Kanika Dhillon has never looked back ever since her first book Bombay Duck is a Fish released in 2011. Juggling two more books with writing scripts for movies, her star has only headed northwards in the last couple of years. More so, as the writer/script writer has been creating strong and feisty female characters in movies like Kedarnath , Manmarziyaan and Judgemental Hain Kya?
Kanika insists that she did not deliberately set out to create such characters. “Whatever is necessary for my story finds a place in it, it’s not a measured attempt to sketch out a character in any particular way. There is no particular formula with which I write a script. I explore a character in the truest form possible and then create a story around them.” She adds that there is no gender bias in her work; even her male characters are well etched out. “Be it Abhishek Bachchan or Vicky Kaushal in Manmarziyaan , they come across as real and flawed people. They have the same dimension and depth as the other characters. I don’t differentiate between male and female. In the movies which have come out, coincidentally it's the women who are on the front foot, that’s all.” she explains.
For Kanika, the quest is to create characters which are rooted in the real. She states, “To capture a bit of the real on the screen is the mission for any creator. Only when they seem relatable to the audience, will there be an emotional tangent for them to what’s unfolding in front of them. Weakness and strength are both inherent to humans and we shouldn’t shy away from that. Just like in life, we wake up every each day and try to be better than the day before, even my characters are all about progression.”
The acclaim which came Kanika’s way was a happy surprise she admits laughing that when characters are recognized, the creators are happy. “There is a thin line between me being noticed and my characters starting a debate.” she states.
And debate was what her characters started – be it raging discussion about Tapsee Pannu’s role in Manmarziyaan which opened up a dialogue around morality and what women can/cannot do to Sara Ali Khan’s traits of a rebel who falls in love with a Muslim in Kedarnath , her heroines chart an uncharted path. “These roles break prejudices and perceptions. So its great for any writer when the characters spill out from silver screen to real life and start a conversation about real issues. All my characters are able to do it – is it by design, not really, but is it something I’m happy about? absolutely.”
Tapsee Pannu’s Rumi was a hotly debated character but Kanika says that while people loved/hated her conduct, what was heart-warming was the examination of the character it ensued. She recalls, "Whether a woman can think of a lover in a holy place or is she/is she not a feminist were the many questions people raised. As long as there is a discussion, be it positive or negative, I’m fine with it.”
Kanika calls writing ‘a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia’ which allows her ‘to be many people’ and that she revels in it. While movies usually focus on the leads and doesn’t bother with the supporting cast, the author feels it all depends on the requirements of the script. “My supporting characters carry the world on their shoulders. While sometimes it is desirable to keep the focus only on the leads, its wrong if it’s done out of laziness.”
Kanika says that there is a fundamental difference between writing a novel and penning a script. “I constantly try to unlearn and relearn techniques to juggle both these avenues in writing. A novel is luxurious – in which one has the time to describe in detail a scene at hand, while movies are direct mediums where brevity is the key.” she explains.
The writer who has penned the screenplay for movies like Ra One says that it is a very exciting time to be a content creator citing the different audiences each platform attracts and the challenges inherent to each of them. Agreeing that there is a void in strong women characters on screen, she says that it has only been improving ever since Queen released.
So, is there pressure on her to think out of the box each time she starts work a script? “When I’m writing I isolate myself from what’s happening around me. All the genres I’ve written so far are very different, and I’m looking forward to creating more stories and characters.”
Currently in post-production is Guilty, a thriller which stars Kiara Advani and Ashrut Jain. The plot revolves around sexual assault in a college setting.
