SERIALS MADE ON FILMI
LINES DON'T WORK

You have entered the small screen in a big way.
So, now is it goodbye to films?
I have a script for a film ready. It’s for Ek Aur Masiha with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. Amitabh had loved the script but because of business considerations he decided to do Mrityudaata first though we wanted Ek Aur Masiha to be his comeback venture. That was a setback and now I find that certain situations from my script are being used in other films including Mrityudaata. So, I have decided to abandon that script and am working on another, a romantic love story.

Lately, the offers for writing lyrics too have been dwindling, probably because my lyrics are not in demand any longer. Today songs have no poetry which is my forte.

Television, on the other hand, has become more satisfying. It is completely a writer’s medium. I am writing the dialogue for Mahabharat - II, Maharana Pratap and Usool. I am also doing the screenplay for Aurat and Main Dilli Hoon.

Being a Muslim did you find it difficult
to write the dialogue for a Hindu mythological?
On the contrary, being a non-Hindu is an advantage for me. Pushing the religious sentiments aside, I can rationalise the story, the characters and their actions. I look at it as drama.

Most people are familiar with the story of Mahabharat-I but not many know much about the sequel.
Is that the reason that it did not do very well?
You cannot divide Mahabharat into parts. People have this misconception that Mahabharat begins and ends with the war. Even today you hear the phrase ‘dono ke beech Mahabharat ho gayi’. But there’s a lot to the epic. There are many more important stories and characters whom we have highlighted in Mahabharat-Katha. Doordarshan should have aired it on the national network which reaches the masses. DD Metro is not friendly to this kind of mythological. Also, those who get Metro, may in all probability not even be watching the channel because they are connected to the satellite channels. And those who would like to watch are not getting it. For instance, Rajasthan is familiar with the character of Barbhini but Metro doesn’t reach there, so we are losing out on that viewership. This mythological deserves a bigger audience.

Which incident in the Mahabharat has touched you the most?
There are many incidents. The beauty of Mahabharat is that it has a strong contemporary relevance. You have brothers fighting for land, a la property dispute. Every kind of human relationship has been dealt with in this great epic. You have coalition governments! Yudhisthir was the king but the other four brothers were equally important. When Barbharik was brought back to life he told them that they had to rule jointly though they may have differing ideas and interests.

In fact, it’s said that whatever exists in the Mahabaharat, exists in the world and what you don’t find there you won’t find anywhere else. People identify with this epic as something which is earthy, not heavenly.

The one incident that I find very beautiful is the one dealing with Arjun and his son Babruvahan. Instigated by Ulupi, Arjun’s second wife, he suspects the character of his third wife Chitrangidha, Babruvahan’s mother. Chitrangidha vows to avenge her humiliation and trains Babruvahan to become as good a warrior as Arjun. At the end, Arjun dies at the hands of his own son! You will find glimpses of this in our Hindi films like Trishul and Deewar.

Your other historical Main Dilli Hoon is doing well. Right?
It is high on the ratings charts. But that’s because it is aired on DD1. Even in Main Dilli Hoon we have traced history. The earlier episodes, however, are based on Pauranik stories which will continue till the reign of Parikshit. After that we have taken a giant leap forward because for an whole era Indraprastha or Delhi didn’t exist. The country was ruled by Malwa for sometime, and Cholas and Chalukyas from the South for a long time. It was only during the Rajput era that again Delhi was at the centre of all activities. We’ll end with the freedom struggle and if the response continues to be encouraging we’ll bring it to the present times.

How do you work simultaneously on a mythological,
historical and social drama?
For social dramas one needs to be well-informed. I read various newspapers, magazines and books which give me a lot of inspiration. Frankly, today newspapers are enough to give you ideas on everything under the sun. I pick up incidents and dramatise them. In Aurat I have dealt with caste-conflicts and dowry deaths. Historicals like Maharana Pratap and Main Dilli Hoon depend on how interested one is in history. Though I am a product of today’s times I find myself connected to the past. My roots are there. I love history, so it’s no problem.

Of the serials you are doing which is the most popular?
I think Aurat has a high viewership. That’s because it’s a woman-oriented subject and most women watch it. I have also found that in big cities, the middle class and upper middle class is not much interested in history or mythologicals. Television is viewed as an out-and-out- entertainment medium.

Since you are a lyricist haven’t you ever
thought of doing a song-based programme for television?
I have done a few episodes of Rangoli which were compered by Sharmila Tagore. I loved that experience. At that time they showed old songs and it was wonderful to give information about those songs. I would love to do a quality programme that entertains. If you notice, when you talk about golden era of Hindi film music, you will find that at that time lyricists who had a strong background in literature wrote the songs. They used simple lyrics without lowering their standards and in turn elevated the public standards. It was a beautiful compromise. You cannot teach or advise people about music, you have to cajole and provoke them.

Of the 150 odd songs that you have written which are your favourites?
Some songs I can identify with on a personal level. Three songs that come to my mind are Phiza bhi hai jawa jawa from Nikaah, Kisi nazar ko tera from Aitbaar and Tere pyar ki tamanna from Tawaif.

One last question, is it easier to write for films or television?
Television. Because here you are sure about your audience. You know that any household possessing television has elementary education and have certain moral standards. So, you can weave your script/dialogue keeping that in mind. But for films you have the frontbenchers coming in. You don’t know who’s going to watch your film. That’s why you will find that serials which are made on filmi lines do not hold much water but those that have a strong story do very well.