Shankar Mahadevan congratulates ‘dearest and greatest’ Gulzar for Jnanpith Award, shares their pic

Musician Shankar Mahadevan congratulated lyricist and poet Gulzar for winning the Jnanpith Award. On Monday, Shankar shared a candid picture of himself with Gulzar on Instagram.

In the photo, the duo sat next to each other, sharing a conversation and smiling. While Shankar was seen in a traditional black outfit, Gulzar opted for a white kurta-pyjama.

He wrote, “Heartiest congratulations to my dearest and the greatest @gulzar_poetry for being awarded the prestigious Gyanpeeth award! I feel so blessed to be able to spend such beautiful creative moments with you !! Love you sir !! @meghnagulzar.”

According to the selection committee, the 58th Jnanpith Award for the year 2023 has been awarded to Swami Rambhadracharya for Sanskrit and Shri Gulzar for Urdu.

Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known as Gulzar, has penned several memorable and iconic songs in Hindi cinema. He started his career as a lyricist with the film Kabuliwala, starring Balraj Sahni. He has penned songs and scripts in numerous films and also directed several acclaimed feature films, including Maachis, Aandhi, Mausam, Khushboo, Parichay and Koshish.

He has earlier received the Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu in 2002, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013, the Padma Bhushan in 2004, and at least five National Film awards for his works.

The Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961 by Bharatiya Jnanpith. Along with the Sahitya Akademi Awards, it is the foremost prize for Indian literature.