For more than two decades now, I have been writing scripts for a living; they are non-fiction scripts. I believe, gradually, I have somewhat mastered the complicated craft of drafting social and corporate advocacy films of all hues and shades, mostly out of scattered information.
I must be doing them right, because clients return, turn into friends, and stay on.
But that’s not all I do.
I have had a colourful life to say the least. After schooling in military cantonments, I became a a group theatre worker, a political/cultural activist, assistant to a national award winning film-maker, a stage-light technician for group-theatre and Pop bands, a travelling salesman of ‘magic’ in railway stations, and then a student of English literature in Calcutta University.
Thereafter, I spent about 15 years in news and current affairs TV, working with some of the best names in the industry, producing weekend news shows, business features and then shifted to crime-shows. Left it when I started thinking like a criminal.
This warm spread of life and ingrained interest in all matters human has inspired me to research and write documentary films, on the sideliners. Documentaries I have written have won multiple awards and travelled across the planet to almost all major film festivals.
I haven’t been to those festivals, in case you are wondering.
But yes, since the beginning of my career, which was around 25 years back, I have had truckloads of fun, going places where nobody chooses to go, meeting interesting people, and documenting history in the making. All this while, my passion for non-fiction screenwriting has helped me sustain through the highs and lows of life. I believe it has given me a unique ‘documentary’ perspective towards people and events.
What triggers me most is the pleasure of writing about them.
Of late I have also started dabbling into scripted reality and fiction that depends heavily on realistic scenarios. But I love fantasies too. Reality is a fantasy in any case.
And yes, it doesn’t always need to be a script. It should be experiences shared in a manner that excites while informing; that keeps me engaged but also inspires me to reach out. I like to write like that; that’s why I write.
And that’s the most I can blabber about myself. For the rest, read my blog.
There, I am entirely about me; and, for you.
