THEY SPEAK MY LINES: WRITER VRAJENDRA GAUR REMEMBERED

 THEY SPEAK MY LINES: VRAJENDRA GAUR REMEMBERED.

WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR and  RAJEEV V. GAUR

Ace writer VRAJENDRA GAUR's death anniversary will be observed on 7th August.                             
                                              

                                              
Many found it difficult to pronounce his name phonetically correct in the film world so they chose to call him the ‘khaki sherwaniwala writer’. It too quite some time for Vrajendra Gaur, to shed the khaki sherwani and assume the casual wear of shirt and trousers that is so much a way of life in the film industry.

                                                  

 Leaving All India Radio Lucknow which gave him ample scope to exercise his literary flair, Gaur came to Bombay to write dialogues for ‘Sawan’ which starred valuable names like Motilal and Shanta Apte and plunged himself in the throes of creativity. Sawan was followed by the Bharat Bhushan starree ‘Aankhen’ [1949] and the Ashok Kumar starrer “Sangram’. Both the films were hits and Gaur became feverishly busy writing for more and more films.
                                                  

 Since films cater to myriad minds Vrajendra Gaur felt that the screenplay should be fully discussed before it was finalised, but was disappointed that it was never done. Gaur was probably the only writer with such a rich literary background. Many others came but they left no sooner then they arrived because they could not adapt to the technique of film writing. Gaur often used to comment wryly "€œA dialogue writer could be likened to Draupadi with her five husbands. A writer faces a worse situation – he has the producer, director, story writer hero and the heroine to please Sometimes even the financer and distributor"
                                                    
                                                      

     
                                                  
His dialogue stemmed from strong characterization. He often said the reason for herding so many people in a film is to lend colour. And the dialogue writer helps to achieve this by making them speak their language. A male character who has got around in the world will have a more cosmopolitian choice of words than a housewife, who would stick to simple Hindi phrases. Servants would have their own lingo.
                                                   
                                                 

                                                     
In the 35 years Vrajendra Gaur was a part of the film industry, he wrote many superior films like Bimal Roy’s Parineeta, Sangram, China Town, Manzil, Teen Deviyaan, Howrah Bridge, Saraswatichandra, Sharmilee, Lal Paththar, Kati Patang, Anuraag, Geet gaata Chal, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokon Se, The Great Gambler, Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya man Bhaye, etc. For the last mentioned film he won the Filmfare awards for best screenplay and  dialogue.                                 
                                                

Gaur had also directed a lone film called "€œKasturi"€ in which film maker Shakti Samanta was his assistant. Despite Kasturi doing well Gaur did not direct a film again and returned to his first love writing. He passed on the subsequent offers of direction to Shakti. Shakti often said that he owed his career as a film maker to Vrajendra Gaur. No wonder then that Gaur wrote most of Shakti'€™s films.                                         

VRAJENDRA GAUR AND GURU DUTT

 

                         From the vast majority of stars Vrajendra Gaur, developed a deeper friendship and professional alliance with Dev Anand, who he met on the steps of Bombay talkies studio in Malad. . A long conversation about mutual interests, on those steps, became grounds for a professional and personal alliance that saw Gaur work on an enviable part of Dev Anand’s repertoire. He wrote Dev Anand’s ‘Jaali Note’, ‘Manzil’, ‘Baarish’, ‘Sarhad’, ‘Teen Deviyaan’, ‘Baat Ek Raat Ki’, ‘Mahal’, ‘Duniya’, ‘Pyar Mohabbat’, ‘’Warrant’, etc. He also wrote the lyrics of the Dev Anand starrer ‘Zalzala’.

    

Dev Anand had once said ” There are many writers but Gaur was a rare talent who was exceptionally good at comedy, emotional and crime subjects. He understood the sensitivity of the subject and wrote accordingly, using words that uplifted the scene and the film. He wrote many of my films. Sadly he died young”.
                                                  

           WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR and  RAJEEV V. GAUR