The famous director and writer and lyricist born in Deena, Jhelum district (now in Pakistan) began his career as a poet for the PWA. In 1963, he wrote the lyrics for Bimal Roy`s film Bandini, and went on to write scripts and lyrics for Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Asit Sen, Buddhadev Dasgupta, and Kumar Shahani. Gulzar directed his first film Mere Apne in 1968, and later produced and directed the films Khushboo (1975), Kitaab (1977) and Kinara (1977), Meera (1979), and Namkeen (1982). Other films that bear Gulzar`s trademark scripts and dialogues are Ashirwad (1968), Khamoshi (1969) on the unrequited love of a nurse at a mental hospital, Safar (1970) on the courage of a man dying of cancer, Gharonda (1977), Khatta Meetha (1977), Angoor (1981), Masoom (1982), Ijaazat (1987), and Lekin (1990). He also wrote for the television serial Mirza Ghalib (1988). His lyrics for the award-winning film Rudaali (1993) are as popular as those for Maachis (1994) - on the insurgency problem of Punjab. Hu Tu Tu (1998), on the making of a politician, is his last film, and equal to the others - superb in direction, dialogue, and performance. All of Gulzar`s films testify to the powerful, deft handling of this master of his art.