It’s slowly but still reluctantly being accepted that technical wizardry cannot cover-up for tardy content. Most directors are selfish and hate the thought of sharing credit with writers, however good they are. Things are changing though. Writers are no longer the faceless forces in films and women are indeed giving it a fresh perspective. You have to mention that the gender bias is not lopsided when the writer is female. ‘Vicky Donor’ and ‘Piku’ can genuinely be termed different in content and characterisation and the writer Juhi Chaturvedi has been rightfully honoured for the latter. She’s busy receiving and returning congratulatory calls but makes time for a chat.
Excerpts:
Is this the icing on the cake?
Of course. It was totally unexpected because when you’re writing you don’t think that far and this far, certainly not.
Did you even know that such a category existed?
I know that such a category exists but we just assume that it’s reserved for Bengali or Malayalam films. To be honest, I don’t know how many Bollywood mainstream films have won awards for writing.
Strangely, we in the South believe everything is reserved for Bollywood.
Really ( laughs )? That’s a little unfair to say.
You have written two subjects that generally make us squeamish but managed to not make us squirm in our seats.
I’ll tell you what. I’ve been in advertising for 17 years. There would be obnoxious demands to convey ideas in 30 seconds and when we dithered, the client would say that’s the challenge. I do enjoy the high of picking up a subject and sanitising it enough for you not to squirm. Constipation could just turn into potty humour but for the sufferer, it’s no joke. It’s not ugly, just age related.
But without the streak of humour it would have been paying to watch someone suffer.
Ya, you’re right. Shades of humour make it easier to convey and comfortable for the viewer.
Is the genesis of a plot more difficult or the development?
Developing it I feel is sometimes more difficult because you might have a ‘eureka’ moment but you have to sustain it for two hours. I do bounce the idea with the director and decide if it’ll work. The challenge is developing an idea for six months without me getting bored.
The screenplay is a different ball-game. It’s like writing lyrics in the sense that there’s a meter to it.
Right. I don’t follow the rules of writing a screenplay. I don’t have enough experience and haven’t read a lot of works by others. I’ve just found my way. Story telling must not get boring. I write as if it’s happening in front of you. Firstly, it should not bore me. I don’t want to be constrained by any meter as you mentioned. I just write what comes to mind and so far it’s worked.
Most directors don’t like to share credit with writers and most writers are frustrated directors. Do you agree?
About the first point, I don’t know how much of it is true now. Salim-Javed commanded a place. You have to reach that stage where nobody can take it away from you. When the film is being promoted, the writer is not being spoken about because the actors do the job for you. We love our stars so much that we’re not bothered about the content. I think that’s great. The high is when after the release we’re enquired about. If the writing is good it will be applauded. Some directors don’t want to share credit. That’s true. About your second point, I feel direction is a specific task. Just because I’m a good writer doesn’t mean I’ll make a good director and vice-versa. Just because you’re not being recognised as a writer doesn’t mean you can turn director. You’ll fail.
When you’re writing is it easier to visualise an actor in particular roles? We tend to visualise characters when we read books.
We tend to do that yes. I don’t visualise when I start but as I proceed I tend to put a face. I don’t think of the actor first and then write but when I thought of the father character I had only Mr. Bachchan in my mind. It was a great task to write for him. However, Piku’s role was not written for Deepika. Rana was just Rana. After finishing I thought it would be great if Irfan agreed to do it. Sometimes it can get limiting.
How does it work? Do you have a menu card of stories to peddle?
I wish I had. I heard somebody claiming to have 50 stories and I said ‘Wow, give me a few’. I’m a very lazy writer. I’m not yet a factory.
Your characters are very colourful. What is your source of inspiration?
It’s life. We meet so many people and I like to observe them which reflects in my writing too. I grew up in Lucknow, so I had the chance to be around some of the weirdest people. I may not have a story bank but I do have a character bank. I happened to stay in Delhi for some time. I’ve lived in Bangalore as well. Sadly, the beautiful, tree lined roads have disappeared. Now it’s just full of dug up roads.
Does working with the same director make you reluctant to get away, I mean the comfort level?
There is a comfort level and like you said most directors don’t like to share credit with writers. That scares me because I’ve heard such stories. I’m in conversation with other directors and hope to strike a comfortable equation. Lazy writers like me tend to stick to a comfort zone.
Are you a tad disappointed that your protagonist in ‘Piku’ didn’t win an award?
Yes, I am. Kangana was spectacular as that Haryanvi girl. I may be biased, but Deepika whether as Piku or Tara in ‘Tamasha’ or in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ was great. Just see the depth and width of the characters. Terrific range.
Piku wasn’t an easy character to play and I should know. I didn’t give her any crutches or reference points.
