/> The poet-extraordinaire has returned to theatre with a play called Agar Aur Magar. Says Gulzar Saab, "This is an adaptation of Brecht's The One Who Said Yes And the One Who Said No. The original play was in the form of a musical chorus.

I've written the whole play in poetry. With Kuldeep Singh doing the music, the whole experience with the children enacting the parts becomes very beautifully watchable.

It's for both the kids and their parents. Earlier I adapted Pinnochio for the stage with Zakir Husain's music. It was choreographed by Baswati who's Pandit Birju Maharaj's daughter-in-law.

We held the play in an open-air Indira Gandhi stadium in Delhi. It had two hundred children dancing Kathak. Now we're trying to reduce the size of the set so we can stage Pinnochio in a closed theatre."

Says Gulzar, "I haven't done that much work in theatre. But I do like to be associated with theatre. I'm like the root of the peepal tree. I'd like to be present in every masala. Theatre is a vibrant art form and you get your response immediately.

It's not dependent on the boxoffice. It isn't as if I've come to theatre suddenly. My play Kharashein has done about fifty shows for three years. We've also had performance of the play in New York.

Also, the story on which my unreleased film Libaas is based has also been done in theatre with the title Kachche Lamhe Ka Naam Se. My assistant Salim Arif has directed it. Salim was my assistant in films. Now I'm his assistant in theatre. "

Gulzar Saab feels the film scene has become complacent. "Directors and actors have reached a kind of saturation in cinema. Good artistes like Shabana, Naseer, Om, Preash, Sachin, Anupam and Kirron Kher are turning to theatre to re-vitalize themselves."

The versatile creator says he's still learning about the medium of the theatre. "I feel like a student of the medium. I'm excited about my latest play Agar Aur Magar. It's being produced by IPTA.

We are staging it at Prithvi Theatres with kids in the lead. I go to the rehearsals regularly. For Agar Aur Magar I've also sat with the artistes for the reading."