I like collaborative writing, says Meghna Gulzar

Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, screenwriters Juhi Chaturvedi, Pooja Ladha Surti, cinematographer Modhura Palit and columnist Sumedha Verma Ojha gathered together to speak about 'Nuances and Process of Filmmaking', at a panel moderated by journalist and critic Madhureeta Mukherjee at the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa yesterday, 24 November.

Writer Juhi Chaturvedi, who has written the scripts award-winning films like Vicky Donor (2012), Piku (2015) and October (2018) said of her process, "For me, the draft of the film has to be mine, it can’t be someone else’s. I work with Shoojit Sircar, but he doesn’t know what I am going to write, though he always has an idea about what I am writing. Though it is important to listen to someone’s opinion, the world around the characters should come from within me."

Filmmaker-writer Meghna Gulzar spoke of her features Talvar (2015) and Raazi (2018) during the post-production stage and said, "I go through the cycle of detachment and attachment. Filmmaking is an extremely fulfilling process but when the film comes to the edit table, I look at the footage very objectively. I totally assess things at the edit but again sound and music get me attached."

“I love collaborative writing since I am a very lazy writer. The verbal jamming with my co-writers is fun. More than a conflict, it would be a different point of view if ever I have creative differences at the script level,” she added.

The golden jubilee edition of the festival concludes on 28 November.