Gulzar to be conferred with Jnanpith Award

Renowned Urdu poet, lyricist and director Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been named the recipients of the 58th Jnanpith Award, the Jnanpith selection committee announced on Saturday.

In a statement, the Jnanpith selection committee said, “It has been decided to give the award (for 2023) to eminent writers from two languages: Sanskrit litterateur Jagadguru Rambhadracharya and well-known Urdu litterateur Shri Gulzar.”

Goan writer Damodar Mauzo had received the prestigious award for 2022. 

The press release from the official selection committee recognized Gulzar for the award, and said, “Along with his long film journey, Gulzar has been setting new milestones in the field of literature. In poetry, he invented a new genre ‘Triveni’ which is a non-muqaffa poem of three lines. Gulzar has always created something new through his poetry. For some time now he has also been paying serious attention to children's poetry.”

Gulzar is considered one of the finest Urdu poets of his era. He has written poems and lyrics for countless films in a career spanning over six decades. He has earlier received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan, Sahitya Akademi Award, an Oscar, a Grammy trophy and multiple National Film Awards. Gulzar has also directed cinematic gems such as Mere Apne (1971), Parichay (1972), Aandhi (1975) and Mausam (1975) to name a few.

Gulzar's daughter, Meghna Gulzar is also a writer and director. Her last release was Sam Bahadur with Vicky Kaushal. Gulzar had penned the lyrics for the film.