`Writing for TV is like making love to a

'Writing for TV is like making love to a gorilla'



Express Features Service

Adman - writer Kamlesh Pandey needs little introduction to those who
care to look beyond the stars as the credits roll in film or TV
soap. Last year, his Rang De Basanti had made him a toast of
Bollywood. The soon - to - be - launched TV serial, Virrudh comes
after the critical success of Pandey's Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa
Aasman on Star Plus. As he unwinds in his suburban pad with a giant
TV screen looming in the background, comfortably reclined amidst
rows of film DVDs and books by J Krishnamurthy and Osho, the writer
of Bollywood blockbusters like Tezaab, Khalnayak, Saudagar and RDB
talks to Piyush Roy about Virrudh, the pressures of writing for TV
and his simultaneous scripting of a sequel to RDB.

How did Virrudh come about?
Thodi Si Zameen… was my idea, but Virrudh is Smriti Iraani's story,
which I am developing. She brought interesting insights and depth to
Thodi Si… In Virrudh, she is a part of the writing team.



What's the differential on offer?
Its story and presentation style are different. We have avoided the
predictable zig - zag - zoom effects abounding on TV today. Every
character is well etched and the cast, which has the likes of Vikram
Gokhale, Sushant Singh, Govind Namdeo, Achint Kaur, Mohan Bhandari
and Smriti amongst others, is a multi - starrer soap in the true
sense. It's a finite story and we aim to have a bank of three weeks
by the time it is launched. So hopefully it won't become a hand -
to - mouth existence and have good content. But its continuation
depends on the producer, the channel and the viewers.

What are your inspirations for Virrudh?
The show's male protagonist Dhirendra Rai Singhania is more of a
Shakespearean character than a real life personality; he exploits
power and suffers because of it. The similarity of the Nehru -
Indira allegory is limited to the fact that Singhania depends on his
daughter Vasudha and considers her his successor like Nehru
considered Indira. But Singhania's reasons are different. He has
other kids too, but they are not worthy of his inheritance.

What is Virrudh's take on the media, since it's about a newspaper
baron?
The newspaper that wakes up a nation in the morning becomes worth Rs
5 a kilo in half an hour. There's a dialogue in Virrudh where the
protagonist says: Only the raddiwallah is the real evaluator of a
newspaper. We also look at the misplaced priorities in the media
today. Yet, I also have great faith in the power to change that
rests with a responsible media.

Your recent dates with TV haven't been rewarding. You quit Sati
Satya Ki Khoj and Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki.
I quit Sati after two months because it wasn't shaping the way I
thought it would. As regards Kahaani… when I was working for the
show it had an interesting promise in the love - hate relationship
between its lead characters played by Sakshi Tanwar and Mohnish
Behl. What it has now become — I don't want to react — as I don't
watch it anymore.

What is it like writing for a daily on TV?
Writing for TV is like making love to a gorilla. You stop only when
the gorilla stops. But a gorilla is a monstrous animal that rarely
lets go. For instance, for Virrudh, sometimes I have to deliver
eight scenes within four hours.

Is the pressure for time the only reason for the mediocre content on
TV today?
TV is like a daily newspaper with a life of 24 minutes. I will
repeat for Virrudh what I had said during RDB's release: the exam is
over for me and I have done my best. Now it's for the audience
declare us pass or fail.

Be it your films like Khalnayak, RDB or TV shows, anger seems to be
an abiding emotion. Why?
Anger keeps you going. It keeps you dissatisfied, which is important
for a creative person. The day you are satisfied, you are dead. The
trigger for RDB too was an anger that'd been festering for over 50
years. Nehru had once said in 1957 that every corrupt man will be
hanged by the nearest telephone pole. We were quite young then, but
pretty excited by that announcement. Had Nehru really taken that
bold step a lot would have changed in our society.

Do you think writers are finally getting their due in the industry?
Our industry does not recognise its writers and neither does the
media. Even in an award show, when I am sitting next to a star, they
will invariably cut me out during telecast.

What's happening next with you on the film front?
The project I am most keen about is the sequel to RDB. It should
take-off in 2008 after I finish Delhi 6 and another untitled project
with Rakeysh Mehra.

How can a sequel happen to RDB with all its lead characters dead?
The death of boys is not history; it just marks a new beginning.

Why did you choose Virrudh for a comeback to TV after six years?
There were a few offers but I've been choosy. I don't want all my
time eaten away in TV. Movies are still my priority. Besides, saas -
bahu serials are very women - centric and attract only female
viewers. I wanted to do a serial where the male protagonist had an
interesting role. I want to attract male audience to TV.

What do you look for in a television serial?
The character has to have something to do with the plot. My role
must provide movement. My other concern is the length of the role.
Sometimes a two - shot role is of great importance, but that's very
rare. I want a respectably long role. Also, the story itself has to
be good. A good character in a weak plot doesn't mean much, does it?
And, of course, a lot lies in good marketing.

Your roles in many movies, like Jungle, have been appreciated. But
you still haven't managed to bag a lead role in mainstream cinema.
Why so?
I really don't know. That's a question you should probably ask
producers and directors. Maybe there is something lacking — charm,
charisma. Maybe, talent alone is not enough.

Do you think you've been side-stepped?
Yes, sometimes I do feel side - stepped, but I don't brood over it.
I know I don't have great PR skills, nor do I belong to any camp.
But I still manage to get meaty roles — that means that I've made my
mark.

Five years from now, where do you see yourself?
Whether or not I crack it as an actor, my ultimate goal is to become
a director. Five years from now, I see myself making my movie.

You are playing Sambha in Ram Gopal Verma's Sholay. How is your role
different from the original Sambha?
My Sambha is very different, actionwise and dialoguewise. The
original Sambha had very little to say and do in the movie.
—Nitya Kaushik