Famous Indian writer Gulzar, who was on a visit to Pakistan, is upset with rumours that he and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj were asked to leave the country and said they were treated very well and kept with love in Pakistan. Media reports indicated that the Indian High Commission advised the 83-year-old writer to return to India. Gulzar and Bhardwaj went to Lahore on Monday to record a qawwali for an upcoming Bollywood film “Dedh Ishqiya” and the lyricist was also expected to attend the Karachi Literature Festival-but their trip was cut short. “I had gone (to Lahore) with Vishal, he had a recording there. My baba Ahmed Nasim Qasmi was there and he died sometime back. I had not gone there after his death. So, I visited his grave and offered my prayers,” said the 83-year-old in an interview. Gulzar, who was born in Dina town in the Jhelum district, which is now in Pakistan, added, “I visited my birthplace after 70 years.” The two came back on Wednesday via Amritsar. Gulzar says that it was an emotional turmoil that led him to come back to India. “After having gone to baba’s graveyard, I was emotionally stressed and I started feeling uncomfortable. Vishal saw that I was uncomfortable and he said it would not be right for me to continue with the journey. He postponed the recording and brought me back because I was not mentally ready to get hospitalised there,” he said. He says they were treated really well by artists there. “Here you people are proudly saying that we were asked to leave. They kept us with love-they are our friends, artists, poets and musicians. They got our visa done in two days. The Indian High Commission would have told us if there was something like that. If you create such rumours, it is very bad,” Gulzar said.
