Cinema now a form of literature: Gulzar

Shimla, June 16

Giving a thumbs-up to cinema vis-a-vis literature, noted poet, lyricist and author Gulzar has said cinema has become a form of literature and is headed into new horizons.

“Cinema is spreading faster, saying things faster, and saying it with more intensity. That’s where cinema is catching up with its own individuality and you can call it literature, a new form of literature or simply cinema. I am not saying it has become bigger than literature, but it certainly can’t be undermined,” said Gulzar during a session on ‘Literature and Cinema’ on the inaugural day of the International Literature Festival here today.

Can’t undermine cinema: Writer

Cinema is spreading faster, saying things faster, and saying it with more intensity. You can call it literature, a new form of literature or simply cinema. I am not saying it has become bigger than literature, but it certainly can’t be undermined. — Gulzar, noted lyricist, writer

The event was inaugurated by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Culture Arjun Ram Meghwal this morning. As many as 425 writers, poets, translators, critics and scholars from 15 countries are participating in the three-day event.

Chairing the session, which was attended by noted filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Gautam Ghose and film writer and actor Atul Tiwari, Gulzar said screenplay had become a form of literature and was being published.

“From the time when cinema was largely dependent on literature for stories, it has come a long way. Cinema is telling its own stories from current and relevant times. That’s what literature had been doing and cinema is learning to do of its own,” he said.

The other panelists also dwelt on the journey of cinema and how it had begun to find its feet vis-a-vis literature. Tiwari said the film writing was not considered literature not too long back and “ilmi writers and filmi writers were considered different”.

“On most literary platforms, film writers would get just a token space, but here in this festival, we have three sessions on cinema. That shows the change,” said Tiwari. Going a step further, Bhardwaj said his relationship with literature started only when he got into film-making. “For me, cinema is an amalgamation of all fine arts, and it goes beyond literature,” said Bhardwaj.