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Sumit Arora: “I am a proper writer and I write every day”

ByMihir Chitre
Oct 03, 2024 08:16 PM IST

On what growing up in a small town taught him, moving to Mumbai at 18 to become a writer, and on writing for a range of successful films and shows including Stree, Dahaad, The Family Man and Jawan

At what age did you decide to become a writer and how did it all happen?

Screen and dialogue writer Sumit Arora (Courtesy the subject)
Screen and dialogue writer Sumit Arora (Courtesy the subject)

I was born and raised in Meerut. I was into cricket like most Indian boys. Sachin Tendulkar was a big hero and I wanted to be a cricketer like him. But I realised that I didn’t have the talent that Sachin had. I was the captain of my school team but I began doubting that I would ever make it to the state level, let alone the national or international levels. So, then I began thinking that perhaps I might be talented at something else.

When I was 14, there was an Indian army camp for kids in Kashmir. I applied for it and got selected. My mother, who was an avid reader, told me to write about my experience. My sister and I got our reading habit from her. When I returned, I wrote about my experience and my mother told me to submit the piece to a newspaper. I rode my bicycle to the Dainik Jagran office and told the watchman that I wanted to meet the editor. I was 14 so he asked me a lot of questions. He thought it was a letter to the editor, which many people came there to submit. Even getting a letter published was a big deal. The watchman allowed me to meet the editor, who read the article and asked me for a photograph of myself. I thought he wanted it for the record. So, the next day, I went to him with a black and white passport photograph. Then, in the Sunday edition, I saw my article published on a colour page with a black and white photo! With that, my writing journey began. After that, I got excited and I tried to submitting other articles about places that I had never been to. The editor rejected them and gave me some key advice: “Write what you know and write what you have lived.” This has stayed with me since then. The editor, Yashwant Singh, became my mentor at that time. I started writing more about my lived experiences along with some satire. On his recommendation, I started reading satirists like Harishankar Parsai, Sharad Joshi and others. That’s when I got more inclined towards writing.

“In 2001, when films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai came out, it started an era of very good films. So, I thought, I could try my hand at film writing as well.” (Film still, Lagaan)
“In 2001, when films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai came out, it started an era of very good films. So, I thought, I could try my hand at film writing as well.” (Film still, Lagaan)

Around the same time, I took a liking to films. I watched Lagaan and I realised that such rooted stories could also become films. Lagaan was like a breath of fresh air in Bollywood because the film industry of the 1990s was fully out of shape. There was nothing inspiring about it; nothing that would draw a young person to films. But in 2001, when films like Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai came out, it started an era of very good films. So, I thought, I could try my hand at film writing as well. Eventually, I chose to study Political Science, Literature and Economics at college. While I was studying in Meerut, I decided to move to Mumbai. I was 18, I had no idea about the city; I didn’t know anyone here and I just came down to be a writer-director. My parents were, of course, not very okay with this and were a little paranoid about my decision. Still, I took a train to Mumbai. I had a couple of addresses of film-related companies and my plan was to ask for a job as an AD (Assistant Director). Around that time, an aunt, who lived in Delhi, saw an ad for a job opening at Balaji Telefilms. I reluctantly interviewed for it although I didn’t want to get into TV soaps. All the film production houses I applied to rejected me and as fate would have it, I got a call from Balaji. They told me that I was selected for the final round, and that I would have to come down to Mumbai. I told them that I was already in the city. I went to their office, and they hired me as a writer. That’s how I got my first job in Mumbai.

How did you land your first film project?

Films took a long time to happen. I worked at Balaji for about 15 months and then started working at other TV places. For about five years or so, I did only TV. I was always working on film ideas and trying to learn the film writing craft parallelly, but it was TV that helped me settle down financially. I saved a bit for those five-odd years so I could afford to take a break to write films. TV paid me pretty good money and I was doing well. At 21, I was one of the highest-paid TV dialogue writers. Even in TV, I could find work that I could relate to. I wrote a show for Star One called Dil Mil Gaye, which was very popular. It was about doctors, and it wasn’t a melodramatic soap. It kept me interested. I used to try and pitch my film ideas to people. When they wouldn’t get made and I ran out of money, I’d go back to TV. This kept happening for a while. Eventually, around 2012, I got a chance to write a film. Niren Bhat and I wrote dialogues for it. Unfortunately, the film did not get made in the way that we thought it would. After that, we went back to TV again. Niren and I go back many years and we are still close. Until 2014, I wrote only for TV. I earned some money, decided to make my own short film, and pitched my film ideas again. In 2016, I made a short film called The White Shirt. That opened new avenues for me because people saw that I had a certain sense of stories. I shared that film with all the filmmakers I liked and whoever saw it, really liked it. That gave me a boost of confidence. Because of the short film, I got some more work and some advertising films as well. I have known Amar (Kaushik) since 2009. He was the executive producer on an ad that I directed. He was working on a film with Raj and DK and asked if I would write the dialogue for it. I already loved Raj and DK’s work. They had made films like Go Goa Gone. I agreed to do the dialogue.

“Stree put me out there and put my voice out there.” (Film still, Stree)
“Stree put me out there and put my voice out there.” (Film still, Stree)

That’s how I got my first film, Stree.Stree put me out there and put my voice out there. It did really well at the box office too. I wrote it in 2017 and it came out the following year. The film happened quickly and it was a miracle for me. Everything about that film just fell into place and truly gave my career a new direction. While writing Stree, Raj and DK offered me Family Man, which again became a super success and from then on one thing led to the other and here I am today!

Do you have a methodical approach to writing a film?

I try to look at each project for what it is. The me in it will come out anyway through my writing. My touch will always be there, but the first priority is the film. I try to enhance the film and not oppose its vision. For instance, Stree, which is a horror-comedy set in a small town, demands a certain kind of writing. The Family Man demands a certain other kind of writing. Yet, the common factor will be my take, my touch as a writer. I first listen to the director and understand the assignment clearly. Once I know what I have to deliver, within those boundaries, I create space for my voice. My voice cannot be the same across all films. That’s why I have done films and shows that are very different from each other. Whether it is Stree, The Family Man, Chandu Champion, 83 or Jawan, they are all very different genres. Doing different things excites me.

How does your experience of growing up in a small town like Meerut, in the heart of the Hindi belt, help your writing for Bollywood?

It plays a huge role. It has given me an insight into the mind of the common person on the street. It gives me an insight into their behaviour, into what they say and not just how they say it, into their expressions – how they express love, anger, frustration. Also, I have sat with these people, I have seen movies with them at single-screen theatres. I know these people. In fact, I am that person. I may now have spent more years in Mumbai than in my home town but even today, I identify as a small-town boy. That’s where my roots are. After my dad passed away, my mother and my younger siblings moved here but I am still very much in touch with friends from Meerut. We still have a house there and I keep going there.

“For Jawan, I had to keep in mind that I was working with a star like Mr Shahrukh Khan and then get my voice into the dialogue.” (Film still, Jawan)
“For Jawan, I had to keep in mind that I was working with a star like Mr Shahrukh Khan and then get my voice into the dialogue.” (Film still, Jawan)

Jawan was a Shah Rukh Khan film, which means it had to be a superhit. What was your approach to writing the dialogue?

The project and the director, Atlee, both demanded that Jawan had to be a mass film. As I said earlier, I always try and understand the demands of the project. I watched all of Atlee’s films and tried to understand his pitch even before I met him. When the screenplay was given to me, I knew the beats and I had a fair idea of his vision. Also, I had to keep in mind that I was working with a star like Mr Shah Rukh Khan and then get my voice into the dialogue. I had to also keep in mind that this film was going to be watched by everybody since it’s a Shah Rukh Khan film, so it has to appeal to everybody. And by that, I mean everybody. If it has to appeal to the last person, it also has to appeal to the first one.

Did your being a cricket fan play a role in writing dialogue for 83 and would you agree that the film was not as good as it could have been?

Kabir (Khan) saw Stree and he loved the dialogue. He called me to say that he had a screenplay ready and he wanted me to do the dialogue. They were about to shoot in three months. For me, the exciting thing was that they were making a film on the 1983 World Cup triumph, which I had heard a lot about. I might agree that the film could have had more drama than it did, but I did what I was told to do. I was only writing dialogue for it and I tried to do my job as well as I could.

“Somebody from Excel reached out to me because they had seen Stree and they knew that I could do small-town and I could handle themes that have some depth in them.” (Still from Dahaad)
“Somebody from Excel reached out to me because they had seen Stree and they knew that I could do small-town and I could handle themes that have some depth in them.” (Still from Dahaad)

Zoya (Akhtar) and Reema (Kagti) are two of the best screenwriters in India at the moment. What was it like working with them on Dahaad?

On Dahaad, I only did the dialogue, but I did dialogue for all eight episodes. Before the show, they didn’t know me. While they were looking for a dialogue writer, somebody from Excel reached out to me because they had seen Stree and they knew that I could do small-town and I could handle themes that have some depth in them. Around the same time, Alankrita Shrivastava, who was familiar with my writing and who was working with Zoya and Reema on Made in Heaven, also recommended my name. That’s how they called me. I met Reema and told her about my background, and I think, she saw that I could do the project. That’s how I got Dahaad.

The two of them are lovely to work with and we keep talking about doing more projects together. The best thing about them is that they are really dedicated writers before they are directors and producers. They write every day. It is the same with me. I am a proper writer and I write every day. Zoya and Reema are primarily creators and writers who love to write, and they write a lot. They write again and again, refine, polish because they are so passionate about writing that it had to be a fabulous experience working with them. They have been big names for a long time and initially, I was anxious about being able to meet their expectations. I had heard that they could be difficult and demanding not just of their co-writers but also of themselves. They put in so much effort that the work cannot be below a certain standard. They are very harsh on their own writing and they will tell you if what you have written is not up to the standard. I had heard all of this and when I wrote the first draft, I was expecting a lot of feedback and was open to the possibility of there being multiple rounds of the draft. Luckily for me, for some reason, my draft just flew with them. I wrote the first draft of the first episode and sent it to Reema. She called and asked to meet. I thought that meant there was going to be a long round of feedback. But when I met her, she just told me four points. I was very happy because I knew those were very simple things for me to fix. I fixed them and sent the draft back in two days and it was done! From the second and the third episode, the process became even smoother. Perhaps I understood the demands and the world of the show very well and caught onto it quickly. I could understand the themes Reema was trying to touch upon like casteism, etc. I enjoyed the process and the fact that I could touch upon those themes in my own way. It was a fantastic collaboration.

“In The Family Man, I could immediately relate to the character of Shrikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee. He is a middle-class man. I could see shades of my father, my uncles in him.” (Still from The Family Man)
“In The Family Man, I could immediately relate to the character of Shrikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee. He is a middle-class man. I could see shades of my father, my uncles in him.” (Still from The Family Man)

Dialogue writing has been your speciality. What’s the process you follow?

When I am writing dialogue, I know that I am given a world that is created by the screenplay writer. My job is to make that world come alive. Through dialogue, the world comes alive. Till dialogue isn’t in place, you don’t really get the full sense of a character. Dialogue adds colour to characters and I am fascinated with those colours. I sense a lot of joy in that. First, I try to understand the themes of the story. You know, after Stree, I got offers to write dialogue for many comedy films but I said no to all of them because I don’t see myself as a comedy writer who can write comedy lines one after the other. I don’t identify as that. I am a writer, so I have to first understand and like your story to be able to work with you. After Stree, my next project was 83. It was not a comedy. It had humour in it, but it was not a comedy. Then, my next thing was Dahaad. I need to first like the story and the world and the themes have to resonate with me. I check if I like the characters; if I can relate to them. Dialogue writing, for me, is not about writing lines, it’s not about cracking the dialect. All those are very small parts of the puzzle. The most important thing is if I can look at that world through my own lens. For example, Dahaad is set in Rajasthan. It’s about missing girls; it’s about caste. Do I resonate with these things? Yes, I do. That’s why I could do whatever I could with it. In The Family Man, for example, I could immediately relate to the character of Shrikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee. He is a middle-class man. I could see shades of my father, my uncles in him. Stree was about three friends. Growing up, I was part of a group of three friends and we are still very close. I saw those characters in the film as my friends and could immediately relate to them and find that kind of banter among them. I don’t take up a dialogue project just to be able to say that I worked on so-and-so project. It needs to come naturally to me. I need to be able to make my own journey into that world.

Which films and filmmakers have influenced you at different stages of life?

Like many people around the world, I have literally worshipped Steven Spielberg’s films. I have genuinely and deeply enjoyed his work so much. He is not genre-specific. He has worked in all genres. Yet, there is something unique about each of his films. He brings something special to every genre. If I had to pick my favourite Spielberg films, I’d say I am a huge fan of Jurassic Park. It has so much beauty to it. It is not just about the childhood thrill of looking at dinosaurs. That’s just one layer. I watched it again recently and I couldn’t stop marvelling. Even ET is so beautifully made. You can watch it anytime and be amazed every time. Then again, Munich is a film I love. I think I have seen most of Spielberg’s films more than once.

“I am a big, big fan of Mani Ratnam. I really enjoy watching his films. I love Roja, Bombay, Iruvar. Guru is one of my favourite films. The way Mani Ratnam creates the man-woman dynamic is unparalleled.” (Film still, Guru)
“I am a big, big fan of Mani Ratnam. I really enjoy watching his films. I love Roja, Bombay, Iruvar. Guru is one of my favourite films. The way Mani Ratnam creates the man-woman dynamic is unparalleled.” (Film still, Guru)

Then, I grew up loving Scorsese’s films as well. They are in a very different zone from Spielberg but they are fantastic in their own right. I really enjoy Tarantino films too. Then, I am a big, big fan of Mani Ratnam. I really enjoy watching his films. I love Roja, Bombay, Iruvar. Guru is one of my favourite films. The way Mani Ratnam creates the man-woman dynamic is unparalleled. Then, Hirani. I came to Mumbai after watching some of Rajkumar Hirani’s films. Lage Raho Munnabhai was a big influence on me. I still marvel at how he could write that film. The way he mixes humour and social narrative is amazing. Then, Lagaan by Ashutosh Gowariker still remains one of my favourite films.

Mihir Chitre is the author of two books of poetry, ‘School of Age’ and ‘Hyphenated’. He is the brain behind the advertising campaigns ‘#LaughAtDeath’ and ‘#HarBhashaEqual’ and has made the short film ‘Hello Brick Road’.

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