Ismail Merchant’s feature directorial debut addresses a subject close to his heart: the expressive Urdu language of Northern India, in danger of extinction as political trends and modernization obscure its contributions to Indian culture. Merchant ‘s treatment is wry and good humored , as his characters – an aging Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) and a worshipful young college lecturer – clash despite their shared passion for the beauty of words. Anita Desai adapted her novel with Shahrukh Husain, incorporating poems by Urdu author Faiz Ahmed Faiz.