Gulzar: Lesser Known Facts

Gulzar: This would be my last chance to visit Pakistan



Born in Dina 78 years ago, he visited his native place for the first time 70 years later. While talking about the details of his visit to the Times Of India the veteran said "I left Pakistan with my father at the age of eight. During these 70 years, I had flown to Lahore only once earlier in 2004 on an emergency visa for four days to meet my mentor Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi sahab to see him in hospital as he had suffered a heart attack." The legendary writer further stated that "going to Dina, my birth place, was a desire I held for a long time. I had felt like going there many a times, but did not want to wash away the images in which I had lived and always feared that just like other cities of the world, there would be changes even there." Being apprehensive of the future the philosopher in him said, "I am 78 and I knew that this would probably be my last chance and I may not be able to go there again. Doing that would complete the circle for me."



Read on to know more about the veteran...

Poet of an extraordinary finesse, an accomplished filmmaker and an ace father, Gulzar needs no introduction. Known for writing stories weaved with sensibilities and emotions, Gulzar has delivered some of the most cherished and memorable songs and films. On his birthday, let's take a look at some interesting facts about his life which you may not be aware of...

1. Music legend, Gulzar, was born on August 18, 1936 in Dina which now falls under Pakistan.

2. Gulzar was originally named Sampooran Singh Kalra. He came to Delhi after partition.

3. His inclination towards music intensified when he was in college. He used to practice at his neighbour's home.

4. Got his first break in Bollywood with the film, Bandini, made under Bimal Roy Productions. After the success of the film, Bimal da hired him as his full time assistant and also made him write for many other prominent directors.

5. While most of the directors preferred to work with Sanjeev Kumar during this period, Gulzar never hesitated from working with relatively less popular stars.

6. Gulzar had cremated his father after five years. He has revealed the details about his father's death in the book, Housefull: The Golden Years of Bollywood. He was in Mumbai when his father had passed away. Gulzar was informed about it a couple of days later. His brother went to Delhi by flight but since Gulzar couldn’t afford the ticket, he took the train. The train took more than 24 hours to reach and by the time Gulzar reached home, his father had been laid to rest. Five years later, when his closest companion Bimal Roy passed away, he cremated his father along with him.

7. Gulzar always uses flashbacks in his films. He is of the opinion that a film will never be complete without reflections from past.

8. During his struggling days, Gulzar used to work as a garage mechanic to earn a living.

9. Gulzar has won several National awards. Some of the films that he was awarded for, are, Mausam (direction), Koshish (screenplay) and Maachis (direction).

10. He has also won National award for the Best Lyricist for the song, ‘Mera kuch samaan...’ from the film, Ijazat.

10. The hazel-eyed actress, Raakhee, got married to the versatile composer, poet, filmmaker and writer Sampooran Singh Kalra, aka Gulzar on May 15, 1973. Both were at the peak of their careers when they got married. They used to meet at film parties. Initially, it was Gulzar's love for Bengal and its culture that brought him close to the Bengali beauty while Raakhee was completely in awe of the multi-talented poet.

While in her teens, Raakhee had an arranged marriage with a journalist turned-Bengali filmmaker, but that alliance didn't last long. On the other hand, the dapper Gulzar was much in news for his alleged affair with the grand tragedienne of Hindi cinema, Meena Kumari. Rakhee's second shot at marital bliss had all the frills of a fairytale but suffered similar fate, says a report in Mumbaimirror.com

11. Raakhee and Gulzar separated just one year after the birth of their daughter, Meghna. It is speculated that the relationship soured when Raakhee decided to return to films and the last straw was when she signed Yash Chopra's Kabhi Kabhie without even consulting her husband. It was a painful decision and Gulzar wrote about parting ways from Raakhee, reports Mumbaimirror.com.


12. Gulzar's daughter, Meghna, had revealed that Gulzar also had a feminine side to him and that reflected in his work too. In an interview with Firstpost.com, Meghna had revealed that Gulzar used to tie her hair into plaits. She further revealed that her dad had never raised his voice on anybody. She elaborated further and said that he loved doing little things for her like tying her shoelaces, tie and picking her up from school. Gulzar and Rakhee parted ways but never divorced.