Qalam 2001 : Vivek Agnihotri

Qalam 2001 : Vivek Agnihotri

Vivek Agnihotri

Director Vivek Agnihotri provided the perfect finale to the workshop with an interesting presentation on developing a script. He said that often the best source of stories is newspapers, history, myths and legends, family and childhood stories and travel. Dreams too are a rich source of potential stories, he said. "A well crafted plot should have a series of rising and falling action, tensions and climaxes … a good suspense plot is a roller coaster ride", he said.

Vision and technique, he said, are both important tools of scriptwriting, while dreams and travels can often be a rich source of content for scripts. The titles and loglines have to be pithy and to-the-point, Agnihotri stressed, while a solid plot is the single most important element in a successful suspense. Characterisation is just as important as the suspense curve, which as Agnihotri explained to a hooked audience - has to be circular, not linear. Tension inducing conflict is what holds a suspense drama together, he said. The most important aspect, finished Agnihotri, is a series' quality - if you can watch the show with your grandchildren with pride, you have done it, he said.