“Jab Gulzaar sahab kisi film ke liye koi script likhte hai to woh literature nahi hoti aur wahi script agar koi publishing house panno pe chaap deti hai to woh literature ho jaati hai.” The example quoted by Javed Akhtar at the seminar - Cinema and Literature: Questions of Adaptation made a packed audience at FTII’s main theatre knit its brows in concentration to be able to recognise the fine line between literature and its cinematic version.

The top echelons in screenwriting were in the city to inaugurate the two-day seminar on cinema and literature organised by FTII. Javed Akhtar, Gulzar and Sahitya Acadmey award winner, Dr UR Anathmurthy succesfully bridged the gap between literature and cinema for the aspiring filmmakers at FTII.

“Once two goats found a film reel. They ate it. There was silence for some time and then one said I think the book we chewed some time back was better.” When the discussion kick started on this note the audience knew what lay ahead. So when Akhtar tackled sensitive subjects with his usual patches of jest the audience begged for more. But the veteran script writer also pointed out the usual flaws while adapting a literary piece into a cinematic one. According to Akhtar regional cinema has always succeeded in doing justice to literary pieces. “You cannot create something in a cultural void. When it comes to adaptation, Hindi cinema could not get to the deep-rooted sensibilities, while it is very successful with regional films. Many young directors, including Farhaan, have told me many times that they cannot make a film on something they don’t understand and they haven’t lived in. As far as literature is concerned I expect directors to first understand it, relate to it and then get into adapting it.”

While Akhtar stressed on understanding literature before giving birth to its cinematic counterpart, Gulzar put forward the ways in which the script has evolved. “In Godaan, the novel, one of the characters becomes communist and joins a trade union but in its cinematic version there is another track, a comedy character which is played by Mahmood. But that inclusion is done so well it does not appear jarring at all. It merges with the script. So I want to say when you adapt something usse chedo nahi aur cheddo to samjhne aur jeene ke baad. Like in Anuraag Kashyap’s Dev D, the characters are genuine. because the charecters belong to this age.”