1. Gulzar’s first songwriting gig was in the 1963 film Bandini , where music director SD Burman convinced him to write the song ‘ Mora Gora Ang Lai Lei .’ Who was the director of the film?

2. In 1971, Gulzar wrote the story for which Hrishikesh Mukherjee film, the first real hit of Jaya Bhaduri in Hindi films?

3. In the early years of Doordarshan, Gulzar directed a few television serials. Which one was aired in 1988, featuring Naseeruddin Shah in the lead role and based on a 19th-century poet and man of letters?

4. In 1975, Gulzar directed the political drama Aandhi starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Though widely believed to be based on the life of Indira Gandhi, the film was based on the novel Kaali Aandhi . Who was the writer, who went on to work on more than 75 Hindi films?

5. For which 1987 film that he directed did Gulzar write the song ‘Mera Kuch Samaan’, one of his biggest hits as a lyricist?

6. The Indian dub of the Japanese Anime series Jungle Book Shonen Mowgli which was shown on Doordarshan featured the lyrics of Gulzar for the title song and was a huge hit. Who was the music composer on the series, that started off an enduring partnership?

7. Gulzar won his first National Award in 1972 for his screenplay on a pair of differently-abled people, which starred Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri. For which film did he win the award?

8. Gulzar’s first award as a lyricist was for a song in the 1977 film Gharaonda starring Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab. Who was the music director ?

9. Gulzar’s daughter, Meghna, directed a film based on Harinder Sikka’s novel, Calling Sehmat . Under what name was the film released?

10. Easy one to end with. For which song did he share a Grammy Award in 2010?

Answers

1. Bimal Roy, the lyrics for rest of the songs were written by Shailendra

2.Guddi , which also featured Dharmendra and Utpal Dutt

3. Mirza Ghalib. He later directed a series on the novels of Premchand

4. Kamleshwar, who said he had based the novel on the charismatic Odisha politician, Nandini Sathpathy

5.Ijaazat . Asha Bhosle won a National Award for her rendition of the song

6. Vishal Bhardwaj

7.Koshish . The film was later remade in Tamil as Uyarndhavargal in 1977 starring Kamal Haasan and Sujatha

8. Jaidev. The story and screenplay were written by Gulzar as well

9.Raazi , starring Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal , one of the biggest hits of 2018

10. ‘Jai Ho’, from the film Slumdog Millionaire . He shared the award with AR Rahman and Tanvi Shah

Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup; Follow Joy on Twitter@joybhattacharj

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