Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui has adapted Amrita Pritam’s acclaimed novel Pinjar into a television series, reported The Indian Express. The adaptation, titled Ghughi, will be make its debut on Channel One in Pakistan on January 25. The episodes will be available online for Indian audiences half an hour after it airs in Pakistan.
“Pinjar fitted the bill,” Siddiqui told the publication. “It’s written by one of the celebrated authors of the sub-continent and considered to be a literary classic.”
Siddiqui first came across Pritam’s work when he watched the movie Pinjar directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi. The movie led him to the novel and soon the actor, a popular face on Pakistani television and who recently starred in Ravi Udyawar’s Mom, put together a team to create a television series.
Pritam’s novel is set in 1946, and is about Puro, a Hindu woman who is abducted by a Muslim man named Rasheed. Puro’s life changes completely when India and Pakistan become separate entities in 1947.
“Ghughi will make people on both sides of the man-made border gravitate to their roots,” Siddiqui added. “It is not just about the horror of partition, two nations and religions. Primarily, the series talks about human beings and their emotions, which suffered at the hands of a few decision-makers.”
Screenwrite Amna Mufti has adapted the story for the series. The central character of the novel, Puro’s name has been changed to Nirmala and will be played by Amar Khan. Siddiqui plays Rasheed.