Gulzar’s Mirza Ghalib – Revisited

The ongoing curfew in Hyderabad gave me enough time to sit back and watch all Mirza Galib’s episodes. I watched a couple of these episodes when they were aired on television but then my preoccupation never gave me enough chance to completely watch the series, while reflecting on it. I bought the DVD’s from the local store last week in the hope that I will make some time in between. But as a coincidence, the curfew gave me enough time to understand it episode by episode.

Dabeer-ul-Mulk, Najm-ud-daulah Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan Ghalib was a profound Persian and Urdu poet that walked Indian subcontinent during the sunrise of the British Raj and the sunset of the Mughal Empire in India. My writing on Mirza Ghalib will never surpass the details available at Wikipedia and thus I rest this reflection purely on my observation of the series.

Gulzar’s Mirza Ghalib is a very well researched, documented and presented series with best of cast and direction. As per the name, the series revolves around the main character Mirza Ghalib. His comparison and discussions with his contemporaries and in particular Zauq provides a basis to display his knowledge and sharp sense of observation. Naseeruddin Shah’s enactment of Mirza Ghalib is beyond comparison.

The story telling capacities of Gulzar was best depicted in this series. The positioning of facts in an interesting way helps viewer maintain the interest, towards the series, until the very end. A new experiment of ending every episode with a song was channelized. This was a mean that provided more of Mirza Ghalib’s poetry to the viewers. A must watch for people from literature and poetry background.

I thanks Gulzar for his tribute to this legendary poet, which stands beyond expression.

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