Where is Gulzar the script and dialogue writer and director?
The writer in me has not been silent. I recently won the Sahitya Akademi award for my novel. I have written six books on children. Yes, I have not written or made films. But such pauses and gaps have to happen, both as natural events and also as refreshers. What are the criteria for accepting a film as a lyricist? I am very clear about a few things: I have to like the script, which means it should be complete. Then I should be involved as one of the elements of the film, so that I in turn can satisfy the composer as well as the filmmaker, instead of imposing myself on them because I am senior in age! Also when I come in as a writer, lyricist, or lyricist and writer, I cannot forget that cinema is a directors medium, and I have to follow the ethics of the trade and restrict my work to that allotted to me. Today, if Shaad Ali Sehgal or Vishal Bhardwaj want to work with me, it is because they know that this man can work along their lines. Is there a learning process from these youngsters?
