New Delhi:
Oscar winner Gulzar, by now, perhaps has lost count of the number of awards and honours he has been conferred upon. But this one sure is special.
The noted lyricist and filmmaker has been named as the recipient of the Indira Gandhi International Peace Prize for this year. A release issued by the Congress party said that the 27th recipient of the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration goes to Gulzar, the noted poet, lyricist and film-maker "for his yeoman work in promoting and preserving the spirit of National Integration."
Those who have followed Gulzar and his work, the award is perhaps a reiteration of his creative genius. Gulzar and his work were not acceptable to most in the mid '70s, especially after he had directed the popular Hindi film
Aandhi, starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen.
The film was believed to be loosely based on the life of Indira Gandhi as the storyline was about an ambitious woman politician who was willing to sacrifice her family life for a career in politics. The woman politician in the film was portrayed as the daughter of the tallest politician in the country.
Many believed the story bore close resemblance to a Indira-Nehru type relationship. In fact, the film became so controversial that during Emergency, the film was banned from public screening. It took a friendly Janata Party government in 1977 to finally release the film, that too first on national television.
The story bore such a close resemblance to Indira Gandhi's life that Vaijayanthimala, the original choice to play the female lead, refused to act in the film. She was subsequently replaced by Suchitra Sen, for whom the film is still one of her biggest popular Hindi film hits.
But all this is history, as the Congress, in recognition of the creative genius of Gulzar, is all set to honour him with the Indira Gandhi award on national integration.