writer and film director Anuraadha Tewari Interview | Writer should write for himself, not for the director: Anuradha Tewari said- Producers think writing is a small job, why should I pay so much money

Anuradha Tiwari has written 25 serials as a screenplay writer along with films like ‘Papa Kehte Hain’, ‘Rahul’, ‘Fashion’, ‘Jail’, ‘Heroine’, ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin’, ‘Dhoom Machao Dhoom’, ‘Shararat’, ‘Jab Love Hua’ and ‘Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai’. Most of these are stories of youth and children.

These days, the 102-episode story of her ‘Raisinghani vs Raisinghani’ is streaming on Sony Liv. Anuradha Tiwari spoke to Dainik Bhaskar about her journey as a writer and the changes coming in OTT.

My parents taught me the ABCs of Bollywood
I was born in Banaras and grew up in Gorakhpur. My parents were very interested in films. They used to take me to watch films since childhood. My middle class mother started worrying when she saw that I had no interest in studies.

She brought out a new one to teach me. She took a film magazine and started teaching me A-for Amitabh Bachchan, B-for Bobby, C-for Chintu Uncle, D-for Dabbu Uncle. I also learnt ABCD in an hour.

She was Priyanka Gandhi’s classmate and a gold medalist in post graduation
I wrote a poem at the age of five, which was published in a magazine. I wrote my first story in the sixth grade which was published in Nandan magazine. I completed my further studies from Welham Girls High School, Dehradun. Here Priyanka Gandhi was my classmate.

After this she went to Lady Shriram College, Delhi. She was also the college union president here. She did her post graduation from Jamia, where she was a gold medalist. She came straight to Mumbai from Delhi.

everything in life happens by luck
As a writer, I wrote my first film ‘Rahul’. Its director was Prakash Jha and producer was Subhash Ghai. I got 50 thousand rupees for writing it. Many things in my life happen by chance. I got my first job in Mumbai in a similar way.

Its story is also very interesting. I came to Mumbai the next day after finishing my studies at Jamia. All I knew was that newcomers get jobs in Plus Channel. This company was run by Amit Khanna and Mahesh Bhatt together.

Amit Khanna thought I was journalist Anuradha Sen Gupta
Anyway, after coming to Mumbai, I called Plus Channel from the PCO. The receptionist connected me to Amit Khanna ji. Amit Khanna ji thought that I was Anuradha Sen Gupta, who is a very big journalist. He scolded me for a long time. Then he told me to come and meet him at 5 pm.

I was new. I was not aware of the Mumbai traffic, so I reached an hour late. Everything was going wrong. I was not sure if I would get the job or not. When I reached inside, Amit Khanna was standing on my left and Mahesh Bhatt sahab was sitting in front of me.

Amit Khanna (centre) and Mahesh Bhatt (right) with lyricist Javed Akhtar

Bhatt sahab said- you have got the job
As soon as I entered, Bhatt sahab asked me in his own style- ‘Who are you?’ I said Anuradha Tiwari. He asked another question- ‘Do you know how to work?’ I said I am exceptional at my work. At that very moment, he said- ‘You have got work.’

In this way, I got work as soon as I entered the office. Bhatt sahab said that I should come to work from the next day. Anyway, I got the job of associate director and my first film was ‘Papa Kehte Hain’.

Then she became a writer from a director
It had been seven years since I came to Mumbai. My first film was on the verge of being made. One day Himesh Reshammiya called me and asked me to write a show for television. At that time, he was a big television producer.

He took me to Sony TV. Fortunately, I did not write the show, but Sony TV tied me in a contract for two years. From here, the process of writing started, which continues till today.

It is easiest to interfere with the writer’s work
I am always asked about the reason for writers not getting attention, but every time I have a different answer. There is a point of view of the industry and a point of view of the writer. There is responsibility on both sides.

Firstly, the industry’s point of view is that they think that interfering with a writer’s work is the easiest. Now thinking about something with a creative mind can be trivial for some and a big thing for others.

The producer thinks why should I give so much money to the writer
The producer thinks why should I pay so much for something that is being written on a computer. He does not understand writing.

Now if we look from the writer’s point of view, writers often keep themselves a little repressed. Writers consider it their job to listen to the channel or director. They should not do this.

Web series makers are also moving towards family
Today, a large number of films are being made in India, after this the biggest number is of television. With the advent of OTT, the thinking of television has to be upgraded a bit. Now web series makers are also moving towards family stories.

In the future, there is going to be a mix of web and television stories. Most of my meetings are about such shows. There may be 30 episodes or 60 episodes in the future, but people have seen this path.