Gulzar

Director & actor · born 18 August 1934 · Jhelum, Punjab, Pakistan

Sampooran Singh Kalra known popularly by his pen name Gulzar, is an Indian poet, lyricist, musician, composer and film director. Born in Jhelum District in British India (now in Pakistan) his family moved to India after partition. He started his career with music director S.D. Burman as a lyricist in the 1963 film Bandini and worked with many music directors including R. D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj and A. R. Rahman. He directed films such as Aandhi and Mausam during the 1970s and the TV series Mirza Ghalib in the 1980s. He also directed Kirdaar in 1993. He also wrote the theme song for Motu Patlu, an Indian animated sitcom.

Gulzar also wrote poetry, dialogues and scripts. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2004, the third-highest civilian award in India, the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award — the highest award in Indian cinema. He has won several Indian National Film Awards, 20 Filmfare Awards, one Academy Award and one Grammy Award.

Where to start: Hu Tu Tu (1999).