Love Gulzar’s Poetic Genius? On His B’day, Meet Gulzar the Actor

Did you know that the legendary poet, lyricist, writer, filmmaker Gulzar also made his mark as an actor?

Gulzar with Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh (Photo: Reuters)

(This piece is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on 18 August 2015 to mark Gulzar’s birthday. We bring it back as an another year goes by in his poetic journey)

Gulzar! The poet, lyricist, writer, producer, director, narrator, translator has so many creative facets that it becomes an impossible ask to capture the artist in a few words. Today on his birthday, I want to talk of a lesser discussed aspect of his creative career, Gulzar - the actor.

Did you know that Basu Bhattacharya started a film in the 70s, titled Asamaapt Kavita (an unfinished poem) with Gulzar as the lead actor and Sharmila Tagore as the heroine? Gulzar was to play a publisher in the film. Like its title Asamaapt Kavita was shot for a few reels but was left unfinished due to budget constraints and so Gulzar missed making his entry into the league of actors.

A rare picture of Basu Bhattachharya directing Gulzar and Sharmila Tagore in Asamaapt Kavita (Photo: Kaustubh Pingle)

However, a few years later Basu Bhattacharya did introduce Gulzar on screen, this time in a guest appearance, in a song from the film Griha Pravesh (1977). The mehfil song picturized on Dinesh Thakur features Gulzar as a poet in the party. Check it out:

Gulzar also marked a friendly appearance in the 1998 film Wajood featuring Nana Patekar and Madhuri Dixit in the lead. The film was directed by N Chandra, who started his career as a clapper boy on the sets of Gulzar’s Parichay, and went on to assist him in his subsequent films. N Chandra requested Gulzar, his guru, to make a friendly appearance as himself and he obliged. Unfortunately he was not available during the post production of the film and so we miss his magical voice here, which was dubbed.

Gulzar with Nana Patekar and Madhuri Dixit in Wajood

Watch the clip here.

But what tops it all is Gulzar’s appearance as an actor in a forgotten film produced by his friend Balraj Tah and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee (but officially credited to Balraj Tah), titled Jalian Wala Bagh. As the name suggests, it was based on the historical Jallianwala Bagh incident. Gulzar played an Indian student studying in England, and as a part of the freedom movement, he delivered speeches on the campus. Gulzar played a friend to Parikshit Sahni, who was one of the main characters in the film. The film’s music was by R D Burman.

Here’s what Gulzar told me about his appearance in Jallian Wala Bagh:

<i>Kyonki production mein bahut saari cast ki zaroorat thi, isliye jitne bhi log film mein backstage pe bhi involved thhe, un sab ko in front of camera khada kar diya (except Pancham) aur sabse kaha ki ek ek role kar lo. Maine jo specific character kiya wo sirf isliye kiya ki film thand ke dino mein shoot huee thi, aur film mein kewal mera character hi fully covered dress mein tha isliye woh character maine maang liya.</i>

Gulzar

(“Since the production required a huge cast, all those who were backstage on the film were asked to participate in front of the camera as well (except Pancham) by playing a role each. The reason I chose the character that I played was that it was very cold and only my character was well covered and dressed, so I chose it.” – Gulzar)

(Above: The author Pavan Jha with Gulzar on his 81st birthday in Mumbai)