Happy Birthday Gulzar! Here's a list of our favourite songs penned by the lyricist

His name is Sampooran Singh Kalra but most of us know and love him as Gulzar. Perhaps the phrase ‘A man of many words’ was coined keeping him in mind. That he’s given meaning to a lot of our favorite songs is a matter of common consensus. [caption id=“attachment_64094” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Gulzar. AFP image.[/caption] Making a list of some of our favorite Gulzar songs is a difficult task. In the context of Gulzar, the term ‘favorite’ is rather relative. So on the occasion of Gulzar’s birthday, from thought-provoking lyric to melodious songs, here’s a list of some of our favorite Gulzar-isms. Because he may have written a 100 songs, but we all have chosen favorites: Ae Zindagi, Gale Laga Le - Sadma 

Perhaps no other song could do justice to a film like Sadma as this one did. Directed by Balu Mahendra, this film is the Hindi version of Moondram Pirai and the music is given by Ilayaraaja. The gargantuan task of making sure that the Hindi songs , which predominantly took the same melodies as the Tamil compositions, clicked, was entrusted with Gulzar. This song describes the relationship between Kamal Hassan and Sridevi, who plays an autistic woman, perfectly. Do Naina Aur Ek Kahaani - Masoom

Masoom is the directorial debut of Shekhar Kapur and explores themes of infidelity, marriage and childhood. Merging these concepts is tough, and especially to bring it out in songs. “Do Naina.." is essentially a lullaby, but Gulzar’s words beautifully depict the mother’s turmoil without taking away from the feel of a song. Ruke Ruke Se Kadam - Mausam

Also directed by Gulzar, Mausam’s plot is a bit convoluted if you think about it in today’s time. It explores the relationship between a man (Sanjeev Kumar) and his lover’s daughter (Sharmila Tagore). This song explains Tagore’s innocent feelings beautifully, and coupled with Lata Mangeshkar’s beautiful voice, this song could be called the Mausam  anthem. Meri Jaan, Mujhe Jaan Na Kaho - Anubhav

It would a task to translate the lyric of this song. From the film Anubhav, this song so simply captures the banter between a husband and wife who are trying very hard to rekindle their marriage. Gulzar has used the word ‘Jaan’ and pretty much constructed the whole song around it. Give it a listen. Kajra Re - Bunty Aur Babli

This song is a masterpiece masking as an item number. We’re guessing you probably didn’t know that the song is actually a folk song based on Lord Krishna’s eyes. But Kajra Re completely changed the landscape of item numbers by being a foot-tapping, lyrical genius, thanks to Gulzar. It beautifully captures the repartee between a man and woman. Who else could come up with a line like, “Teri baaton main kimam ki khusbu hain, tera aana bhi garmiyon ki lu hain” (Your words have the scent of k__imam, Your arrival is like the summer loo wind).