Gulzar's Birthday: 20 facts about renowned lyricist that fans must know

Sampooran Singh Kalra or Gulzar is one of the most famous and prominent poets and lyricists in India. He kickstarted his career with music director SD Burman as a lyricist in the film Bandini. After that, Gulzar's words influenced many music directors including RD Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Vishal Bhardwaj, and AR Rahman. On the occasion of Gulzar's birthday, here is a look at some interesting Gulzar trivia in honour of the poet: 

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Gulzar facts and trivia

1. Gulzar was born in present-day Pakistan: Gulzar was born in Dina, Jhelum District, British India. After partition, Dina was included in Pakistan.

2. Tagore was an influence on Gulzar's poems: Gulzar read a lot of work by Rabindranath Tagore in his early age. Tagore became a major influence. He mainly read translations of Tagore's work, as mentioned by many reports. 

3. Gulzar's family split up: Gulzar's family had to split due to the partition. He had to leave his studies at that point and come live with his family in Mumbai, reportedly. 

4. He used to work in a garage: Many reports have stated that Gulzar used to work in a garage during his young days. He used to touch up cars that were involved in accidents. 

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5. Gulzar's father was against him writing: Reportedly, Gulzar's father didn't like the fact that he used to write, thus he had to take up a pet name. 

6. He worked as an assistant to Bimal Roy: Gulzar worked as an assistant to Bimal Roy for quite some time in Delhi. 

7. His first film as a director: The first film he directed was Mere Apne, which was a remake of a Bengali film Apanjan. 

8. Gulzar won a Grammy and an Academy Award: Gulzar won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" at the 81st Academy Awards. He also won a Grammy Award (shared with Rahman) for the same song. 

9. Gulzar's daughter is also a poet: Gulzar's daughter is Meghna Gulzar, who also a writer, director and producer.

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10. He has written a book on the partition: Gulzar wrote a book of his experience on the partition of India and Pakistan. This was his first book at the age of 84.

11. Gulzar's poems: Most of his poems are either in Hindi, Punjabi or Urdu and his work is highly translated into English. 

12. Gulzar uses several dialects of Hindi in his writing: The Hindi dialects he uses are Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, Haryanvi and Marwari. 

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13. He worked for a peace campaign: Gulzar worked for a peace campaign called Aman ki Asha, jointly started by India and Pakistan's leading media houses. 

14. Gulzar is a chancellor: In April 2013, Gulzar was appointed as the Chancellor of the Assam University. 

15. Gulzar's awards: Gulzar has won a total of 36 awards in his career, an interesting piece of Gulzar trivia. 

16. Gulzar's most popular poem: Humko mann ki shakti dena is one of the most famous Gulzar poems. It is also a prayer said in schools.

17. Gulzar's love for Bengal and its culture: It is reported that Gulzar loves Bengal and its culture. His love of Bengal is reflected in how he was influenced by Tagore's works, loved working on Bengali literary pieces, was an assistant to Bimal Roy, and how he fell in love with and ended up marrying a Bengali woman.  

18. Gular knows the sign language: Gulzar learned the sign language in 1973, for his movie Koshish which narrated the story of a deaf and dumb couple.

19. Gulzar was depressed: Reportedly, after his film Hu Tu Tu failed, he went into a deep depression. But his daughter helped him out of it. 

20.  Gulzar also paints: Gulzar has mentioned in many of his interviews that he loves painting. 

Promo Pic Credit: Meghna Gulzar's Instagram