[2][3] The book contains the dialogues of Pyaasa (1957)—in Hindi and Urdu—and its English-language translation, as well as lyrics for the soundtrack and a commentary by Kabir on the film.

[4] Kabir told Sangeetha Devi Dundoo from The Hindu, "The film is immortal and its theme is universal, depicting unrequited love, greed, angst and rejection.

[5] The Dialogue of Pyaasa was published by Om Books International on 2 February 2011 at an event held in Mumbai.

The English version loses all its charm in translation, but it serves the useful purpose of letting non-Hindi speakers access the dialogue easily.

"[8] The Hindustan Times's Ishan Chaudhuri summarised that Kabir "brings us face-to-face with the non-visual ingredients: the words—helpfully translated to English and with a parallel 'original' in Hindi and Urdu scripts",[9] and the entertainment portal Bollywood Hungama described the book "a collector's delight".