HarperCollins Publishers India is pleased to announce the release of Footprints on Zero Line- Writings on the Partition by Gulzar Translated by: Rakhshanda Jalil The Partition of 1947 has influenced the works of an entire generation of writers, and continues to do so. Gulzar witnessed the horrors of Partition first-hand and it is a theme that […]
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Not Human Enough?
In 1982, my mother was hit by a truck on her way to the school where she taught. The driver fled and a man who was driving a jeep, thankfully stopped, picked her up and brought her to the hospital and then somehow found a way to get in touch with us. I remember being […]
Of Bhardwaj, Gulzar And Haider
When I was a kid I had a favorite TV show, called Jungle Book. It was a time when India and Doordarshan had good shows, even animations or adaptations. Jungle Book was an animation of the celebrated book ( directed by none other that Fumio Kurokawa) and since the book was written in India, perhaps […]
Naseeruddin Shah: Guided By Invisible Strings
“Javed bhai, hum Dilli haar gaye hain!” (We have lost Delhi), yells Naseeruddin Shah as a violently bitter sepoy in Shyam Benegal’s Junoon (1978). That scene is hard to forget. As is the fact that it was on the sets of Junoon that Shah first met Ismat Chughtai, one of the bravest literary and […]
The Poet Of Ephemeral Forever
“Sirf ehsas hai rooh se mehsoos karo…pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koi naam na do.” (It is just a feeling..let the soul revel in it..let love be.. just love..try not to name it) So that in a nutshell is Gulzar for you. A man who does not name the obvious but will articulate what cannot be […]
The Many Seasons Of Gulzar
In his world, trees are ancestors, rivers are mumbling old men, pines are charcoal sketches, mountains are Christmas cards painted in water-colours. Children running down hill slopes are fruits spilling out of baskets, rain is a rude intruder pounding on doors with wet knuckles , snow in Manali is a stealthy interloper that takes […]
Fragrant Nostalgia
The good thing about cheaper DVDs flooding the market is that one no longer has to think twice before picking up a film. My recent acquisitions include Raj Kapoor’s Prem Rog, Raj Sippy’s kidnapping caper Inkaar, Gulzar’s Khushboo and a few others just for a song. None of the above films are masterpieces from any […]
Songs Of Betrayal
It has been a matter of enduring mystery to all those who need the melody of Hindi film songs to relax and be less uptight as to why the lyricists short change the ballads of love and reserve their best for the pining that follows betrayal and infidelity. Think of most songs used for […]
One Man, Many Moods
Never meet Gulzar during lunch time, especially when it hasn’t been served yet. When he is hungry, he gets into a foul mood, refuses to answer in more than monosyllables and makes mocking comments like “I am busy arranging marriages” when asked what keeps him occupied these days. What we have said to upset him […]