When filmmaker Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies got selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars, it became the second film from Aamir Khan Productions to get that honour after Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India (2001). The film’s screenplay and dialogue writer Sneha Desai spoke about the film’s selection for the Academy Awards and her process and experience of writing it in an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama.
What was your reaction when you came to know about your film being selected for the Oscars?
I got to know through a couple of messages. I had just met Kiran ma’am. I was on my way back home and that’s when I came to know and it was a moment of an absolute disbelief and terrible, terrible excitement.
Did you speak to Kiran Rao or Aamir Khan after the news came out?
I haven’t spoken to Aamir sir yet but I immediately spoke to Kiran ma’am. Both of us were really in tears of happiness. Tanaji Dasgupta, our executive producer, was also online. It was a sheer culmination of so much of hard work and effort put in by the entire team.
What was the biggest challenge for you while writing the screenplay and dialogue for Laapataa Ladies?
The writing part was not so much of a challenge. The only thing was that we were working during COVID. So, meeting each other, discussing while we were together, brainstorming at each other’s places; all those things became very difficult. We had to audition for the film remotely. People had to send in their auditions online. So much of work happened on Zoom calls. A film is basically a matter of collaboration. You give and take. The vibration in the room matters. We were mostly dealing with such a sensitive subject online, which was one of the major stumbling blocks. But that was it. Once we got used to it, there wasn’t much of a problem.
Biplab Goswami has written the story for Laapataa Ladies. It was one of the five winning entries at Cinestaan India Storytellers Contest in 2018, where Aamir Khan was one of the judges. How was it working with Biplab and how did you find his writing?
I did not interact with Biplab initially. The story was initially given to me by the production house to develop the screenplay and write dialogues. Of course, after we finished a little bit of work on it in the first and second draft and internal brainstorming, Biplab again joined the team. He sat through our narrations and sessions. There were things he wanted to change, there were things he found amusing, what we had changed in the story, etc. So, it was a very creative collaboration once he joined the team.
The film has the type of Hindi dialogues spoken in rural India. Hindi is not your mother tongue. How did you develop the skill of this language?
I have written a lot for Hindi television and I am also currently writing. I have written shows like RK Laxman Ki Duniya, Pushpa Impossible, Wagle Ki Duniya, etc. In a month, I clock around 40-50 episodes. Hindi meri matrubhasha nahin hai lekin humari rashtrabhasha toh hai. So, I have learnt it and I can’t afford to not know Hindi.
The worlds of shows like Puhspa Impossible or Wagle Ki Duniya and a film like Laapatlaa Ladies are poles apart. How do you adapt to such diverse genres?
Actually, the learning has been very gruelling. The good part is that initially for a lot of years, I did theatre. Then I did theatre and TV simultaneously. After that, I started getting films. The way I kept growing as a writer, a new dimension kept getting added to it. I have got the chance of working for 5-8 years on one particular medium. And today, I am able to handle all three mediums simultaneously. The grammar of all three mediums is very different. Honestly, it’s not easy to paddle all three together. But if you are doing something for so many years with dedication, you learn the craft after a point.
Do you visit the shoot of the projects you write for?
Not every time but if it’s your film, you genuinely want to be there. You are eager to see how your written word is translated on screen. But it is not to supervise or find out. It is more about being a part of the process. You also get to learn a lot. As a writer, you get to know that when I write something on paper and then it actually gets enacted, how much you enjoy or face problems is all a part of the learning. So most of the times I go on sets for academic interest.
How was it working with Kiran Rao? How involved was she in the script?
She was involved at every stage and at every page. She is a very hands-on director and my rapport with her is lovely. She is always just a one phone call away. She gets a lot involved in the script. With a lot of curiosity, she wants to know everything, like why this scene was crafted in this way and what is the writer wanting to say in this scene. She says if she has any feedback or criticism on it. She talks to you in a very honest manner. If she wants to edit out something, she has reasons and logic behind it. She is a wonderful collaborator. This is my debut film, so new writers receiving such mentoring from the director or producer is a great opportunity to learn. I was very privileged to work with her.
How was your experience with Aamir Khan? How much was he involved in the whole process?
Aamir Khan is so generous as a producer and artiste. He is a like an open book. How much you read and learn from it depends on you. He heard the narration so nicely and he brings such lovely points on the table. His point of view is so well-developed cinematically because he has so much of experience. The lesson we got from him was very priceless. When your producer is such a big artiste himself, so it’s not only the money that he is investing. He is also investing his time and creative juices. So, it’s a big thing for you.
You also wrote the dialogues for Maharaj, which stars Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan. How and when did you bag that film?
In fact, Maharaj came to me first. When I had gone to narrate Maharaj to Junaid (Khan) ji for the first time, I also met Aamir sir and Kiran ma’am because they were also a part of that narration. Then the lockdown happened and the shoot of Maharaj genuinely came to a halt. At that time, I got a call from the production saying that they have this lovely story (Laapataa Ladies) and whether I would like to write it.
Now that Laapataa Ladies is selected for the Oscars from India, how much are you thinking about the film entering the next stage and how anxious or excited are you?
After all the entries are received, they make a long list of 15 films. After that, they make the short list of 5, as far as I know. I am not anxious. We are hopeful. Every country from the world will be sending their best film. How those films are we don’t know because we haven’t seen them. We have seen some though, but we don’t even know the names of other films. So, the thing is that we have entered the competition but we don’t know why are our competitors. So there is no point in being anxious. Let us be hopeful. We are hoping for the best and it is going to be a different ride. So, all of us are looking forward to it.
The best part is that, before this, Aamir Khan Production’s Lagaan has already reached the top 5. So this production house has the experience of how to plan the campaign for the Oscars because it’s not easy. As they have already been through that phase, I feel we are in the best hands. So if we cross the next stage, then there is no better production house than Aamir Khan Productions to handle us.
Also Read: Ravi Kishan on Laapataa Ladies going to the Oscars, “I ate 160 paans in my first paan-India film”
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