Some call him the most celebrated poet ever, some call him the greatest lyricist, while some highlight his scriptwriting excellence. The one, who is undoubtedly the best of all time without a shadow of a doubt, is proudly flaunted by the veterans and adored by the youngsters. The one and only undisputed wordsmith of India, Sampooran Singh Kalra a.k.a., Gulzar. Today (August 18, 2021) marks the 87th birthday of Gulzar sahab, and we are yet again falling short of words in order to explain the excellence of this legend in words. Gulzar was born in the Jhelum District (now in Pakistan) back in 1934. During his childhood, he was mesmerised by the works of Rabindranath Tagore and had read a lot of his translations that had laid the foundation of his greatness.
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Gulzar had worked in a garage at Bellasis road in Mumbai and was assigned with the job of giving touch-up to the damaged cars using colours. At that time, he was in love with that work because of the creative spark in him. But also because of that job, he used to get a chance of writing and attending college. After some years, under the guidance of S.D. Burman, he had made his debut as a lyricist in the film, Bandini. Since then, there's no looking back for him. From giving us exceptional shayaris, outstanding songs, eternal phrases, and unforgettable scripts, he had made his mark in the hearts of every single person of this nation.
However, not many people are aware of his personal life. On 15th May 1973, Gulzar had tied the nuptial knot with the golden girl of the industry, Raakhee Majumdar. In December 1973, the couple had welcomed their first child, their daughter, Meghna Gulzar. But astonishingly one year after Meghna's birth, Raakhee and Gulzar had decided to part their ways. The reason was the fact that Gulzar had wanted Rakhee to quit acting after their wedding. Although, she had tried convincing him for many years and rejected tons of huge scripts in the process. Before finally ending her relationship with him by signing for Yash Chopra's film, Kabhie Kabhie. Their daughter, Meghna could not accept their separation, which is the reason why they never got divorced.
Back in the year, 2018, in an interview with News 18, Gulzar had talked about his relationship with estranged wife, Rakhee Gulzar, on which he had said that both of them had already lived a lifetime together. Well, that's a trademark Gulzar-style reply, and he had explained this saying:
"Even today, whenever I want to eat fish cooked by her, I first gift her a saree as a bribe like I used to do when we were courting. I gifted her so many sarees during our courtship days that I learnt to identify beautiful Dhakai and Tant sarees. I used to gift her the best ones. I still do."
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Going further in his interview, the veteran lyricist had also highlighted the fact that both of them were always there for their daughter, Meghna and somehow, it the reason why they are still together. He had stated:
"From when Meghna was a child till the time she grew up, there hasn't been a single occasion, moment, incident or celebration that we haven't shared with each other. We have been together through it all — disagreements, fights and happy times. If this is not being together, then I don't know what is. We still have a little argument in every two-three hours. And that I think it is only fair."
Giving an insight into what true love is all about, Gulzar had talked about the likeliness between them and why there's no love without fights. He had explained:
"What kind of love is it, in which people don't differ, don't fight now and then? But to say that we are not two different identities would be wrong. She does what she likes. I do what I like. All good friends live like this."
He had added his thoughts on being honest in a relationship. She said:
"You're not close enough if you don't brush against each other. We are still just like we were all these years ago. I have always been honest about it. I didn't preach. I didn't give any lessons or explanations. And she understood. This is how it is."
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Rakhee had also talked about her relationship with Gulzar in an interview with Stardust. She had stated:
"We deserve an award for the best-split couple. We are more well-adjusted than most married couples. Gulzar and I are there for each other. He treats me as if I were still his wife. He calls me from his house and tells me, 'I've called four friends for dinner. There's no food at home. So please, quickly send some jhinga curry.' I send it across. His other favourite is kheer, and he loves me to make it for him."
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Well, just like his out-of-the-box poetries and songs, his love-life has been the one that is out of this world. However, the respect that both of them hold for each other teaches us a lot about the way we should be. And, there's no better way of ending this with one of his best lines, "Jabse Tumhare Naam Ki Misri Honth Se Lagai Hai, Meetha Sa Gham Hai, Aur Meethi Si Tanhai Hai."
Here's wishing a happy birthday to Gulzar sahab!
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