Big screen no more inspires Gulzar

Big screen no more inspires Gulzar
21st Feb 2006 12.45 IST
By Agencies

Big screen no more inspires writer-director Gulzar who has given mega hits like 'Parichay', 'Aandhi' and 'Maachis'.

"Rather than the two hour format, I now like telling my stories in 12 hour format," he says referring to television in an informal chat with PTI at the Neemrana Fort-Palace heritage resort in Rajasthan o Monday on the sidelines of the "Asia Africa Literary Conference" where he was one of the participants.

40 writers from around 20 countries from both the continents discussed issues of legacy and identity in the post-colonial period in a two-day conclave, which was organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

While his TV Series on Munshi Premchand "Tehreer..Munshi Premchand Ki" is having a re-run, he is working on his next TV series based on the works of Rabindranath Tagore.

Gulzar's last big screen direction was "Hu Tu Tu" in 1999 which starred Nana Patekar , Sunil Shetty and Tabu but failed to wow the audiences.

"These days I am doing things at a leisurely pace. I am doing lyrics for films, I have scripted a musical drama "Pinnocchio" involving thousands of children," he said.

However, more than anything else, he wants to be known as an "Urdu writer."

He doesn't buy the argument that "Urdu" as a language is on the decline in India. "80 per cent of the Hindi we speak is Urdu, almost 70 per cent of the language you hear in Hindi movies is Urdu, so where is the decline?" he asks.