The line between a poem and a song is thin. So thin, it almost doesn't exist.
Gulzar is the last of the legendary lyricists from Bollywood who reminds us that fact, each time we listen to a timeless, meaningful song of his.
Gulzar is much more than a lyricist, of course. He is a scriptwriter-director of great quality too. He could make our eyes wet with Koshish , even as he could make our stomach hurt with laughter with Angoor – William Shakespeare would have approved of this adaptation of The Comedy of Errors – besides making us rediscover romance with Aandhi .
But his greatest gift lies in poetry, and by extension, lyrics. On the day he turns 85, let us wish him Happy Birthday and replay some of his finest songs.
Meri jaan mujhe jaan na kaho... (Anubhav)
Meri jaan, mujhe jaan na kaho, meri jaan
Jaan na kahon anjaan mujhe
Jaan kahan rahti hai sadaa...
(My life, call me not life
Call me not life, without knowing me
Life is not forever...)
The poetry is exquisite, the music magical and the singing divine. Such a classic deserved to be shot extraordinarily. Basu Bhattacharya did just that.
This gem has to be one of the best-shot songs in Indian cinema. The black-and-white images, shot by cinematographer by Nando Bhattacharya, are sheer poetry.
From the fluttering leaves on a wet night, we are shown, through a window, Sanjeev Kumar looking outside broodingly at the rain. Tanuja, in her flowing, chiffon saree, comes up to him from behind. What follows is a sequence of some of the most tender, romantic and intimate moments imaginable on screen; there isn’t a single long shot.
Geeta Dutt, in one of her last songs, shows why she was one of the few singers who could make her voice felt when the Mangeshkar sisters reigned supreme. The way she brings out the deep yet subtle meaning of Gulzar's lyrics is brilliant. This was to be her last song before she died at the age of 41.
Kanu Roy may have tuned only a handful of Hindi songs, but this one has fetched him a ticket for immortality.
Mora gora ang lai le...(Bandini)
Mora gora ang lai le
Mohe shyaam rang dai de
Chhup jaaoongi raat mein
Mohe pia ka sang dai de
(Take away my fair complexion
Paint me in dark shade
So I could be like night
Give me company of my sweetheart)
This was Gulzar's debut in Bollywood (though the films Shriman Satywadi and Kabuliwala were released earlier). It was like scoring a hundred in your first-ever Test innings, and scoring it in the most elegant of styles.
Director Bimal Roy and composer S.D. Burman, after a bit of an argument, concluded that Nutan (Kalyani) should sing a poem, and not a song. The director explained the 'song situation' (Kalyani, who secretly admires Vikas, a role played by Ashok Kumar, and comes out in the night singing). Gulzar, the young poet, didn’t disappoint them.
Dil dhoondta hai...(Mausam)
Dil dhoondta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din
Baithe rahe tasawwur-e-jaana kiye huye
(Once again the heart seeks those days and nights of leisure
I sit around, dreaming of my beloved’s face)
A melody as haunting as any in Hindi cinema. Once you have listened to it, you are hooked for life. It surely is one of the finest film songs ever.
Madan Mohan rightly chose Bhupinder Singh for this song, the opening two lines of which Gulzar borrowed from a couplet by Mirza Ghalib.
Tere bina zindagi se koyi... ( Aandhi )
Tere bina zindagi se koyi shikwa to nahin
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin zindagi to nahin
(No grouse I have against a life without you
There is life without you, but no life it is)
Aandhi is one of Gulzar’s best works a scriptwriter-director. It is about a separated couple meeting after a gap of 12 years. Sanjeev Kumar and the gorgeous Suchitra Sen led a perfect cast.
The film boasts three of Bollywood’s greatest duets (the others being Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya ... and Is mod se jaate hain ...). R.D. Burman, with whom Gulzar formed his most fruitful collaboration — beginning with Parichay — is in great form. So are Lata and Kishore Kumar.
This song has quite a few great lines, such as
Tum jo keh do toh aaj ki raat
Chaand doobega nahi, raat ko rok lo
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki to nahin
(If you ask, the moon won’t set tonight
Please pause the night
It’s just the matter of a night, nothing is left in life)
Hum ne dekhi hai in aankhon ki ... (Khamoshi)
Humne dekhi hain un aankhon ki mehekti khusboo
Haath se chhoo kar isse rishton ka ilzam na do
Sirf ehsaas hain ye rooh se mehsoos karoon
Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koin naam na do
(I have seen the wafting aroma of those eyes
Don’t touch it with hands and label it as a relationship
A sensation it merely is, feel it with your soul
Let love be love, give not it any name)
Hemant Kumar is probably the finest singer-composer in Bollywood ever. This film directed by Asit Sen features some of his best compositions, including Kishore’s Woh sham kuch ajeeb thee ...and Tum pukar lo... , sung by Hemant himself.
Though Gulzar came up with brilliant lines in all those songs, this one has some unusual images, like the seeing the wafting aroma of the eyes. He once said he was criticised for such usages, but that the song worked because Hemant, who knew his Tagore, understood the poetry.
It also has simple, straight lines like these:
Pyar koi bol nahin, pyar koi aawaz nahin
Ek khaamoshi hain sunti hain kaha karti hain
Na ye bhujti hain, na rukti hain, na thahri hain kahin
Noor ki boond hain, sadiyon se baha karti hain
(Words love is not, Sound it is not
It is silence, it speaks, it listens
It doesn’t extinguish, it doesn’t stop, it doesn’t stay anywhere
It is a spot of light that flows for ages)
Musafir hoon yaaron ... (Parichay)
Musafir hoon yaaron
Na ghar hai na thikaana
Mujhe chalte jaana hai
Bas chalte jaana
(I am a traveller, friends
I don’t have a house, nor a place
I have to keep on moving
Just keep on moving)
Parichay was the third film directed by Gulzar and it marked the beginning of his association with R.D. Burman, which would become one of the most melodious in Hindi film music. In his first two films, Mere Apne and Koshish , the music was scored by Salil Choudhury and Madan Mohan respectively.
Aaaj kal paaon zamin par ... (Ghar)
Aaj kal paaon zameen par ...
Naheen padate mere
Bolo dekhaa hain kabhee
Tumne mujhe, udate huye
(These days my feet are not on ground
Tell me, have you ever seen me fly?)
Gulzar, R.D. Burman and Lata come together for another classic. A beautiful Rekha, in the company of Vinod Mehra, brings the song alive on screen.
Naam gum jaayega ... (Kinara)
Naam gum jaayega,
cheharaa ye badal jaayegaa
Meri aawaaz hi pahachaan hai
gar yaad rahe
(The name may get lost
The face may change
My voice will be my identity
If you remember it)
Another magical tune by R.D. Burman, with the vocal support from Bhupinder Singh and Lata. The song was shot in the fascinating ruins of Mandu (Madhya Pradesh), with Hema Malini, Jeetendra and Dharmendra.
Chaiyya chaiyya(Dil Se)
Inke sar ho ishq ki chhaaon
Paaon ke neeche jannat hogi
Chal chhaiyya chhaiyya chhaiyya
(Whose heads are in the shade of love
Beneath their feet would be heaven
Come, let’s walk in the shade)
Some of Gulzar best lines since the 1990’s have been tuned by A.R. Rahman. The duo won the Oscar for the Slumdog Millionaire song Jai Ho .
But their most popular has to be this brilliant song from Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se . It has been watched more than 80 million on YouTube and was voted the ninth popular song in the world of all time in a poll by the BBC.
Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi sang it with the raw energy it demanded.
It may be a foot-tapping number, but Gulzar’s poetry still shone through with lines like
Woh yaar hai jo khushboo ki tarah
Jiski zubaan Urdu ki tarah
(My beloved is like fragrance
Her speech is like Urdu)
Well, these songs only make up a small part of Gulzar’s fabulous world of lyrics. There are many, many more songs to cherish like Mera kuch saamaan. .. and Khaali haath shaam aayi hai. .. (both Ijazat),Bol re papihara... (Guddi) , Aap ki aankhoh mein... ( Ghar ), O majhi re... ( Kinara ) Ek akela is shahar mein...(Gharonda),Hazaar raahen... (Thodi Si Bewafai), Tujhse naaraaz nahin zindagi... and Do naine aur ek kahaani... (Masoom), Janam se banjaraa hoon... (Rahgir), Hawaaon pe likh de... (Do Dooni Char), Aane wala pal... (Gol Maal), Raat ka shauk hai... (Guru), Yaara sili sili... and Main ek sadi se... (Lekin), Jeewan se lambe hai... (Ashirwad).
Thank you, Gulzar saab !
