Jiya Jale

Gulzar is one of South Asia's finest poets and lyricists, a legend of Hindi cinema whose songs have touched millions. Over half a century on, he is still as popular, and still as sensitive a chronicler of our emotions, as he ever was. Jiya Jale is a book of conversations between Gulzar and Nasreen Munni Kabir, the author and documentary filmmaker, in which he talks about how his best-loved songs came to be.

The songs discussed range from 'Mora gora ang lai le' (Bandini, 1963) and 'Dil dhoondta hai' (Mausam, 1975) to 'Jiya jale' (Dil Se, 1998) and 'Dil toh bachcha hai ji' (Ishqiya, 2010). Gulzar also talks about the work of other greats such as Shailendra and Sahir Ludhianvi, and about favourite music directors including SD Burman, RD Burman, Hemant Kumar and AR Rahman. He speaks of playback singers too, among them Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Vani Jairam, Jagjit Singh and Bhupinder Singh.

The book is full of insight, anecdote and analysis, and it includes more than 40 songs in roman script with English translations. It will appeal to students and lovers of Hindi cinema, music and poetry.