Living legends pay tribute to Shailendra, Rahi Masoom Raza and KA Abbas

The third and final day of the 5th Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC) concluded on a beautiful note as three living legends Gulzar, writers Javed Siddiqui (‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, ‘Zubiedaa’) and Kamlesh Pandey (‘Tezaab’, ‘Rang De Basanti’) paid heartfelt tributes to three late legends - lyricist Shailendra (‘Guide’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’), writer Dr Rahi Masoom Raza (‘Mahabharat’) and writer-filmmaker K A Abbas (‘Saat Hindustani’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’).
The Screenwriters Association (SWA) posthumously awarded the late Shailendra, Dr Rahi Masoom Raza and KA Abbas for their stellar contribution to Indian cinema and television. These legends were conferred with awards for Lyrics Writing, Writing for TV and Writing for Films, respectively.

The atmosphere on the final day of the 5th Indian Screenwriters Conference was emotionally charged as the family members of literary legends came to accept the awards and thanked the SWA members who also included the peers of these late legends.
Actor and great granddaughter of KA Abbas - Neelima Azmi broke into tears as she came on stage to accept the posthumous award on behalf of the late legendary filmmaker. Nadeem Khan – cinematographer and son of Dr Rahi Masoom Raza and Parvati Khan – singer and daughter in law of Dr Rahi Masoom Raza also got emotional while accepting the award on behalf of the late writer.
Actor Randhir Kapoor presented the award to Neelima Azim, while Kamlesh Pandey presented the award to Nadeem and Parvati Khan.
Lyricist Shailendra’s sons Manoj Shailendra, Dinesh Shailendra and daughter Amla Shailendra flew to Mumbai specially to accept the award bestowed to their father. And while accepting the award from Gulzar, they said that they were touched by this wonderful gesture of the SWA.
Talking about his association with the late Shailendra, the legendary Gulzar said, “It was thanks to Shailendra that I came into the film industry. He egged me constantly to write and that’s how I ended up penning my first song – ‘Mora Gora Ang Layle’ for Bimal Roy’s ‘Bandini’. He was my friend, philosopher, guide and I learnt a lot from him.”
Talking about Shailendra’s writing prowess, Gulzar added, “He wrote from his heart and his writings were an ode to the common man. It clearly reflected from his songs.”
Actor Randhir Kapoor who fondly remembered the famous collaboration of his father and filmmaker Raj Kapoor and lyricist Shailendra said, “Shailendra ji’s contribution to Mr. Raj Kapoor’s films is invaluable. These films are still known today thanks to Shailendra ji. I would like to thank his family members and acknowledge Shailendra ji’s contribution towards my father’s films. I am really grateful to it as we are still reaping the benefits of his work.”
While talking about the late K.A Abbas, Writer and SWA ex-general secretary Kamlesh Pandey said, “KA Abbas played an important role in bringing sense and sensibility to Hindi cinema. He also helped to give the business of cinema the much-needed respect which till then was looked down upon by the society. His films are also ingrained in my DNA and have influenced my work. Most importantly he also played a pivotal role in helping writers get their much-needed respect.”
Writer Javed Siddiqui while paying a tribute to the late Dr Rahi Masoom Raza said, “Rahi saab was a multifaceted personality and the writing he did for television only provided a glimpse of it. He was also a great poet and never lost his values and integrity even while working in a completely commercialized Hindi film industry.”
The award ceremony was followed by the closing ceremony of the 5th Indian Screenwriters Conference.