Posts tagged Juhi Chaturvedi

Meet the new age brilliant writers of Bollywood

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2 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

They are just as big, if not bigger than the actors who act in the scripts

Aakanksha Naval-Shetye (DNA; March 10, 2013)

 

Filmmaker-writer Quentin Tarantino recently said, “This will be the writer’s year,” when he won the Oscar for the Best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained. It’s true, and it applies not only in Hollywood, but Bollywood as well.

B-Town writers too will vouch for the fact that things have changed for the better for them and the process seems to be on an accelerator mode. The importance on content is on an upward swing, and so is the focus on writers, as much as it is on directors or actors. Scriptwriters are increasingly becoming stars in their own right. The present guard of writers including Rajat Aroraa (Taxi Number 9211, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, Dirty Picture), Farhad and Sajid Samji (Golmaal, Bol Bachchan, Houseful 2, Ready), Shibani Bathija (Fanaa, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, My Name is Khan), Abhijat Joshi (Munnabhai and 3 Idiots) are names as well-known as the directors of these films.

Script is the star The success of recent films (Paan Singh Tomar and Vicky Donor) without any big stars, purely on the merit of the content, is bringing writers to the centerstage. Rajat admits, “There is no denying that the focus on content has increased and so the way writers are treated today has also undergone a sea-change, which reflects on the remunerations that we are being offered.”

However, he stresses that writers have always been treated with respect. More >

Shekhar’s next film with Vicky Donor writer, NFDC

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10 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 29, 2012)

 

Early this year, Shekhar Kapur, had promised to wrap up his dream project Paani in 2012. The film was formally announced at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010. However, little had been done since then. “I plead guilty for not focussing on Paani for two years. I got busy with another film and selling my tech and social media company,” Kapur had explained. And now, the filmmaker has set his heart on an altogether fresh venture. Mirror has learnt Kapur recently signed on the writer of Vicky Donor, Juhi Chaturvedi to pen a story. In fact, she has already started work on the project. Kapur confirmed the news and added, “That’s right.

I have asked Juhi to work on a film with me. I loved Vicky Donor. I like the way Juhi writes. And yes, I shall direct that film.”

Impressed with Vicky Donor, Kapur called Juhi for a meeting. An eyewitness told Mirror, “They spoke at length. Shekhar looked rather pleased with his choice.”

But Juhi already has her hands full. She is already committed to three projects with Ram Mirchandani’s Rampage Motion Pictures, Shoojit Sircar’s Rising Sun Films and John Abraham’s J A Productions respectively, the trio behind Vicky Donor. However, a source close to the three companies told Mirror, “Sircar is the captain. However, he will certainly have no issues if Juhi goes ahead with Kapur’s film first. Sircar respects Shekhar tremendously.”

Mirror has also learnt that Kapur and his team are in advance talks More >

Behind every successful hero is a woman with a pen

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11 months ago
by Fenil Seta in

A motley group of women writers in Bollywood give their male counterparts a tip or two on the new rules of scriptwriting

Shakti Shetty (MID-DAY; June 25, 2012)

 

What’s common between Agneepath, Vicky Donor and Shanghai? Other than the fact that they released this year and had strong male characters, all three were written by female screenwriters.

Given the longstanding tradition of employing male writers who took care of the story, dialogues and lyrics, it’s a pleasant shift from the usual track for Bollywood. Interestingly, however, none of the emerging ladies are prepared to point a finger at the industry. They’d rather welcome the change…

Urmi Juvekar After coming up with a heralded script like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Urmi Juvekar went a step ahead and created Shanghai (both directed by Dibakar Banerjee). While penning a story, Urmi reveals that she keeps reminding herself that she’s a screenwriter first — not a novelist. “The role of a screenwriter is peculiarly different from a fiction writer. We are writing for a picture and words tend to change the image in my head to some other image when it enters the director’s head.” On being asked whether writers are given due credit in Bollywood, Urmi poses, “As long as we are getting paid, there shouldn’t be any issue. Anyway, do you care to know who the editor or the cinematographer of the film is? Nahi na? Then why bother with credit for writers only?”

Ila Bedi Datta Although Ila Bedi Datta has been actively involved in More >

Script is FINALLY the new hero in today’s films

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1 year ago
by Fenil Seta in
Juhi Chaturvedi, scriptwriter, Vicky Donor Sanjay Chouhan, co-writer/ dialogues for Paan Singh Tomar

Bollywood may be dominated by actors, but a new breed of writers are emerging as the new heroes, bringing good old storytelling — with unconventional ideas and killer dialogues — back in vogue

Haimanti Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; April 25, 2012)

 

When Juhi Chaturvedi, writer of the recently-released Vicky Donor, narrated her idea to director Shoojit Sircar, the voice on the other end of the phone went silent. “I will get back to you” is all she heard after a long pause. Armed with a quirky script on the life of a sperm donor — and with the trepidation of a first-time scriptwriter — she was thinking to herself “nice try, but…” when Sircar called her back and said he would like to see the film’s first draft. Now that the film is getting rave reviews from critics and a thumbs up from the audience, Chaturvedi, though still new to scriptwriting, is thinking of taking firm steps into Bollywood. She is among a new breed of writers who are proving once again — after Salim-Javed became the poster boys Bollywood and achieved star status as writers way back in the 1970s — that storytelling matters, as does, dialogue baazi!

The success of films like Paan Singh Tomar, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani and Vicky Donor have proved that viewers are ready to try out unconventional ideas too, if written well and directed in a way that holds them captive. Sanjay Chouhan (Paan Singh Tomar, I Am Kalam, More >

Vicky Arora’s mom-grandmom speak

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1 year ago
by Fenil Seta in

Subhash K Jha (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 24, 2012)

 

Shoojit Sircar has taken the unconventional route not only in his choice of subject but also of saas-bahu in his film. Kamlesh Gill and Dolly Ahluwalia, who portray mother-in-law and daughter-in-law respectively in Vicky Donor are cast in a different mould altogether. So much so, audiences may banish stereotypes after seeing the duo downing a couple of pegs on screen.

At 75, Gill, who has been doing theatre since 1957, has pulled off a spirited act in the film, having earlier done films like Socha na tha and Love Aaj Kal. “But in all these years, I didn’t get the attention I’m now getting for my role in Vicky Donor,” she says. “I suffer from arthritis and I am unable to be on my feet for too long. Shoojit adjusted my character accordingly. And Dolly Ahluwalia was a wonderful costar. I had a ball shooting this film,” Gill says.

For now, she is thrilled with all the appreciation she is getting. “I’m getting calls from all over saying they love the rapport I share with Dolly. The whole idea of sharing a drink together is unconventional. But it has clicked. I guess it’s a sign of the times.”

Between bit roles and designing clothes for films like Omkara, Water, Midnight’s Children and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Dolly Ahluwalia seems to have made it with her defiant-but-doting bahu act in Vicky Donor. “Though I’m known more for designing clothes, I’m a gold medalist in acting from the National School of Drama. I’ve done sporadic roles. More >

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