Abbas Tyrewala, who jointly wrote the screenplay for 'Maqbool' with Vishal Bhardwaj, said the director didn't take any money and "gave it all" to him. "The closest I've come to being decently paid was when poor Vishal Bhardwaj said, 'I can't give you so little money', because that was the budget...Those weren't the days when writers were well-paid," recalled Abbas.