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| INTERVIEW | ASHWINI DHEER |
He's the most sought-after writer on television today. Ashwini Dheer, the brain behind Office Office which has recently shifted to STAR One is on a roll. With two new shows Ji Behanji and FIR aired on SAB he completes a sitcom hat trick. A tete-a-tete with the humorous writer... Eveyone says writing comedy is difficult and here you are writing three sitcoms simultaneously...
This is a first for me and trust me it is not at all easy. At the same time let me tell you that I don't try hard, comedy comes to me naturally. Also, since all the three are weeklies, it is not so taxing. What, according to you, raises laughs?
Anything and everything. I read a lot and observe everything that happens around me. I also watch a lot of news channels, most of which are artificial. In fact, I find them quite hilarious. Naturally, I search for comedy there. Some of the shows aired on these channels like Sansani are laughable. I have spoofed Prabhu Chawla's Seedhi Baat in one of the episodes of Naya Office Office. I have called it Meri Baat. If you have seen Chawla talking to his guests, you will realise that he is the one who does all the talking while the interviewee tries desperately to get in a word. As for the news readers, they are actually performers. One moment they will be grimly saying hamari team blast site mein hein, jahan itne log mare gaye and the next moment they will be all smiles talking about Sachin Tendulkar's recovery from an injury. It is amazing how they change their emotions so fast. Another source of humour are the real people, their trials and travails. For you see where there is pain, there is comedy. Tell us how did your first sitcom Office Office happen?
I had written the concept a couple of years before SAB agreed to produce it. I am a science graduate hailing from a middle-class family in Kanpur. I have also dabbled in economics and journalism where I discovered a flair for writing. But frankly, even when Office Office started being telecast, I never thought it would be so popular. Here I must say that though SAB's reach is perceived to be small, everyone has either seen it or knows about it. So much so that even STAR One evinced interest in it. Will you repeat any of your earlier episodes in Naya Office Office?
No, they will all be new. So many new things have come up like multiplexes, call centres, BPOs that there is no dearth of offices to write about. I have written one episode on multiplexes based on my own experience. I had gone to a multiplex with my wife and two year old daughter. I was asked to buy a ticket even for the toddler and was given two seats together while the third was elsewhere. When I protested saying why should a husband and wife sit separately to watch the film the salesman suggested that we send the child to that seat! When I told him her age, he said either of us can accommodate her on our laps but insisted that her ticket be bought. With a comical twist I have penned how Mussadilal in Naya Office Office who comes from a small town faces this problem when he goes to a multiplex to watch a film with his wife.
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I remember after the first episode of Office Office, which was a satire on a bank was aired, my father was very angry. A bank employee himself, he was extremely upset. He took it as a personal insult when I showed how the bank goofed and deposited money in the wrong account. My father called me and explained in great detail how a bank functions. It took a long time to convince him that he shouldn't take it seriously, as it's just a satire! Which are the other serials you have written?
After Office Office which won many awards, I wrote many other sitcoms. The popular ones include Hum Saath Aath Hai, Shararat of which I wrote the initial 70 episodes, Gharwali Uparwali, Shree Sifarishilal, Public Hai Ye Sab Janti(won an award in 2003) and Ramkhilavan CM And Family inspired by Laloo Prasad Yadav but it had to be stopped mid-way. Your Ji Behanji reminds us of the fiery Rajni...
The only similarity between the two is like Rajni, Behanji is a fighter. Behanji is someone who is rooted to her culture and values on which she doesn't compromise. Generally, people classify those who drape themselves traditionally in simple salwar-kameez as behanji types and those who dress trendily as 'hot'. I feel it is the behanjis, who really run the nation. The notion that corporate women represent India's progress is misplaced. If a behanji finds a vendor harassing her on the road or in the train she will slap him. It is these small things that inspired me to write a sitcom on them which is my way of saluting the behanjis of the country. And FIR?
FIR is a normal comedy and as the name suggests is set in a police station. It is a story about simple cops and their personal relationships. There's also a love angle between a conman disguised as a cop and a woman sub-inspector. Their romance and the way they address each other raises laughter. Generally cops talk rudely because their profession demands force and they end up extending that tone in their personal lives too. In FIR, the cops don't want to solve any cases. In fact, they discourage people from registering FIRs and all the time are interested in taking bribes. Even the kind of cases they get are hilarious. Somebody had told me about this lady who went to a police station when a beautician had mistakenly shaved off her eyebrow. She want to register a complaint but since the cops hadn't received such a complaint before, they were at a loss as to which section the case had to be registered. I don't know what happened later, but I took the incident and developed it in a funny way... Of the comedies you have penned which is your favourite?
There are two favourites actually. One is obviously Office Office and the other is Public Hai Yeh Sab Janti Hai which was a issue-based social satire. I had written spoofs on Mayawati celebrating her birthday and Uma Bharti's rathyatra to name a few. Are you scripting any films?
Yes, I am writing the dialogue for Rajkumar Santoshi's London Dreams starring Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. Is it a comedy?
No, it's a relationship-based film. I will be scripting another film for Rajkumar in the future. Haven't you taken to directing serials?
No but I normally direct the initial episodes of my sitcom to settle the characters and then somebody else takes over. Which are your favourite comedies?
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron undoubtedly is cult comedy. Then there's Munnabhai MBBS, Hera Pheri and all-time classics Padosan, Chupke Chupke etc. Are you funny in real life too?
No. I am a very serious guy who sees a funny side in every situation.
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