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Television is a writer's
medium and they are the ones who create comedies - or should we
say 'literature that brings smiles'. The importance of a writer
can never be undermined. But sadly, in today's world, the writer
who has been involved in a project since the very beginning is royally
ignored - never given due prominence in the promos. But, yes that
is true of film promos too!
In
an earlier interview, Nimbus CEO Dr Akash Khurana had made a strong
case for writers to be revered. He had said: "Yes, there is
a gap in comedy serials on TV today. But, give me a writer who can
create specialist comedy content for television and I shall give
him a prime pride of place - even pay him double."
Dr
Khurana, the man who has written over 20 scripts - his best known
work being Baazigar for which he won the Filmfare Award for best
screenplay - adds: "A great comedy with memorable characters
and lines is always a challenge. There is so much misery that a
smile is always the need of every hour. I would back this genre
anytime. It is very difficult - almost impossible - to create something
like Office
Office
(on SAB TV) day in day out and sustain it by keeping people's interest
alive."
Taking
the cue from Dr Khurana, indiantelevision.com spoke to three writers
who have been involved with comedy shows. Due apologies for not
carrying the photographs of these acclaimed writers. We shall do
so only after the TV industry realises its folly and gives them
their true due!
TV
writer Ashwini Dheer
For a person who claims to have become a writer by
default, Ashwini Dheer has reached places and carved out a niche
for himself. Very few people know that he was responsible for writing
a mini-series that bagged television industry awards some years
back when he wasn't even acknowledged as a writer - eventually the
producer of the show walked away with it and Dheer didn't get due
credit. Dheer, who has been involved with certain episodes of Saturday
Suspense, X Zones, Thriller at 9 and Kauf, has no qualms
about admitting that a daily soap isn't his cup of tea. Dheer is
already working on his next show Shifarish that will be telecast
on SAB TV. We caught up with Dheer and present excerpts of his take
on comedy:
*
Comedy is the only genre which needs logic. To be very frank, there
are not many good comedy programmes on Indian television.
*
Primarily, channels aren't ready to experiment but prefer to stick
to the tested formula. I have written shows that revolve around
the rare species of 'satire' - shows such as Office Office
and Ramkhelavan were extremely successful with the classes
and masses.
*
Due to the paucity of good comedies running on Indian television,
it becomes difficult to teach the younger generation the intricacies
of the extremely difficult comedy genre.
* The
entire focus is on family comedies at present. Several writers tend
to go into fantasy. For instance, the No 1 comedy show - Shararat
- on the No 1 channel today - Star Plus - is pure fantasy.
* There
is a general consensus amongst the industry veterans that comedies
can become successful only if it addresses the problems faced by
the common man. It's time to go back to the roots and bring in RK
Laxman's common man. Earthy characters such as Kakkaji Kahe and
Uddam Singh are etched in the mind even now.
* Shows
such as Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Office Office, Nukkad weren't
mounted on a lavish scale but they still managed to strike a chord.
Viewers cannot digest it when comedy shows have lavish sets - it
is a put off. Shows such as Wagle ki Duniya had a certain
sincerity that is difficult to find in a majority of today's shows.
There are exceptions such as Dekh Bhai Dekh that had fairly
'lavish' (at least in those days) sets.
* We
have shot 205 episodes of Office Office (SAB TV) and the
show has touched peaks of excellence and acclaim.
* Emotions
are common throughout the world. A universal joke always touches
sensibilities of people located in different parts of the world.
Office Office has a strong undercurrent of emotions running
through the entire show, each and every episode.
* I
have developed concepts from visuals and images that have been etched
in my mind. For instance, we have often seen people stranded atop
trees during floods. It might look funny but one wonders what goes
through those desolate minds. I read this media report about a north
Indian man's house being demolished because Pakistan president Musharraf
was due to visit his ancestral property. One wonders how that man
must have felt. A renowned writer Revti Sharan Sharma met me a forum,
congratulated me but said that the episode evoked anger rather than
humour.
TV
writer Umesh Shukla
Shukla has worked on Sony serials such as Asit Modi's Hum
Sab Ek Hain and Yeh Duniya Rangeen; and Sanjeev Gandhi's
I love You. He has also worked for Rajeev Tandon's serial
Professor Pyarelal that was shown on Zee TV. He has written
UTV's Sevalal Mevalal for Star TV; Playtime Creation-Hemal
Thakkar's Shubh Mangal Savadhan on Sahara; Eagle-Films' Rajiv
Mehra's Saheb Biwi Ke Ghulam on SAB TV. We caught up with
Shukla and present excerpts of his take on comedy:
* I
had a strong theatre background having done plays with Paresh Rawal.
I started getting television offers and jumped on to the bandwagon.
But scripting serials is a different ballgame. There are limitations
because most of the TV serials are confined to select location-shooting.
* Comedy
shows are important as we live in an era of stress, insecurity and
recession. Quality comedy shows offer a respite to people who look
for relaxation channels. A writer has to remember that the TV audiences
include masses as well as classes.
* One
has to showcase gags and situational comedies that appeal to all
kinds of people - especially the lowest common denominator. The
emphasis is on generic themes. At present, channels want comedies
to appeal to females and children.
* Writing
is inspired by daily life and one's experiences. It is based on
observations - watching people as they deal with their every day
life.
* The
key is to maintain freshness by taking on limited work. But doing
this is a constant struggle due to economic considerations.
* Also,
the personality and style of comedy writers is an important aspect
in the success of comedy shows. Comedy writers must indulge in related
preoccupations (reading novels or non fiction) because language
skills are significant.
* Generally,
producers tend to bank on slapstick or one-liners or gags because
the Indian audiences haven't really matured. More importantly, channels
must realise that they have to slot comedies during the prime time.
* Remuneration
is less and one hopes that it increases gradually. The problem also
has its roots in the fact that producers don't get paid for repeats
as the channels own the software. Producers compromise by using
new writers who charge less. Surprisingly, they do it for their
ongoing as well as fresh projects.
TV
writer Anuraag Prapanna
Prapanna handled the advertising function at the consumer durable
company Videocon International. His obsession with the media and
entertainment sector made leave his job and plunge full time into
this field. He spent his early years in Ujjain and Baroda (now Vadodara).
He believes that his early years have played an important role in
his writing and acting style - reflected in shows such as Balaji's
serial shown on Zee TV - Kitne Kool Hain Hum. It even drew
him into a spat with a Gujarati play producer that he doesn't want
to talk about. But, yes, he did offer his take on comedy. Excerpts:
* Over
the last few years, channels have been obsessed with women-oriented
soaps. They have been showing programmes that have female viewership
and therefore higher TRPs. Advertising agencies, too, demand certain
themes that feature higher on the TRP scale. This formula has succeeded
for quite some time but there is a need to relook the strategy and
go beyond.
* Comedies
can easily make their mark in this fresh scenario. TV viewers might
get fed up with the same old weepy or extramarital sagas but they
love comedies; and will keep asking for more. It is the responsibility
of the channels to mould audience tastes.
* There
are very few comedies on Indian television at present. Shows such
as Shriman Shrimati, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Kabhi Yeh Kabhi Woh
(on DD) held their own against popular soaps such as Tara.
Then the decline (in terms of numbers and emphasis) started.
* Even
in 2000, Hum Saab Ek Hain had good viewership and was one
amongst Sony's top three programmes (along with Aahat and
CID). Interestingly, a comedy show shared the top billings
with a detective and supernatural show.
* It
is a very difficult task to make people laugh. My inspiration comes
from observation, fiction, story books and comics, amongst others.
Generally, soaps have a continuous story line whereas comedies are
mostly episodic.
* Viewers
have to 'log on' to comedy shows at any point of time and enjoy
themselves without having to remember the earlier chain of sequences.
* My
personal experience and philosophy about comedies revolves around
the fact that comedy comes from a crisis. People love to see others
getting trapped in difficult situations that cause discomfort or
loss. This isn't a recent phenomenon but something that has been
going on since the days of the Roman empire - remember Romans enjoying
putting gladiators in the ring. Even Indian kings and emperors had
their own ways of amusing themselves. Universally popular characters
such as Charlie Chaplin and Laurel-Hardy weren't rich people but
they managed to get into 'crisis' situations. In fact, in Gujarati
theatre, there is a renowned character-actor called Haasubhai.
* Money
is always based on the demand and supply equation. This is true
not just in the television industry but in other fields too. In
Mumbai, people can eat a Rs 3 vada pav (potato burger) or
a Rs 2,000 meal at a five star hotel. There are writers who take
up work at lower rates and there are producers who seek their services.
For every actor who works for 25,000 per episode there are people
who get Rs 2,500 per episode. The writer has to take a call on the
number of projects taken up.
* Writers
are involved in TV programmes right from the very beginning but
they don't ever get due credit or recognition. In the promos or
advertising material (banner, hoardings, POPs), the writer's name
is never given prominence.
* Taking
on more projects is a decision that rests with individual writers.
If he feels that he can take the additional pressure and do justice,
he can go ahead and do it. However, it is important to note the
writing for comedy shows is a challenging and high pressure job.
Some producers take on five to six different writers to get a wide
variety - of thought, ideas and themes. However, this leads to lower
involvement and is bad for the serial.
For
the last word, we go back to Nimbus CEO Dr Akash Khurana
* A
lot of TV programming is utterly mediocre. And this utter mediocrity
begins from the script-writing stage. There is bad raw material,
good packaging won't help! (shakes his head in absolute disappointment).
It's pathetic, actually!
* Today's
scriptwriters have a general saying that the content is the king.
That's just stating the obvious. But what are they doing about it?
On the other side, why don't they consider that the audience is
the king too? You need to give what the public wants.
* There
is no solution in sight! I don't think that people are even looking
for a solution! Not more than a handful take to writing, these days.
And I wonder how much these guys read. The low rate of literacy
does not qualify them to. I still read more than perhaps most younger
generation writers put together.
* For
a writer, there is no substitute to reading. 'Aisa kehna bahut aasan
hai, yeh talented hai' (It's easy to say that he is talented); he
was there at the right time, un dino sirf ek hi channel tha (those
days there was only one channel)'. And these guys have a general
complaint.
But I think they need to pull up their socks and reach a status
before demanding a high price.
*'Aaj
meri bees saal ki padhai ke baad (today after 20 years of education),
I am heading an organisation'. Shortcuts are not the answer to succeed
in the sphere of writing - be it any sphere of serial making. I
think the problem is intrinsic.
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