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'Story should come directly from heart'

Award winner
Last Updated 31 January 2013, 14:20 IST

If I was asked to write Hum Aapke Hain Kaun once again in my own style, I would have deeply researched about bhabhis, nands and devranees to give an entirely different and realistic feel to the film,” says Manoj Tyagi, who is one of those script-writers in Bollywood today who have always believed in realistic cinema and come up with stories like Page 3 and Aarakshan which have won him National Awards.

His love for real life stories are reflected in movies like Satta, Corporate, Jail, Heroine and Inkaar to name some. “My directors want me to write something logical while my personal choice has always been taking realism into acc­o­u­nt while narrating a story. But what is more important is that the story should direc­tly come from my heart and emotionally drive me,” says Manoj, who was so fascinated by a relationship between a  man and woman working in the same office and having certain ambitions that he came up with Inkaar, directed by Sudhir Mishra.

Is he not keen to experiment with stereotypical Bollywood films? “I am not against typical commercial movies like Ek Tha Tiger or Son of Sardaar. But I am not driven by it completely,” says Manoj.

How does he choose subjects for scriptwriting? “The story should always have a necessary grip but when you focus on the changing trends in society, the script has to be written in such a way that it does not look like a documentary. I instantly choose something new and try it add loads of elements into it.”

Besides writing screenplays, Manoj has tried his luck in direction too. In 2007, Ma­n­oj directed Mumbai Salsa, which could not attract crowds. “I am writing for my second directorial venture and it will be a romantic movie.” Manoj wants to showcase the problems of love in real life. “There should be nothing superficial about it, yet it should be emotional  in a romantic way,” says Manoj.

After having spent more than a decade in the industry as a script-writer, Manoj belie­v­es that there has been a dramatic change in the way of storytelling. “There was a time when directors used to give us Hollywood DVDs asking us to adapt the story in Indian style. But now there are original concepts because audiences are very aware. Today, the story can make even a small budget movie generate good revenue,” he says.

Is that the reason that pushed Manoj to write a horror flick? “Writing screenplay for Sakshat, a supernatural thriller was a first-of-its-kind experience for me. First of all, it is a bi-lingual film. Initially, it was written in Bengali and later in Hindi. Since, it was for the first time I worked on a horror flick I tried to tackle the subject from a different perspective,” says Manoj.

Question him what makes Sakshat different, and Manoj replies, “You have to wait as the shooting is likely to start by April.”

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(Published 31 January 2013, 14:20 IST)

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