Most of his films have shades of "Laila Majnu", says director Imtiaz Ail who believes the age-old folktale of star-crossed lovers is as immortal as the writings of Shakespeare. The story had always been familiar but Imtiaz said he found details he didn't know while reading it in an anthology of love stories, propelling him to write some scenes that eventually became a full-fledged film.

"While reading it, I had this feeling that the characters were similar. It is something that you often get with Shakespeare. You feel he is talking about your emotions. I wrote some of the scenes and subconsciously placed those scenes in Kashmir," he said during a visit to the PTI office this week.