Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar believes her father Gulzar’s ability to constantly reinvent himself and speak in the language of his time has helped his poetry and lyrics find a new audience among younger generations.Besides his work as a screenwriter and director of many critically-acclaimed movies, Gulzar has penned numerous popular songs in his career of over seven decades.
Some of the hits he has written include tracks such as “Maine Tere Liye” from “Anand”, “Tujhse Naraz Nahin Zindagi” from “Masoom”, “Mera Kuchh Saamaan” from “Ijaazat”, “Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi” from “Aandhi”, “Chaiyya Chaiyya” from “Dil Se..” and “Ae Hairathe” from “Guru”.
His songs, poetry and lyrics have also found a fresh lease of life on social media with his couplets frequently appearing on Instagram reels, something Meghna described as “tremendous”.
“He’s been rediscovered by a generation which is probably not in love with poetry, but it’s just the emotion, the words that so resonate with them that they end up putting up on their reels,” Meghna told PTI.
“It’s tremendous that he resonates so strongly with even generations that technically should not know him. Part of that has to do with the fact that he has reinvented himself constantly and constantly spoken in the words of the time that he was living in. His lyrics, his poems reflect that, which is rare and also very, very special,” she added.
The writer-director added that her father is “blessed” to have experienced a rare connection with audiences.
“I think that’s the connection that happens with people, and therefore, through his words, which feel so intimate, people think they know him, and maybe they do, maybe that is a large part of him. I think that identification is extremely special,” she said.
Gulzar, 92, has served as a lyricist on all of Meghna’s directorial projects, from her debut “Filhaal” to critical hits “Talvar”, “Raazi”, “Chhapaak” and “Sam Bahadur”, and now her latest “Daayra”.
For the upcoming crime thriller “Daayra”, Gulzar has penned the film’s only song, “Sach Ka Daayra”. Amit Trivedi has composed the track, which has been sung by B Praak.
She said Gulzar has also helped her with the language of her films, particularly “Raazi”, her 2018 spy drama starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal.
“During ‘Raazi’, there were many times when I needed to have a certain language for my characters, who were living in Pakistan, they were in 1971 and I was not very well versed with that Urdu or that spoken Hindustani of that time period, and therefore, I would go to him for help,” Meghna said.
“Then he (Gulzar) would give me this really high-flying Urdu (words) which I would have to kind of thin down and bring it back to language that can be easily understood. But it’s not something that happens very often,” she added.
“Daayra”, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Prithviraj Sukumaran, is scheduled to release in theatres on September 18.
