experience. Imagine how any other Music Director – A R Rehman, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy- would have composed Paani Paani re, Chappa Chappa from Maachis, Jag ja re gudiya, O saathi re, Bidi Jalaye le from Omkara, Tere ishq mein from Ishqa Ishqa. I bet nobody would be as perfect as them. In Gulzar’s own world about Vishal (ohh, unfortunately not me!!) ‘He brought melody back into music when there was only beat.’ ARRehman’s sometimes unnecessary bits make the already complex lyrics (infact simple beyond imagination) us bounce above head. Take example of Saathiya or Dil Se. so as to like, which you eventually do (no other option) it takes repeated listening, and so as to like Paani paani re, just one is enough. Music never becomes louder than words how much high Bass you make of your music system.

As scientist invent new molecule, they research what nature has already searched ages ago. Gulzar found new form of poetry, Triveni.

नाप के, वक्त भरा जाता है, हर राइट घड़ी
मेंइक तरफ़ खली हो जब फिर से उलट देते हैं उसको ....
उम्र जब ख़त्म हो, क्या मुझको वो उल्टा नहीं सकता?

First two lines portray a simple fact and third and last one conveys a complete opposite connotation of the above two.

Listening Gulzar’s Sunset Point in the voice of Bhupinder Singh and Chitra is the romantic experience, the intensity of separation of two lovers can’t be portrayed by any other poet than Gulzar.

One more aspect of Gulzar that inspires me, is his relation with Boksi, his daughter Meghna. Gulzar’s marriage with Rakhee didn’t last the way it is observed in common marriages, but the relationship of Gulzar as dad with Boksi is special. Because He Is…written by Meghna on his dad, must be a rare tribute tor a father. Meghna tried her hand with film Filhaal, on a different and sensitive subject of surrogate mother and followed by a flop Just Married. Could I be as a wonderful father as Gulzar is? In that way I can compete with my father too.

I find it amusing about those, who in spite of having so much, remain humble to the extent that i doubt are they even slightly aware what they have. When all others are running behind the accolades to be announced on their name, here is this fellow who is searching for more inspite of having so much. I wonder from where it comes.
After a long spell, another one of that genre is coming - Prasoon Joshi, lyricist of Taare Zameen Par, Rang De Basanti. Well no comparison, or nobody could ever exist to fill in the gap, but today’s film makers must be missing someone like Gulzar to portray their emotions, ideas on screen, atleast filmmaker in me always craves for the 75 years old Gulzar. I wish the time stops here..