Gulshan Kumar Mehta, popularly known as Gulshan Bawra was born at a place 30 kms from Lahore in a place called Sheikhupura. His father had a construction business. His family was a victim to the paritition riots where young Gulshan saw his parents being killed in front of his eyes. His elder sister at Jaipur, brought him and his elder brother up. After his brother got a job, they shifted to Delhi where he graduated from the Delhi University. During college, he began to write poetry.

The Struggle

He wanted to come into films and applied for a job with the Railways. He was posted to Kota which was then in Madhya Pradesh but when he arrived there, the vacancy was filled. His next call was luckily that for the post of a clerk at Mumbai and he arrived in the city in 1955.

Gulshan struggled to get a film break, initially keeping his job on. Kalyanji (-Anandji), then on his own as Kalyanji Virji Shah, gave him his first opening in Chandrasena (1959) in the song 'Main kya jaanu kahan laage yeh saawan matwala re' sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Success

K-A's first joint film, the Meena Kumari-Balraj Sahni starrer Satta Bazar later the same year marked his first brush with success with hits like 'Tumhein yaad hoga kabhi hum mile the' (Lata-Hemant), 'Aakde ka dhanda' (Rafi) and 'Chandi ke chand tukdon ke liye' (Hemant Kumar).

It was during the making of this film that the film's distributor Shantibhai Patel christened him 'Bawra'. He was very impressed by his lyrics but could not reconcile their excellence to the typical young man in his twenties who wore a rather colourful shirt. He said, 'Main iska naam Gulshan Bawra rakhoonga. He looks like a 'bawra' (madman).' When the film was released in Mumbai, the posters carried just three names, those of director Ravindra Dave, composers Kalyanji Anandji, and Gulshan Bawra, though the roster of lyricists included the topmost names of that time, Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra. 'I left my job in 1961 and things were pretty smooth,' says Bawra.

To date, Gulshan Bawra has written only 240 songs in a 42-year career, which is less than the number of films so many top names have done! But he claims to have the highest average among lyricists. 'I never believed in working too much or being aggressive, one of the main reasons for which was that I had no children. In my time, I have charged Rs 90,000 for a film at a time when one could purchase a big flat for Rs 65,000! I have not compromised on my price - because I have never compromised on my work.'

Major Hits

Gulshan Bawra believes in sensible lyrics and avoids lyrics that are conceptually defective, or have grammatical mistakes. 'Even Shailendra,' he says, 'wrote meaningless stuff like 'Awara hoon, awara hoon, ya gardish mein hoon aasmaan ka taara hoon ', which should actually be 'Awara hoon, awara hoon, main gardish mein bhi aasmaan ka taara hoon'. Gardish refers to struggle or turbulence and stars are never in this condition. Natural or universal truths should not be tampered with in the name of poetic license or to fit in to a given metre', he says.

Hit Songs of Gulshan Bawra


Mere desh ki dharti Upkar
Yaari hai imaan mera Zanjeer
Sanam teri kasam Sanam Teri Kasam
Agar tum na hote Agar Tum Na Hote
Tu tho hai wohi Yeh Vaada Raha
Aati Rahengi Baharen Kasme Vaade
Kasme Vaade Nibhayenge Hum Kasme Vaade
Jivan ke har mod pe mil jayenge humsafar Jhoota Kahin Ka
Teri Badmashiyan Zulmi
Waada karle saajana Haath Ki Safai
Peenewalon ko peene ka bahana chahiye Haath Ki Safai
Le pappiyaan jhappiyaan paale hum Haqeeqat

Almost half of his songs have been with R.D.Burman. His last release was Zulmi (1999) and his last hit was 'Le pappiyaan jhappiyaan paale hum' for Haqeeqat/1995, which landed him in his only controversy - of writing a vulgar song.

Gulshan Bawra's Present

As always, Bawra is selective and is doing two films only today. He finds today's filmmakers, music barons and composers musically - illiterate and thus is even choosier than before, as he lives a secure, relaxed life. 'Why should I torture myself or waste my lyrics and talents on those who will ask me to do all sorts of compromises?' he asks. His films in the '90s include, besides Haqeeqat and Zulmi, Qurbani Rang Jaayegi, Tehkiqaat, Laat Saab, Maidan-E-Jung, Indrajeet and Chor Pe Mor.

Awards

Award Movie - Song
Filmfare - Best Lyricist - 1973 Yaari Hai Imaan Mera - Zanjeer
Filmfare - Best Lyricist - 1973 Mere Desh Ki Dharti - Upkaar



Credit - Hindilyrics.com

A broad smile illuminates lyricist Gulshan Bawra's face when he tells you that throughout his illustrious career, he's never compromised on quality. Glowing with pride, he announces: "Yes, I've been very selective in my work. In all these years, I've written only 240 film songs - that's the number of songs some lyricists write in one year."

With films like Upkaar, Zanjeer, Satta Bazaar, Haath Ki Safai, Rafoo Chakkar, Khel Khel Mein and Kasme Vaade embellishing his bio-data, one understands why Bawra never bothered about quantity. Since a lot has already been written about his Upkaar hit Mere desh ki dharti, you choose the Amitabh Bachchan-Jaya Bhaduri movie Zanjeer as the subject of the interview, more so because it concentrated on action and not on music or romance.

Prakash Mehra's Zanjeer, which had music by Kalyanji-Anandji, was obviously very special for Bawra. With the song Yaari hai imaan mera, he bagged his second Filmfare award after Upkaar. His mood turns nostalgic, as he says: "I couldn't believe I got the best songwriter that year, because Bobby, which I think is Raj Kapoor's biggest musical hit, was also in the nominations. But what is written in one's fate can't be changed."

Before Zanjeer, Bawra had worked with Mehra in Aan Baan. Recalls Bawra: "Prakash was a great friend, and being a songwriter himself, he wanted to ensure that his films had good lyrics. But the biggest challenge with Zanjeer was that the script wasn't tailormade for good music. Before Amitabh, Dev Anand and Raaj Kumar were considered for the role, but they rejected it. One of the reasons was that not a single song was picturised on them."

Bawra points out that Mehra had already written a bit of Yaari hai - a sher and a few lines - before passing it on to him. "When I completed the song and the tune was finalised by Kalyanji-Anandji, we all felt singer Manna Dey would be perfect. Though his first reaction was that he gets only qawwali-type or classical-based songs, he was impressed by the lyrics and tune. Besides the singing, music and lyrics, the way the song was picturised on Pran contributed to its success," he adds.

In Zanjeer, the other song that gave Bawra tremendous satisfaction was Diwane hain diwano ko. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi, the song was picturised on Bawra and actress Sanjna. "I was very skinny those days, and suited the character who was to appear in the film," says the lyricist.

Bawra has an interesting incident to narrate about Diwane hain. He begins: "While recording, Rafi and Lata had an argument, following which Rafi decided to walk away for a while. But when I told him the song was being picturised on me, he immediately came back and recorded the song. In fact, he even modulated his voice so that it would go well with me."

Of the other songs, Bawra wrote Banake kyon bigada re for Lata Mangeshkar, whereas Mehra wrote Dil jalon ka for Asha Bhosle. "He had written that song much before, and it went very well in the film," he says.

After the success of Zanjeer, Bawra was flooded with offers, but decided to select only those that went with his style and image. Apart from Kalyanji-Anandji, he did a lot of work with R D Burman. "Whatever I did, I believed in giving my full value. I was never in the rat race to churn out songs just for the sake of churning them out," he says, as the broad smile returns to his face. That's an attitude that's made both him and his fans proud.


narenk@mid-day.com

He has penned only 250 songs in a career spanning 49 years, yet his is a name to reckon with. That is because Gulshan Bawra has always struck a chord with his lyrics. Whether it was the patriotic fervour of 'Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle…'/Upkar, the teen spirit of carefree romance in 'Khullam khulla pyar karenge hum dono…' /Khel Khel Mein or the song that eulogized friendship - 'Yaari hai imaan mera yaar meri zindagi…' /Zanjeer, Bawra set you humming… On a drizzly monsoon afternoon, the popular poet glides down memory lane…

Gulshan Bawra lives high up in the clouds, on the tenth floor in the posh locality of Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai. However, he's very much a down-to-earth person, "I am contented with what life has given me," says the 68-year-old lyricist. But of late he has come out of his self-imposed hibernation to release untold stories, an album on the making of songs with R D Burman. Busy talking to television cameras about his departed friend Pancham, he says his life has been full of coincidences that he views as "divine intervention".

Witnessing TRAGEDY

Imagine an eight-year old witnessing the killing of his parents and then fleeing for his life from strife-torn Pakistan! Young Gulshan Mehta did just that in the small town of Sheikhpura near Lahore during the Partition riots. But his survival instinct saw him through all the trying times. "My mother was shot through her head and father was slashed with swords," he recalls vividly, "Wounded physically and mentally, my brother and I hid in the fields for some days and finally joined a caravan travelling back to India. We reached Jaipur in military trucks and sought refuge in the house of our married sister. Soon my brother found a job in Delhi and we moved there. I passed my matriculation from there," he relates.

Mehta becomes 'Bawra'

Gulshan and his brother were always hard up for money, so as soon as he could, Gulshan applied for a job in the railways. He topped the interview and stood first among 900 candidates and was posted to Kota. But as luck would have it there was no vacancy for him in Kota so he was appointed the goods clerk at the railway godown in Mumbai. "I started writing poetry since I was six years old. I would accompany my mother Vidyavati for community bhajan sessions and often compose my own lines there," he reminisces, "From devotional, my verses turned romantic as I reached college," he adds with a chuckle.

Upon reaching Mumbai, Gulshan saw a big opportunity for his lyrics and thus began his struggle in the film industry, "I would walk down from my office in Masjid Bunder to Kalyanji-Anandji's music room in Girgaum. Somehow they appreciated my work and so did Ravindra Dave, the producer-director of Meena Kumari-Balraj Sahni starrer Satta Bazar. He insisted on using one of my songs although he already had Shailendra and Hasrat writing songs for the film. During the recording of my first song 'Chandi ke chand tukdon ke liye…' , Bombay distributor Shantibhai Dave refused to believe that a 19-year-old 'bawra' (seemingly lost) could write lyrics of such depth. Since then I became Gulshan Bawra," he narrates.

Struggle for stardom

Living in the far-flung suburb of Oshiwara required travelling a long distance and the last bus happened to be at 8.30 pm which they would invariably miss and then trudge it up or down to Andheri station. "Dharmendra, Manoj Kumar, Prakash Mehra, Satyen Chowdhary and I were co-strugglers. We would visit producers' offices and in the night hit out for the country liquor bar in Yari Road, miss the last bus and then walk back all the way," he recalls bemusedly.

Dharmendra would wait for his money- order from home and the day he received it, "would guzzle 20 glasses of sweet-lime juice at Andheri station." Gulshan knew Manoj Kumar from Delhi and their friendship stood him in good stead later in life.

"As the goods clerk, I would marvel at the sacks and sacks of golden wheat that came in from Punjab, inspired by the bounty of the land I wrote an ode to it - 'Mere desh ki dharti sona ugle ugle heere moti…' then. Years later when Manoj had become a hero and I recited these lines to him, he just leapt for joy and said he would use them in his film Upkaar," Bawra relates.

Acting Stint

Gradually, Bawra spent more time off his railway job, writing new lyrics and doing the rounds of production houses. "In '61, the Railways sent me a cheque of Rs 450 as my Provident Fund. I was attending office only five days in a month. After that I never went back there," he informs. But those were the days when the industry was choc-a-bloc with celebrity lyricists like Rajendra Kishen, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indeevar and Shailendra, and in such a scenario a greenhorn like Bawra was literally feeling lost.

"I had no writing work for the next three years, I made ends meet playing bit roles in films. Right from my first film as a lyricist, I was fated to face the camera. Ravindra Dave, the maker of Satta Bazar told me that he would use my songs only on the condition that I played the comedian in the film. I did so reluctantly," says Bawra. Soon he was playing several small roles. He also played the pivotal part of the villain in the first Punjabi film in colour Shashi Punnu, a film that won Punjab it's very first National Award. "Shot in the golden sand dunes of Jaisalmer, the film was a roaring hit," he says emphatically.

Acting always helped him survive rough weather even after his marriage to his Sindhi neighbour Anju - his acting fees kept the home fires burning.

Cheers, Pancham!

But the lyricist in him was not to be undermined, and he kept rearing his poetic head time and again. In '67 old buddy Manoj Kumar used his fabled patriotic song, 'Mere desh ki dharti…', which became an instant hit and also lifted several awards much to the distress of arch- rival Anand Bakshi. Film lore has it that Bakshi placed an embargo on Bawra preventing R D Burman from working with Bawra. But as Bawra's luck would have it Randhir Kapoor had taken a great liking for Bawra's meaningful verses from his film Haath Ki Safai. "Dabboo recommended me to Pancham (R.D.) for his film Khalifa. But Pancham was reluctant to take me on. He worked in a manner that you had to write lyrics as per his tune, to the metre of his notations. Pancham gave me such a mismatched mukhda and antara metre that I should have thrown my hands up in despair, but with God's grace I was able to accomplish this impossible task set before me. Next day when Ashaji was rehearsing, she called Pancham and fired him for the disarranged mukhda-antara and then he admitted to her that he was trying hard to shake me off his back. Ashaji admonished him for compromising on good music and made him rework the antara," he remembers the not-so-great beginning of their hit pairing. Pancham summoned Bawra that night, gave him the right metre and made him rewrite the verses. "Had he called me 10 minutes later, I wouldn't have been able to write because at 8.30 sharp I pick up my whisky peg and then I don't touch my pen! Pancham said cheers to that and brought out pegs of whisky," Bawra recalls fondly.

Commanding his price with pride

The winning twosome scored great hits together and in the days to come they became inseparable. Bawra wrote 69 songs for Kalyanji-Anandji as compared to 150 for R D Burman. "Ramesh Behl of Rose Movies, Rakesh Roshan, Randhir Kapoor and Pancham were my friends from the film industry. Irrespective of hits and flops, we ate, drank, sang and made merry," he discloses.

"What made our pair click was the fact that we had a great tuning. I knew that flowery language wouldn't work with Pancham, I had to write simple, direct, free flowing verses for him. Like 'Humne tumko dekha, tumne humko dekha…' from Khel Khel Mein, which was such a big hit," he reasons.

With several hits - Rafoo Chakkar, Haath Ki Safai, Yeh Vaada Raha, Sanam Teri Kasam, Agar Tum Na Hote and Satte Pe Satta, Bawra commanded the highest billing in his day. "I never compromised on my price because God was kind to me. I had the luck and lesser responsibilities as I have no children to fend for," he concludes.

Morning walk, radio and south Indian TV channels

Pancham celebrated each and every birthday of his in the lyrical company of Bawra. "From '74 to '93, we had a birthday bash for him on June 27," sighs Bawra. He continued coining verses for Rajesh Roshan in Duniya Meri Jeb Mein and Nishan and then for Anu Malik, but somehow the "tuning" was never quite right.

These days Bawra leads a disciplined life - he is up by 5.30 am, an hour-long morning walk and then to pooja, tuning into Worldspace Music's Farishta channel that plays songs from the '40s till '80s and no further. "Guess what I like to watch on the television? I only watch South Indian music channels in the mute mode! I don't want to listen to today's lyrics and spoil my mood," he says with a shrug.

Yet, please don't think the Lord of the lyrics has taken voluntary retirement, he's just written a mujra for Alisha Chinnai's latest album and the lyrics of Uttam Singh's 'Suit Boot Mein Aaya Kanhayya...'. "The philosophy of my life has been to be happy and contented, those who are not happy making Rs 5000 will not be happy making Rs 5 crores either. I have a neat apartment in Mumbai's best location and I can afford to serve Black Label today - truly God has been kind to me," he surmises poetically

Source: http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/07 ... index.html

Today is the 68th birthday anniversary of the legendary music composer R.D. Burman. On this special day, renowned lyricist Gulshan Bawra talks about his association with Burman and how they formed the famous lyricist-music composer pair, to create some of the famous tracks.

?R.D. Burman and I entered the film industry in the same year. Like every other lyric writer, I too desired to work with R. D. Burman, but didn't get the opportunity until much later.

Randhir Kapoor (affectionately called Daboo) is accredited with offering me an opportunity to work with Panchamda. It was in the movie Khalifa, that Dabboo requested R. D. Burman that I be allowed to write the songs, and that's the story behind our coming together as a glorious team.

Pancham, Dabboo, Ramesh Behl (Rose Movies) and myself were like family. We believed in enjoying life, and this always reflected in the music we created together.

Pancham and I lived about 3 Km away (Pancham at Ondina in Santacruz on 7th floor, and my apartment was in Bandra, Cemced Apartments on the 10th floor). I could get a glimpse of his house from mine, and very often, I would see the lights in his flat on till late in the night. Usually at that hour, Pancham would either be watching a movie or working on a composition. Music was life to R. D. Burman and having inherited a royal musical legacy from Meera Burman and Sachin Dev Burman, music was 'literally' in his blood. It is believed that every creative man has at least one strong feminine attribute within him. With Pancham, it was cooking! He was an excellent cook and he used to have endless discussions on cooking with my wife Anju.

One evening, Pancham was experimenting with a new dish in my kitchen. While doing so, he was playing with a 'chamach' (spoon) and humming a tune. He said "Anju, see I am playing chamcha - tarang" and in doing so, spontaneously a tune was created 'Kitne bhi tu karle sitam' for the film Sanam Teri Kasam. This song became a big hit and secured Pancham his first Filmfare Award. Dabboo, Chintu, Ramesh Behl, Pancham, Asha Bhosle and myself were a happy united family and it is just impossible for us to believe that Pancham is no more with us.

Pancham, its not only this family of close friends who are aggrieved, the world of Indian Cinema music has forever become poorer with your parting. Pancham, we all Love you and miss you! May Your Soul Rest in Peace!?

I have the highest success average among any lyricist"And that's no mean achievement, he adds with justifiable pride. "I have only written about 300 songs, while others have done as many or more films! But my success ratio is unmatched, and Mukesh and Shamshad Begum among the singers and the late S.D.Burman among composers are the corresponding "winners" in those departments."

Gulshan Bawra regrets never having worked with the senior maestro, but wrote almost half his songs for R.D.Burman, a maestro he admires for the newness he brought in. He admits that the current overkill of Pancham, that too at the expense of other composers as well as RD's better songs, is wrong, but feels happy that "at least his work has got attention today when it did not get its due in his lifetime." He adds, "I was very happy that when Universal Music approached me last year on his birthday that I had recordings of our rehearsals and sittings. This helped them come out with the album Untold Stories in which they presented so many of our memorable songs. Gulzarsaab might be having more material about Pancham, but Bakshisaab and Majroohsaab are no more."

The writer, whose speciality was doing the occasional cameo (Zanjeer) and contributing to singing in some of his films (Parivar, Satte Pe Satta) sorely misses his friend. "On his birthday, I get depressed, because at the time when my wife and I would start getting dressed to go to his home, we sit thinking about him and at best, listening to his songs." The association began late in 1973 with Trimurti and continued till Zulmi in 1999 (till now, Gulshan's last release) with highs like Khel Khel Mein, Kasme Vaade, Jhoota Kahin Ka, Yeh Vaada Raha, Satte Pe Satta, Sanam Meri Kasam, Agar Tum Na Hote and Jawaani.

The second composing entity that he was close to is Kalyanji-Anandji, for whom he wrote 69 songs. The duo were also his mentors, he points out. "It was Kalyanjibhai who gave me my first three films, Chandrasena, Ghar Ghar Ki Baat and finally Satta Bazar, all in 1959. While Anandjibhai was billed as his assistant in the first two films, Satta Bazar was the first film which they composed as Kalyanji-Anandji. We began together and worked till Desh Drohi in 1980," he says proudly mentioning their great highs like Dulha Dulhan, Upkar, Parivar, Vishwas, Saccha Jhutha, Zanjeer, Haath Ki Safai, Rafoo Chakkar and Adalat.

Does he not have recordings of his work with them, or some of the other composers he has worked with? Gulshan confesses he does not, and explains, "The reason is very simple. Panchamda would usually give me the metre or dummy words for the songs, while Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Jaikishan and the others would usually compose the tunes after I wrote the lyrics." Among the many other composers he has worked with are Ravi, Sonik-Omi, Ilayaraja, Dattaram, C.Arjun, Sardar Malik, Rajesh Roshan, Bappi Lahiri, Anand-Milind, Anu Malik and Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen.

Why did he work so less with others and why has he done so less of work? "I never compromised on my price because of my quality, which is why I am comfortable today," notes the veteran, whose creme-de-la-creme includes Tumhein yaad hoga (Satta Bazar), Mere desh ki dharti (Upkar), Chandi ki deewaar (Vishwas), Yaari hai imaan (Zanjeer), Vaada karle saajana (Haath Ki Safai), Ek main aur ek tu and Khullam khulla pyar karenge (Khel Khel Mein) and the title-tracks of Yeh Vaada Raha, Agar Tum Na Hote and Sanam Teri Kasam. "But this is also the reason why many filmmakers, including Manoj Kumar, others did not work with me again even after I wrote major hits for them and asked for a raise that I deserved."

Gulshan Bawra is proud that he has never been dishonest to his work. "I was lucky to get the support of Ramesh Behl, Prakash Mehra and Raj N.Sippy besides K-A and RD," he says. "So I kept getting work on merit. I also respected what I earned and was never insecure. There are people who spend a decent chunk of their hard-earned money sending bouquets and gifts to influential people on their birthdays!"

The lyricist feels that his songs have all emerged from his experiences in life. "I had a gift and a flair from the beginning, but the personal pain added to my skills. I saw my parents being killed in front of my eyes during the terrible aftermath of Partition. My elder brother Banarasi Das Mehta and I lived with my sister for a while. When he passed his Matriculation examinations, he started working so that he could look after my education too. He has played a huge role in my life."

Gulshan always wanted to write for films but landed up in a job as a clerk in the Railways in New Delhi. "Then as luck would have it, I was posted to Mumbai in 1955. So I kept my job till my struggle continued." Known as Gulshan Mehta in his first two films, he narrates an amusing tale about how he became Gulshan 'Bawra'. "Once Kalyanjibhai and the distributor of Shantibhai Patel of Satta Bazar were arguing about which song was better among my songs Tumhein yaad hoga, Chandi ke chand tukdon and Aakde ka dhanda, all of which incidentally proved most popular though the other lyricists of the film were veterans Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra and Indeewar. It was at this point that I , then 20-plus and wearing a jazzy shirt, walked in. Kalyanjibhai immediately suggested that since I had written the songs, I would be the right person to decide."

The lyricist goes on, "Patel thought that Kalyanjibhai was playing one of his jokes on him, because he said that I did not look like a writer at all. He told the director Ravindra Dave, "Main isska naam Gulshan "Bawra" rakhoonga, kyoon ki yeh to "bawra' ( madman) lagta hain." He lavished compliments on my profound lyrics at such a tender age and when the film released, the posters carried only my name among the lyricists!"

But Gulshan has not written just philosophical songs, or excelled at those of any fixed genre. A speciality of sorts has been his fun songs like his Satte Pe Satta numbers, Bombay se Baroda tak (Rafoo Chakkar), Tak dhin tak (Khalifa) and Peenewalon ko peene ka bahana chahiye (Haath Ki Safai). "I proved that funny songs could be meaningful too," he smiles.

The lyricist agrees that deep friendships existed in his time in the fraternity. "I remember Majroohsaab recommending me to a filmmaker," he says. "But my all-time icon is the late Rajendra Krishan. His poetry and range was unsurpassed. Baaqi sab naam usske baad aate hai." They even shared a film, Modern Girl, and Gulshan had the privilege of doing a parody Ooparwale teri duniya mein (Haath Ki Safai) on his idol's song Nandlal Gopal daya karke (Sadhu Aur Shaitan). "But I never knew about this song because the composition was a traditional one and I was not aware of the latter song's lyrics when I wrote the fun bhajan."

Besides being his idol, Rajendra Krishan also helped Gulshan a lot. "Before Zanjeer, I had a low phase during which he helped me a lot by getting me acting roles," he reveals. "From 1970, when I got married, I acted in films like Ganwaar (in which I had a major role), Sasi Pannu, the National Award-winning Punjabi film in which my role was longer than that of the hero, Teen Chor, Gehri Chaal, Jwar Bhata and many others. This helped me run my kitchen though my wife hated my becoming an actor when I wrote so well. After Zanjeer I never looked back, but by then my wife said that I should do cameos in gratitude for my having survived the bad phase because of my acting!"

Why does he not write today? "I keep writing songs - I have an amazing bank, but why should I waste them on poeple who do not understand good poetry? I am a Punjabi, but Hindi films need Hindi lyrics. Today it appears that India's mother-tongue is Punjabi! I have never written a Punjabi song in that sense!"

He intensely adds, "Yesterday's songs were created with a lot of pain by their parents - the composer and the lyricist. Children like these become successful in life and everyone has affection for them. But today's songs are like children delivered painlessly and mechanically. The song was born with a live orchestra before. But now, the different parts of the song are fabricated separately and assembled with a machine. Living entities cannot be created like this!"

Gulshan recorded five songs for a forthcoming film that has got stalled. "So after Zulmi I have not had a release. The filmmaker should be committed enough for that. Today's filmmakers do not understand basic lyrics. The hero and heroine are shown in each others' arm when the song is saying, Teri yaad aa rahi hai."
He proudly mentions one more triumph. "A worldwide music association called the Rajputana Club once conducted a survey of the ten most evergreen Hindi film songs of all time. Members across the world voted and Mere desh ki dharti from Upkar was given the ranking of Number Two!"
The Gulshan (garden) is in full-bloom even today. But are there any takers for lyrics of high calibre?


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