The child in Gulzar Saab's heart seems to be asserting itself more strongly now that he has composed two back-to-back seductive chartbusters.

"I guess Kajra re and Beedi just happened. They were the demands of the hour. But a lot of the credit for Kajra re must go to Aishwarya. And now the credit for putting forward my Barso re song in Guru must again to Aishwarya. She's able to communicate such innocence and joy in the rain."

Innocence and joy will be the predominant emotions for Gulzar Saab's poetry in the coming year. "I'm doing an entire album of limericks for children with Vinay Sapru and Radhika (the duo who made the Salman-starrer Lucky). The very fact that they understood what I meant by children's limerick made me very happy."

Gulzar Saab has earlier done an entire album of music for children with composer Vishal Bharadwaj. "The number Chaddi pehen ke phool khila hai became very popular. That's the kind of limerick for children which I'll be doing in my new album for T Series."

The poet-filmmaker intends to go easy in 2007. "I had a surfeit of lyrics to write in 2005 and 2006. I need to slow down. I'm concentrating on my daughter Meghna's film which was earlier titled Baat Pakki. Now it's Just Married. Besides that my only other movie assignment in 2007 is Mani Ratnam's Lajjo which takes me to one of my favourite eras—India just before the Partition."

While Mani is writing the screenplay, Gulzar Saab will be working on designing the scenario with Mani, and of course the lyrics. "And hopefully I'll finally direct a film in the the coming year," he promises.


Credit - Kavita

Clad in his trademark kurta pyjama and Kashmiri shawl, he is the portrait of a philosopher. Anyone who has known and seen poet-lyricist-director Gulzar has always seen him such attire. While his dressing sense may be a constant, even at 70, he says that he changes as a person every day.

"I am maturing every day and my age is proof of that. Since age itself is a maturing process, your actions are bound to mature with age and I enjoy this maturity," says Gulzar, who was in the city on Saturday to promote his recent album Koi Baat Chale, with ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh.

The album gives ghazal a new flavour with Gulzar coming out of the traditional from. "The poetry used is short, based on the haiku style of Japan, and deals with nature, man and emotions. It is cosmic poetry that I have mastered over the last 30 years and finally put it together in this album," says Gulzar, whose last album with Jagjit Singh was Marasim.

Gulzar feels that change is a given for all human beings. "I am no different. Change in my working style is the reason why the audience still accepts me," he says.

Probably this is one reason why Gulzar can find success with a song like Koi baat chale (part of his new album) and Beedi jalaile from Omkara. "Ghazals are what I do out of love and that is reflected in my new album," says Gulzar who after seven years will start working on his film this year.

His last was Hu Tu Tu in 1999. "I really don't want to make the audience wait any further. I am almost ready with the script and the work will start any time this year," says Gulzar, who has directed some unforgettable films like Mere Aapne, Parichay, Aandhi, Mausam, Ijaazat and Maachis among others.

The poet, who has also written the dialogues of a number of hit films like , is excited about working with youngsters. His songs in Guru, the music of which has been scored by AR Rahman is already a hit and he is also writing the lyrics for daughter Meghna Gulzar's film Just Married, the music of which is scored by Pritam. "I feel that I can write for anyone, be it for someone like Jagjit or rock musicians like Pritam and Palash Sen."

Gulzar is looking forward to Just Married. "I feel sorry for Meghna. She had a tough time and that's because of the kind of offbeat scripts she works with but I am happy that her film is finally releasing," he says.


Credit - Kavita

The garden (gulzar) is in full bloom. With constant mutation brought about by changing times and trends, Gulzar's lyrics have issued forth virtually as a new species of poetic flowers in verse. We catch the poet-writer-director, who has just won the Screen Best Lyricist trophy for 'Beedi jalayale...' from Omkara.

The garden (gulzar) is in full bloom. With constant mutation brought about by changing times and trends, Gulzar's lyrics have issued forth virtually as a new species of poetic flowers in verse. The only commonality between the Gulzar of Omkara, Jaan-E-Mann and Guru and the earlier Gulzar is the instantly identifiable colour scheme. But the palette is fresh, and the fragrance perhaps a little more alluring this time.

We catch the poet-writer-director, who has just won the Hero Honda Star Screen Best Lyricist trophy for 'Beedi jalayale...' from Omkara, in an expansive mood as he elaborates on his journey with changing times, trends, thoughts and tones.

Excerpts.

You expressed your reservations about being awarded for 'Beedi jalayale...' from Omkara at the nomination stage.

I would like to say that there is no denying the importance of 'Beedi jalayale...' as a song and in my career. There is also no degrading or demeaning the importance of the Screen award or its jury. It is just that in every film, a poet has his own preferences, perhaps brought about by the situation and how much and what kind of creative efforts he made on each song.

Last year, I won the Screen award, not for 'Kajraa re...', which was also hugely popular from Bunty Aur Babli, but for 'Naam ada likhna...' from Yahaan, which was very dear to me.

You see what I mean - in the Yahaan song I got to use some imagery, which I have always been fond of, I used a Kashmiri phrase or two, and mentioned Kashmir. When it was chosen with 'Kajraa re...' as one of the other nominations, I was satisfied.

Once again, let me be clear. I own 'Beedi jalayale...' and 'Kajraa re...' as much as 'Naam ada likhna...' . The difference lies in the fact that a poet always has his own likes, and his reasons for them.

You also mentioned 'Naina...', 'Namak isaq ka...' and 'O saathi re...' as your choices from Omkara.

I think that Omkara as a score had a lot of variation and colours. In 'O saathi re...' I have used some rare poetic imagery wherein I describe sunset by saying that the sky is slippery so that the sun is about to slide into the water, but that can be prevented using a net or by holding it on one's back. The lines actually go as follows:

('Thakaa thakaa suraj jab nadi se hokar niklega...
Hari hari kaayi pe paanv badhaa to phislega...
Tum rok ke rakhna main jaal giraoon...
Tum pith pe lena main haath lagaoon...
Din doobe na')

I do not think anyone has used this kind of imagery before. Similarly in 'Naina thug lenge...' I use the parallel, 'Nainon ki zubaan pe bharosa nahi aata, likhad parakh na rasid na khaata...' and say that we cannot trust what the eyes say because there is no document in writing, no receipt and no account!

Do you feel that understanding of such imageries, Hindi and Urdu in general, are at a premium nowadays, and you need a Vishal Bhardwaj or other good filmmakers to appreciate and incorporate such poetry?

Yes, the director and the lyricist need to go into the backdrop and depth of the film, the situation and the characters. I am supposed to be notorious for taking time to write songs, but that is essential. You have to dig to get water, and it is up to you to dig only a little and find some moisture or go deeper. Of course, when you dig deep enough, you may strike oil!

But generally do you look on 'item' songs as compromises made with reluctance, and are they more difficult to write?

I think that film writing is a popular art, and the whole game is about communication with the masses. 'Item' songs are like situations created to accommodate a popular beat, but that's for the music director. As a lyricist, I am bound in every case by the situation, the story, the character and most important, the language fitting to that character. I make sure that the song has to be in the same idiom as the character's dialogues.

Within these parameters, my question to myself would be, "What freshness can I bring within these boundaries?" Let us take the example of the title-song of Omkara. I have not written it just in a rural or tribal fashion, but in the style of Aala-Udhal. Aala and Udhal were two brave Rajput warriors who fought against the Mughals, and even today in Rajasthan, ballads are sung about their deeds, and these songs make for a genre of their own.

I think that what is important are aesthetics. 'Beedi...' and 'Kajra re...' may be visually like 'item' songs, but there is no double-meaning and nothing offensive in them. The choices of the filmmakers speak for themselves.

That does not really answer my question of whether you abhor writing at the out-and-out mass level.

Intentionally, in that sense, I do not write for the masses. I catch the situation instead. Some of the words I employ are in common use where the film is based, even if the city person may not know them. When I used the words 'lihaaf' and 'gilaaf' they stand for a garment and a pillow-cover respectively.

I like to tread uncharted terrain. In 'Beedi...' itself the girl says that because she is beautiful not only are the boys teasing and flirting with her but the shopkeepers are willing to sell her goods on credit to please her. I used the word 'chhamiye' which means young men in colloquial Hindi and baniye, which means merchants.

You have also stylized the use of English today in songs, beginning with 'Kajraa re...'.

In Khamoshi (1969) I had used the phrase 'My sister' because it was needed. I have never used English as a gimmick. I have started using English words and phrases when they seem natural and normal in context. That is why the use is seamless, because that's how most of us talk today.

It was ingenious to rhyme 'shaayari' with diary in Jaan-E-Mann.

Here was a film where the characters were very urban and well-educated in English. Their dialogues were studded with English, so once again, why should the songs be different?

Shirish Kunder's approach was unique - he was narrating a love story like animation, like a comic book, with images that stayed on. He used music in a very fresh way. For example, when each of the family members of the girl feel that she should marry one of the heroes he could have had various sequences about how they told the girl what they felt. But audio-visually he condensed it all into the song 'Kubool kar le...', which was like saying dialogues in songs.

Shirish had made a storyboard, and the lyrics flowed from there, with phrases like 'Shaadi ke liye agree nahin kiya...' and 'Taaron pe chalna-valna easy nahin...' In 'Humko maloom hai...' we had to condense a 10-minute scene into a few lines, to show that the girl's parents did not accept her man. I brought in intimacy with the words, 'Mom maani nahin, Dad naaraaz the...'. One of my fans told me that he realized that I had used English words weeks after listening to the song, because this is how we speak in real life! And tell me, can you think of a Hindi or Urdu word for a pullover, a diary or a note-book? With pullover the buck stops at sweater - which is also an English word!

Would you use English in your non-film shaayari?

I have used it. It is part of our natural way of expression. I do not see any compromise in aesthetics there. The borders between English and all our languages has been blurred anyway. Cup, glass, ticket, film, mummy, daddy - they are all English words. Should we translate coffee as 'maya' (liquor) or lawn as 'ghaas ka maidan' and call tennis as 'gend-balla'? I think that poetry must touch today's life and must reflect the era in which it is written.

That would mean that what was being done all these years was not very natural.

I agree - that was artificial language. A living language is always imbibing words from other languages, like English itself. Only a dead language can be a classic!

Your last four films show a synergy with young filmmakers and composers.

Yes, but I would prefer to point out that all four are completely different films where my language and styles are completely different from each other. There are lyricists who are known to be very good but write all kinds of subjects in the same language. I think that being different and variegated is even more important than just being a good poet!

You have always had an extraordinary result with A.R.Rahman, who unlike you barely knows Hindi and Urdu. How do you explain foolproof joint collaborations like Dil Se..., Saathiya and now Guru?

I think that music directors, like lyricists and singers, have a very keen sense of the most delicate tonal variations in sound. When we work together, I like to travel with my words as usual and he likes to travel with what he can do in music that is innovative. But the results come because both of us are travelling with the film.

Also, a quality that Rahman has is that he has totally changed the format of our songs - with him it is not necessary to have the conventional mukhda-antara-mukhda structure. His songs often run like a free verse poem, and free verse eminently suits me!

Guru is yet another example of how I mentally go and park myself into the character's psyche in a situation. Aishwarya Rai's song 'Barso re...' has all the images associated with a village. Abhishek Bachchan's songs have liberal Urdu and Persian as he has worked in Turkey, and I have maintained this even in their duets! In fact in one song the heroine even asks him in a line, 'Kyoon Urdu-Pharasi bolte ho?'

All these small nuances are not noticed most of the time and rob you of well-deserved appreciation.

How can I be in-your-face about it? It's all about being honest to your work.

From old-timers to R.D.Burman and then Anu Malik, Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj you move one more generation ahead to Pritam in Just Married. How was the rapport there?
Pritam has a very strong sense of melody apart from his inclination for Western music. His music in this film is completely different from his normal scores. I have again gone with the story and even referred to snoring in one of the songs, because snoring as a daily quirk achieves importance when a boy and a girl in an arranged marriage go for a honeymoon!

What made me happy about Just Married is that my daughter Meghna is so much aware of small-town middle-class sensibilities after narrating an urban, upper-class story in Filhaal. She even made Pritam stick to the right instruments. Many years ago, when Jagjit Singh scored my Ghalib, I had asked him to ensure that no instruments that were not around in Ghalib's time should be employed.

How has the music of The Blue Umbrella shaped up?

I think that after Pancham, the only composer I know who is great at children's songs is Vishal Bhardwaj - they both share this childish streak. I have done a lot of work with him from dubbed animation films to Makdee and a Tom & Jerry series.

What is coming up next?

I am doing Shaad Ali's Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and an album for children.


Credit - Kavita

t's a lesser-known fact that a young Gulzar had fed on renowned poetess Amrita Pritam's Punjabi poetry and literature. He would religiously attend literary functions and conferences in the capital, just to hear her works. Later, he went to become good friends with the poetess and her husband Imroz, and now he has recited a collection of her poems, which will be shortly released on Times Music to celebrate 10 successful years of the label. Talking about his early association with Pritam, he says, "I remember almost crashing into her and our governor then C Rajagopalachari at Asian Writer's Conference in Delhi. I ran to get into the elevator and she was there too." He further adds, "Later, when we became friends I had started writing scripts. Whenever I was in Delhi, I would pay a visit to her house."

Gulzar says that he has not chosen her popular verses consciously. The purpose of the entire exercise is to make the viewers aware about her wide repertoire. "We grew up reading her work. My mother tongue is Punjabi and I could easily relate to her message as the rest of the country. I really admire her not-so-traditional imagery. Her imagery had been unique and so different from the usual used by the poets of those days. Her poems are a few of my favourite things," he says.

The lyricist and filmmaker re-lived the days spent with Pritam while recording for the album at Empire Studio. He believes that it's his way of paying a tribute to the deceased poetess. He also penned the lyrics for Pinjar, a film inspired by Pritam's novel (by the same name) on the poetess' insistence. "Initially, she was supposed to direct the film. Later on Basu da (Basu Bhattacharya) was roped in. Finally, Chandra Prakash Dwivedi made the film. She was completely bed-ridden when the film was being shot. So she couldn't visit the sets," he says.

ABOUT AMRITA PRITAM :

Born and raised in Gujranwala, Punjab, which is now in Pakistan, Amrita Pritam went to become the most prominent woman Punjabi poet and fiction writer. She has penned numerous poems, 24 novels, 15 collections of short stories and 23 volumes of prose. Two of her novels have been made into films. Her works have been translated in many languages including French, Japanese and Danish. She was the first woman recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, and the first Punjabi woman to receive the Padma Shree from the President of India in 1969. She got Jnanpith award in 1982 for her lifetime contribution to Punjabi literature.


Credit - Kavita

Thrilled To Bits: Gulzar

One of Annu Malik's biggest dreams recently came true. The music director is a huge fan of Gulzar and was thrilled when the veteran lyricist asked him to compose music for a Pakistani film he was working on, and later even complimented him for it.

Says Annu, "I got a call from Gulzar uncle, asking me to compose music for a Pakistani film called Tere Liye.

I was totally excited because no one in his right mind would want to miss the opportunity of working with him. He's a legend."

Noted Indian screenwriter Javed Siddiqui has written Tere Liye, with song lyrics by Gulzar.

Says Malik, "The first song we recorded has been sung by Sonu Niigaam and Alka Yagnik. It's a soulful ballad and has a lovely melody. This is the first time I have worked on a Pakistani film."

Encouragement

Thrilled To Bits: Annu Malik

Starring Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed, Annu says the film is a beautiful love story.

"When I heard the story, I knew there was a good scope to work on some really melodious songs. I will be recording around seven songs for the film," he adds.

Describing Gulzar's reaction after hearing his composition, Annu says, "He came and hugged me and kissed my hands. It was one of the most emotional moments in my life.

I never dreamed that some day this would happen to me. Getting such encouraging feedback from Gulzar uncle is a huge deal."

On another note, Annu is also excited about the response that the first episode of Indian Idol 3 got last week. "People are liking what they are seeing.

I think this season has started off on a very high note and people are saying that I'm keeping it real. That's how I plan to be on the show."


Credit - Kavita

Melody_archive 1 quoted:
"As far as I was concerned, Sanjeev Kumar was born an old man "

I too know of some Vriddh Balak

Melody_archive 1 also quoted:

" In the song Is mod se jaate hain kuch sust kadam raste, there's a line Patthar ki haveli ko sheeshe ke gharondon mein, tinkon ke nasheman tak. After he'd composed the song, I found Pancham deep in thought. Suddenly, he asked me, "Gullu, where is this nasheman?" He thought it was the name of some place that the roads led to. I had to tell him that nasheman meant a ghosla or nest.
Cut to when we were shooting the song. This time it was Sanjeev's turn to ask me the same question. "I've never had to ask the meaning of any lyrics. But what does nasheman mean?" he queried."

heartening to note that I am not the only one who asks for clarifications to high flying urdu and hindi words
Melody archive _1 quoted:

As for Tere bina zindagi se, it simply happened one day at Pancham's house. I had dropped in and found him composing a tune for a Durga Pooja album with Gauri Prassano, one of Bengal's top lyricists. The lyrics went something like Amar deri holo je. I was so struck by the tune that I just started writing Hindi lyrics for it even as they were polishing it. After Gaurida left, Pancham asked me, "Now what do you want me to compose for you?" I told him, "Yehi gaana karenge."

So we kept the original tune for the mukhda, and he composed something else for the antara. But when I inserted some dialogue into the lyrics, Pancham scolded me, "Do you have any idea of sur and taal? You cut in with your dialogue anywhere you want. It's not done!" But we did it!

Lyrics:
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi

Kaash aisa ho tere qadmo se, chun ke manzil chale aur kahi door kahi - 2
Tum gar saath ho, manzilo ki kami to nahi
Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi

Jee mein aata hai, tere daaman mein, sar jhuka ke ham rote rahe, rote rahe - 2
Teri bhi aankho mein, aansuo ki nami to nahi

Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi,
shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi,
zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi

Tum jo keh do to aaj ki raat, chaand doobega nahi, raat ko rok lo -2
Raat ki baat hai, aur zindagi baaki to nahi

Tere bina zindagi se koyi, shikwa, to nahi,
shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi, shikwa nahi
Tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi, to nahi,
zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi, zindagi nahi[/center]


Credit - Barnali[/quote]

AN all time Classic!!

Love all songs of Aandhi!!