Adventures of a Writer

Jaideep Sen Jaideep Sen pays tribute to Bollywood's Star Action Director As I stood in front of Veeru (Devgan) Ji’s pyre last evening I felt that an era of genuine “greatness” had come to an end. When I kissed his forehead, through numbing pain that crossed my heart, the only thought that passed my mind was: why can’t our parents be immortal.   It took me back to the Prayer meeting organized for the late Divya Bharti’s Mother where the priest conducting the ceremony had in his discourse said “ Jo Bhagwan dikhte hain woh Mata Pita hote hain, jo Mata Pita nahin dikhte woh Bhagwan ”  These words have made a lasting impact on me. I’ve unfortunately lost both my parents and who would feel the impact of those words more than me. Veeru Devgan: Hindi Contemporary Cinema's First Star Action Director Veeru Ji is the first Star Action Director in contemporary Hindi cinema, a name that has graced the credit titles of more than 80 films & m...

Do authors love some of their own books more than others they have written?  Having been a  writer for a while now, I believe that every book is special - and I have felt deeply about each of my characters. But if I were to pick that one title that has a special place in my heart, it would be No Safe Zone. It's a romantic thriller - my first in this genre - which is set in one of my favourite places in the world: Jaipur. It features a feisty heroine Qiara Rana who is an activist and wants to change the world. The hero Kabir Shorey is to die for - an Intelligence Bureau officer who rides a mean motorbike and catches the bad guys! And these two have a history. Can Qiara forgive Kabir for betraying her? Can Kabir overcome his past and do good by Qiara?  Writing this story was a challenge as it was an escapist romance set in a real world. I'm so so happy to bring No Safe Zone out as an e-book. But before that, I have a Cover Reveal... I hope you love the cover as muc...

Week S of the Authors' Tips Series is proving to be a pathbreaking one.  In a second post for Alphabet S , Jaideep Sen writes about the significance of social messaging in films, particularly the kind of progressive writing as categorised in Master Screenwriter Salim Khan's films. Read on... When my writer friend, Adite Banerjie, mentioned that her blog is doing something called “Week S” which is celebrating any Phenomenon starting with the Alphabet S, I thought it was only apt that I did my next piece on Phenomenal Writer, Salim Saab. Cinema breaks the time barrier, becomes timeless and its respect is etched in stone when along with the required ingredient of entertainment it also deals with socially relevant issues and progressive characters. This has been the hallmark of Salim Saab’s writing – both as an independent writer as well as in his writing partnership with Javed Akhtar.   Satyen Kappu in Deewar The dialogues spoken by Satyen Kappu Ji in...

Welcome to Week S of Authors' Tips A - Z of Writing.  If this is the first time you are visiting this series, here's a quick recap.  Authors share their tips on writing fiction and each week we talk about various aspects of writing. This time, I'm doing a slightly different kind of piece. I hope you enjoy it.  Screenwriting is to filmmaking what a story is to a novel. Without a script or screenplay you can't make a movie. Indian screenplay writers have not enjoyed the limelight until a few decades ago. And perhaps the most celebrated film writers are Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar. However, Indian movies have a long and chequered history. Films have been made in India for more than a hundred years. And while we know and have heard of the pioneer auteurs of Indian films -- such as Dhundiraj Govind Phalke who's better known as Dadasaheb Phalke -- rarely has the Independent Screenwriter (who was not also a director) been talked about. I have been reading...