Famous poet, songwriter, author and film director Gulzar will be honored with the 27th Indira Gandhi National Integration Award. Before Gulzar, some of the other film personalities who received the award include director Shyam Benegal, lyricist Javed Akhtar, music composer AR Rahman and writer Mahashweta Devi. The honour consists of a citation and cash of Rs 5 lakh. Former Presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Shankar Dayal Sharma, Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, the former head of Ramkrishna Math and Mission Swami Ranganathananda, musician M S Subulakshmi, Aruna Asaf Ali, P N Haksar, Acharya Shree Tulsi Ji, Bishambar Nath Paride and Natwar Thakkar are among the other awardees.
Sampooran Singh Kalra
He known popularly by his pen name Gulzar, is an Indian poet, lyricist and director. He primarily writes in Hindi-Urdu and has also written in Punjabi and several dialects of Hindi such as Braj Bhasha, Khariboli, Haryanvi and Marwari.
Gulzar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2004 for his contribution to the arts and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2002. He has won a number of National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards. In 2009, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). On 31 January 2010, the same song won him a Grammy Award in the category of Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
