It would not be an exaggeration to state that there is a Gulzar song for every mood. On his 87th birthday, here's a look at the five best songs that have come out of the legendary poet and lyricist's diary.
HUMNE DEKHI HAI INN AANKHON KI MEHEKTI KHUSHBOO (Khamoshi): Pyaar ko pyaar hi rehne do koi naam na do... While many of Gulzar Saab’s lyrics suffer from over-esotericism, this one is poetic and yet practical in its thought process. It stands out on every level including Lataji’s singing. Sadly, the song’s impact was substantially diminished in the film by being picturised on an unknown starlet while the beautiful Waheeda Rehman just stared. Imagine if the same had been done to 'Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai!'
MUSAFIR HOON YAARON NA GHAR HAI NA THHIKAANA (Parichay): Gulzar Saab’s closest friend in the entertainment industry was composer Rahul Dev Burman. One night way past midnight Pancham showed up at Boskiana, Gulzar Saab’s bungalow, excited as hell. He dragged Gulzar Saab into a car for a drive and played the tune he had composed for Musafir hoon yaaron. Burman always complained how difficult it was to give music to Gulzar Saab’s lyrics. “Next you w'll bring me the newspaper headline and tell me to tune it,” RD scoffed. Not this one. Not this time. Musafir, a song about the journey of life, makes complete sense even today.
TERE BINA ZINDAGI SE KOI SHIKWA TOH NAHIN (Aandhi): I have to admit this is not one of my favourite Gulzar–RD songs except when Lataji lifts the lyrics to a luminously layered level. When she sings 'Jee main aata hai teri daaman mein sarr chupa ke hum rote rahein', time stops still. I rate this among Gulzar’s best for these lines alone. Interestingly, RD had first composed this number as a Bengali song for Durga Puja.
KOI HOTA JISKO APNA HUM APNA KEH LETEY YAARON (Mere Apne): Gulzar Saab’s contribution to the Lonely Hearts Club - composer Salil Choudhary gets optimum vocal pain out of Kishore Kumar, making this one of the singer’s most heartbreaking numbers. Kishore Da, who had also sung the Bengali version of the same song, confessed to someone very close to him that this was the song of his life.
MERA KUCHH SAAMAAN TUMHAARE PAAS PADA HAI (Ijaazat): No rhyming metre, just random thoughts about a broken relationship put together like shards of glass on the floor piercing the soul. This is Gulzar Saab at his rawest. Apparently he wrote this number as a hark back to his own broken marriage. The wounds that never heal are the hurt that we need to preserve in our hearts hoping they never would heal.
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