Gulzar upset with rumours about Pak trip

Mumbai: Writer Gulzar, who was on a visit to Pakistan, is very upset with rumours that he and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj were asked to leave the country. Media reports indicated that the Indian High Commission advised the 83-year-old writer to return to India.

Gulzar and Bhardwaj went to Lahore, Pakistan, Monday to record a qawwali for 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 here Wednesday 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 Wednesday via Amritsar. Gulzar says that it was an emotional turmoil that led him to come back to India.