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At
32, Shridhar Raghavan already has a wealth of experience tucked
away.
A computer science graduate turned journalist, he started
off early in life - contributing intermittently to Science
Today,
Mirror,
Debonair
and Mid-Day
while still in college. After a two-year stint in advertising,
Raghavan joined Gentleman
magazine, where he worked for close to five years, writing
mainly on crime, health and entertainment. After a brief spell
with UTV in its Inflight department, he branched out as an
independent writer.
To Hetal Adesara and Gurpreet Tathgur, Raghavan
speaks of the market driven phenomenon called television and
his own experiences with the medium. Apart from C.I.D.
and Aahat,
for which he has written over 500 episodes, he talks about
other assignments and the practical aspects of writing for
television. Excerpts:
How
did you get into TV scriptwriting?
I
always liked writing. I have been writing fiction since I
was 14 and started freelancing for newspapers when I turned
16. After working for a few years with different newspapers
and magazines, I joined UTV, doing production and trying to
work out concepts to write. I was simultaneously working on
a film project with Kundan Shah and on a TV serial pilot.
Anjum Rajabali of Business India Television asked me to work
on Aahat and introduced me to its director B P Singh
and Neo Films producer Pradeep Uppoor. I started working on
Aahat, an episodic series of mystery, thriller and
supernatural stories and have been writing for it ever since.
Around four years ago, I started to write C.I.D., again
an episodic police procedural series for Sony.
What
are the natural instincts required of an effective writer?
You
need discipline because TV is a monster that is always eating
and there are deadlines to meet. You need talent, hard work
and a sprinkle of luck.
Do you limit yourself to writing for certain genres?
I think my forte is humour but I have never tried my hand
at it. Thrillers interest me and of late, I have been working
on dramas too. I am not good at love stories at all but if
it is a funny love story, I wouldn't mind writing one.
Do you go by an idealistic perspective or a practical perspective
while sketching your characters? Do you identify with any
of the characters you have created?
My strength is story telling and I see myself as a structural
specialist. The more real a character is, the more fun it
is. I even make up my own characters. No, I have never identified
with any of the characters I have created until now.
Have you been inspired by western movies/soaps in your
writing?
You are a writer because you've got hundreds of ideas,
so there is no inspiration as such.
Do you write in English or in Hindi?
I write 70 per cent in English and 30 per cent in Hindi
and wherever I need to use Hindi to express myself, I use
it.
A
still from C.I.D. on Sony TV |
TV
is a demand and supply situation. Presently everything
is revolving around family dramas and prior to this
it was thrillers. What the audience is seeking is being
catered to.
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Does writing require isolation from people for long hours
in order to concentrate?
I like to be alone when I'm writing. I can't write with
people around me, as writing needs a lot of thinking. People
distract me and it hampers the flow of ideas.
Many writers feel that the authenticity of what they have
visualized gets eroded at times if the director has different
ideas. Have you ever felt the same?
If the director or the channel has a different opinion
on my story and if the change is for the better, I don't have
any problems. But the director has never changed the story
without my knowledge. I often have to change my script when
a particular location is not available or the scene is going
well above budget or for other technical reasons. But I am
not complaining. It is a very interactive process and I feel
that one should be always open to changes. And ultimately,
it's me who is going to get paid!!
Aren't you ever tempted to don the mantle of a director
yourself?
No, never. I am happy with what I am doing and I am not
a control freak. I don't think I can deal with too many people
and coordinate their activities and I'm sure that I don't
even want to do that. I like the process of writing, it's
fun....
Which has been the happiest moment of your career?
There has never been anything like the happiest or the
saddest moment in my life. My life is pretty much balanced.
I am happy when I am working and writing and it feels good
to see your work recognized, liked and seen on TV. I am happy
that I am surviving, my serials are on air.
Where do you see yourself ten years down the line?
In the same profession. I would still be writing; maybe
dabbling in a little bit of journalism too, because it allows
you to meet and talk to people. I would be doing as well as
I am doing right now; maybe a little better!
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Other
than a bit of talent & a complete command on the
craft, what a writer really needs is discipline and
the ability to rewrite endlessly.
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Shridhar with the C.I.D. team |
Where do you draw your inspiration?
I work at least 10 hours a day and TV has deadlines, so
I just can't sit and wait for inspiration. I always have a
notepad with me, I write whatever comes to my mind or whatever
I see around me, that is the first stage and after that I
develop the storyline.
Could you outline the whole process from the stage you
conceive a project to the stage when the final script is ready?
If I have an idea, I put it down immediately. I work in
a very structured manner. My story always has three basic
stages - a beginning, middle and end. I tend to make notes
- good beginnings, a nice scene, an interesting idea, a good
climax, an interesting piece of research around which you
can create a story, a line of dialogue or an interesting visual,
a good location to set a story. Then I put them together on
the computer. Once you're sitting at the computer, it's mainly
slog work. You write, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.. On and on.
I usually present my fourth or fifth draft to the director
and channel and incorporate relevant changes and suggestions,
if any. Usually by this draft, the script is fine so I rarely
have to make changes.
Does a script need to be re-worked while shooting? Are
you present on certain shoots?
I am open to changes and if the situation demands it,
I do rework my script. I try to be present for at least the
first couple of shoots because what you write on paper may
be different from what you see being enacted. The writer should
be there for shoots because this is the time when the practical
aspect of his story comes forth.
Do you prefer to work on commissioned projects or to work
on your own?
I have worked on commissioned projects, but I prefer to
create my own projects. I work on them and get a concept note,
the entire storyline, a few scripts in place, stories for
13-20 episodes, and then present them to the channel or the
producer. The process can thus take many months and even a
year or two, but you know you have a solid project in hand
and not just a tentative idea which you are going ahead with.
It's like insurance.
Is narration important in Indian scriptwriting? And how important
is research to a script?
Narration is totally important. You are trying to pitch
yourself. Time is one of the least things we have, so if you
are able to convey your idea in a nutshell, it is beneficial.
People don't have time, so everything has to be specific.
If I'm not able to tell the story, how will the director direct
it? Narration helps you instantly find out what is working
and what is not. With narration, the story grows in front
of you and you get to know your flaws there and then.
Research is the most important aspect of script writing. If
the situation demands that you write a story that deals with
medicine and doctors, it is very important that you know the
minutest details such as what is forensic science, post mortems
and the procedure it involves. If you don't know the basics,
you can't progress with your story. It is very necessary to
know the background.
What kind of a writing schedule do you normally follow?
How long do you need to write one episode?
I mostly work alone though, of late, I have started working
in tandem with another writer. I work daily, including Sundays,
put in normally at least 10 hours of work at the computer!
Frankly, writing is a 24-hour profession as you are constantly
trying to crack a story in the back of your mind. Sometimes
from idea to screenplay, on a great day --- writing an episode
takes as little as a few hours! But on an average, it takes
at least four days to a week.
Tell us something about your new serial - Achanak
and other projects you are working on?
I am currently working on Achanak, which I started
writing four years ago. It is a weekly drama-thriller with
an element of the paranormal, scheduled to air on Sony in
the first quarter of 2002. The set is worth nearly Rs three
million and the serial has been shot in various Indian cities
like Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi. It has a massive cast, one
of the biggest star cast on TV.
Yes, I am developing shows for Star, Zee, Vijay TV etc.
I am also working on some film projects but they are at too
early a stage to even talk about.
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I
try to be present for at least the first couple of shoots
because what you write on paper may be different from
what you see being enacted.
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Do you have any mental blocks? How do you overcome them?
Sometimes, when the infamous writer's block settles, ideas
don't turn into stories, stories don't turn into screenplays
and so on. I have a few dozen ideas that are still waiting
for the eggshell to crack and the idea to germinate. Basically,
other than a bit of talent, a complete command on the craft,
what a writer really needs is discipline and the ability to
rewrite endlessly.
Are there any Indian serials that you like watching on
television?
I hardly get time to watch any soaps. I am either sitting
at my computer working on the story or I am at meetings, or
at shoots.
Does TV writing pay well?
There is good pay once you start doing well. TV is much
more paying than journalism, and luck too plays a major factor.
I don't make as much as Shilpa Shetty makes, but its okay.
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