Acclaimed playwright and academic Asghar Nadeem Syed was in the news lately, regarding handing over the intellectual copyrights of Pyaas, one of his best-loved drama serials, to Hindi film writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar.
Apparently, Akhtar was so impressed with the Pakistani TV show that he wanted to adapt it for Bollywood. The two even spoke to each other and made an informal deal. This was in May 2016. Post-Uri, the tense relations between the neighbouring India and Pakistan put an unagreeable stop to any cultural exchange or talent crossover, leaving the fate of this interesting collaboration in limbo.
The situation is more or less the same even today. As Syed tells Gulf News tabloid!, “Such creative activities can take place only in an atmosphere of positivity. I don’t know what’s going on at their end; they might be at it [the adaptation], but I don’t have the chance to give my inputs. Not for now at least.”
