Films and philosophy of Gulzar: a critical study

Abstract

The thesis entitled Films and Philosophy of Gulzar: A Critical Study argues for Gulzar s status as an auteur of his films by analysing his films visually and thematically. The thesis explores the philosophy of Gulzar by employing auteur theory of film criticism. Auteur is the director who shows the consistency of style, theme and reflects his philosophy and worldview in his films. The study is the critical appreciation of Gulzar s films. Gulzar, a renowned film director, is an appropriate choice for an auteur study because he has worked in different genres including comedy, drama, romance, crime, biopic (biographical picture) and has a body of work- seventeen films. Gulzar has written the screenplays, lyrics and dialgoues of all of his films. Gulzar, in his career as a director, writer, and lyricist has created a body of work, cemented by recurring themes and consistent individual style of filmmaking. Gulzar is an auteur due to his individual style of filmmaking and identifiable themes of his films. Gulzar reflects his philosophy of relationships, family, love, death, humanity etc. in his films. Mere Apne, Gulzar s first film as writer-director suggests that death is not an end; it is the beginning of a new journey. Death is also a birth of something beautiful. Mere Apne provides a good example of this philosophy of Gulzar. In addition, repentance, peace, wait, violence, etc. are some of the themes that Gulzar explores in his films consistently. The thesis focuses on all of Gulzar s sixteen films, except Libaas, which so far has not been released. Gulzar, beyond doubt, is an auteur of his films. Quality of stories and simplicity of style are two main characteristics that are consistently found in his films. Some of the thematic motifs in Gulzar s films include human relationships, love, anger, sacrifice, long wait etc. Some of the recurring motifs in his films are door, white kurta pyjama, similar dialgoues, use of Punjabi word, use of same cast, crew, flying bird etc.