Poet, lyricist and author, Sampooran Singh Kalra, known as Gulzar, celebrated his 86th birthday on Tuesday. Born on August 18, 1934, the wordsmith has gifted the world an array of enriched songs and poems, along with some of the most memorable films that have ever been made in India.
On his birthday, Gulzar’s daughter, filmmaker-writer Meghna Gulzar penned a heartfelt note and shared it on social media.
Posting a monochrome photo of herself with her father, the ‘Raazi’ director 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.”
The five-time National Film Awards winner began his career as a songwriter with legendary music director SD Burman in 1963 with the film ‘Bandini’.
The lyricist has also won many international award. Gulzar received the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Grammy for his song ‘Jai Ho’ from the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The maestro was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2004, and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013, for his literary contributions.
