Thaindian News

New Delhi, June 24 (IANS) There are certain things money can’t buy - and for Merchant Navy serviceman Bikram Sandhu, this couldn’t be more than true.

Life at sea was well paying, but, well, not adventurous enough! So, he chose to quit his high-paying job in pursuit of his dreams of indulging in adventure sports. Eventually, he took to scriptwriting.

He lived a part of his dreams when he walked away with the winner’s trophy in the National Geographic channel’s road reality show “Xtreme Trail” in December last year.

“I joined the Merchant Navy when I was 18. The general perception for Indians as to what is most important in life is a secure job and money. Happiness and living a life like there is no tomorrow did not feature on my list then,” Sandhu told IANS in an e-mail interaction.

“Life is too short and I just felt I had to follow my dreams and do things I always wanted to. ‘Xtreme Trail’ was just a stepping stone to fulfilling my desires. I’m now planning to get a four-wheel-drive vehicle and pursue off roading as a hobby,” he added.

Of late, a lot of people are giving up their cushy jobs to pursue their hobbies and make it their career. Sandhu feels money can’t buy happiness that comes when one gets a chance to realise one’s dreams.

“Money can’t buy you happiness. But if following your dream, which could be adventure sports, gives you happiness and the feeling of being content, then thumbs up to you. What’s better than waking up each morning and doing something you love?” he said.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, Sandhu did his masters in nautical science from Britain and he has led an adventurous life.

“I did my masters in nautical science from the UK, sailed to more than 50 countries and have had a super adventurous life at sea as well, where I have fought fire, dived in the middle of the ocean to remove a fishing net from the propeller and that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

Sandhu is now trying his hands at scriptwriting. He has already penned two scripts.

“Ever since I was a kid, I have had a vivid imagination which would even continue in my dreams. So one fine morning I decided to pen down my thoughts. I have written two movie scripts and am at present working on two more,” he said.

“The genre of scripts is action adventure - about a ship getting hijacked - a dark superhero movie about a character from the Mahabharat, an espionage thriller and a comedy. For all my scripts, I am just the writer,” he added.

He believes the country doesn’t lack good writers, and the Hindi film industry must stop depending on making remakes.

“There is a lot of good scripts out there, but I don’t know why people are hell bent on making remakes . Also very few big producers are encouraging new writers. It is also very difficult to meet an actor with a script, but then again like everything even a script has its destiny,” he added.

(Priyanka Sharma can be reached at priynaka.s@ians.in)