The Government on Saturday decided to give the 45th Dada Saheb Phalke Award to veteran film lyricist and director Gulzar for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
The award includes a Swarn Kamal (golden lotus), cash component of Rs. 10 lakhs and a shawl. Gulzar was selected for the award by a committee of eminent persons set up by the Government. He was the unanimous choice of the seven-member jury.
Gulzar is already a much-awarded man including by the Government which honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2004. Other awards he has picked up in a career dating back to 1956 include a Grammy and an Oscar, the Sahitya Akademi Award, a number of National Film Awards besides 20 Filmfare Awards.
The Oscar and Grammy came to him recently for his song 'Jai Ho' in the film 'Slumdog Millionaire'. While he got the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2009 for the song, he picked up the Grammy in the category of 'Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media' a year later.
While it is his work with cinema in different capacities that Gulzar is best known for, his poetry has been published in three compilations and he has a number of short stories to his credit. He is also credited with creating a new type of stanza in Urdu poetry 'Triveni' (stanza of three lines).
