Veteran Film Lyricist and Director Gulzar to be conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013

Veteran film lyricist, director, screen writer, producer and poet Shri Gulzar has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2013. He is the 45th Dada Saheb Phalke Award Winner. The award is conferred by the Government of India for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. The award consists of a Swarn Kamal (Golden Lotus), a cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs and a shawl. The award is given on the basis of recommendations of a Committee of eminent persons set up by the Government for this purpose. This year, a  seven member jury consisting of eminent artists, after due deliberations, unanimously recommended  Sh. Gulzar for the prestigious award.

Born in 1934 in Punjab in pre-independence India, Shri Gulzar started his career  in 1956. As a lyricist, he got his first break in Bimal Roy’s ‘Bandini’ .  He has worked with leading music directors including Sachin Dev Burman, Salil Chowdhury, Shankar Jaikishan, Hemant Kumar, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, Rajesh Roshan, Anu Malik, and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. He has had outstanding  partnerships  with  Rahul Dev Burman, A. R. Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj. Along with lyrics, he has also contributed to several films as script, story and dialogue writer. Films directed by Gulzar have won numerous awards and critical acclaim.   Among them are ‘Mere Apne’, ‘Koshish’, Áandhi’ ‘Kinara’, ‘Khushboo’, Ángoor’, ‘Libaas’ , ‘Meera’, ‘Lekin’and ’Maachis’. He has worked on the small screen as well; having created outstanding series like ‘Mirza Ghalib’ and ‘Tahreer Munshi Premchand ki’. He wrote lyrics for several Doordarshan serials including ‘Hello Zindagi’, ‘Potli Baba ki’ and ‘Jungle Book’. The list is long.

Shri Gulzar was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002, and the Padma Bhushan in 2004 . He has won a number of National Film Awards and 20 Filmfare Awards. At the 81st Oscars in 2009, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" (shared with A.R. Rahman), for the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.  In  2010, the same song won him a Grammy Award in the category of ‘Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media’.

Gulzar's poetry has been published in three compilations: ‘Chand Pukhraaj Ka’, ‘Raat Pashminey Ki’ and ‘Pandrah Paanch Pachattar’ (15-05-75). His short stories are published in ‘Raavi Paar’ (also known as ‘Dustkhat’ in Pakistan) and ‘Dhuan‘ (smoke). He is also credited with having created a  new type of stanza in Urdu poetry named ‘Triveni’ (stanza of 3 lines ).   Gulzar’s  contribution to mainstream cinema is well recognized, assuring him a place in the annals of Indian cinema.

Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Shri Bimal Julka congratulated Gulzar Saab on this momentous occasion.