Veteran lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar, who has been chosen for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, feels fulfilled and blessed to be named as the recipient of the highest cinematic honour of the country.
Gulzar, best known for penning memorable hits like 'Tujhse Naaraaz Nahi' and 'Tere Bina Zindagi Se' besides directing critically acclaimed films like 'Aandhi' and 'Mausam', was on Saturday named as the 45th Phalke awardee.
"What do I say... I am happy and honored. It is national honour. It is a feeling of fulfillment of not one song, screenplay, but the total work one does. I feel blessed to get this honour," Gulzar told PTI.
"I am thankful to everyone for their love and support. I am thankful to the jury members. It is way of respect which says your work is loved and you are on the right path," he said.
The 79-year-old filmmaker directed films like 'Mere Apne', 'Koshish', 'Khushboo', 'Angoor', 'Libaas' and 'Maachis'. "I love working with the current generation they are very talented. They plan and do things, this generation takes you forward along with them. I love the kind of work Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra does, Vishal Bharadwaj, Shaad Ali, son of Muztafar Ali and Meghna. This generation is truly inspiring. I am glad to work with them," Gulzar said.
Before getting into film industry, Gulzar began work as a garage mechanic while writing poetry in his spare time. He started his career in 1956 and as a lyricist got his first break in Bimal Roy's 'Bandini' in which the song 'Mora Gora Ang Lai Le..' filmed on Nutan became an instant hit. Gulzar then went on to develop creative partnerships with Rahul Dev Burman, A R Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj.
"Vishal is very talented... he is like family. I am also working with A R Rahman and he is a very talented man," Gulzar said. "The last film I saw was 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and I loved it a lot. It is an inspiring film. Everyone did a brilliant job right from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra to Farhan Akhtar and others. It was a superb film," Gulzar said.
Apart from the award that came his way on Saturday, he has won a number of National and Filmfare Awards. Abroad, he won the Academy Award for best original song for 'Jai Ho' with A R Rahman for the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' in 2009.
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