Gulzar, arguably one of India’s most influential poets hardly needs any more awards to prove his genius. Nevertheless, he has been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the opening ceremony of the 11 th Osian’s Cinefan festival at Siri Fort auditorium for his contribution to Indian cinema. “Even if you get another award you don’t really stop working, do you?” quips the 73-year-old artiste. For the lyricist-writer-director sees awards as a ‘symbol of reassurance’. “This kind of reassurance is an important measurement for an artiste. It jerks you out of slumber,” he adds. Last year, Mrinal Sen received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Osian’s. But despite his experience in films Gulzar saab refrains from talking about his work. “Too much has already been written about my previous work. I don’t want to get into that area,” he says, busy working for his new project Raavan.

Gulzar saab will hold his Life Time Achievement Awardee’s Masterclass on the History of the Hindi Film Lyrics at 11am Sunday, October 25 at Siri Fort. Entry is free.