Thaindian News

By Madhusree Chatterjee
New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) Chick-lit writer Advaita Kala is a having a golden run with two of her “creative projects” - a standalone script and a book - set to appear in their cinematic avatars in Bollywood.

Delhi-based Kala, the author of the popular girlie book, “Almost Single”, is awaiting the release of “Anjana Anjani”, an offbeat Bollywood romantic comedy starring Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor. The movie has been directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala.

The writer’s second book has also found a Bollywood director.

“I conceived the script of ‘Anjana Anjani’ one-and-a-half-years after I completed ‘Almost Single’. Siddharth read the book and liked it. He wanted me to work on a romantic Gennext script. His wife Mamta came up with the idea. I began writing it in February 2009,” Kala told IANS.

“It took me six months to complete it. I had to redraft it several times with Siddharth,” the novelist said.

Her second book, which is yet to find a publisher, will be made into a movie by Sujoy Ghosh of “Jhankaar Beats” fame.

“I cannot name the book nor can I divulge the content because I signed a contract. I had to pledge silence,” she said.

The author feels “writing a book is more fulfilling than penning a script that has to accommodate a story, the multiple layers required of the visual medium, action and evolved characterisation”.

“I enjoy the exchange of dialogues and the drama surrounding a script. The challenges are different in a script while in a book I have the luxury of internalising and explaining a broad story. On average, a book comprises 90,000 words and by the time, a publisher prints, the word count is toned down to 68,000. A script on the other hand is tighter,” Kala said.

The script of “Anjana Anjani” required “a lot of self-editing”. “I had to edit it as I went along - and had to be quick in trimming it. It was kind of a linear process - moving on to a new page,” Kala said.

Writing the script for the movie did not require any extra effort, the novelist said. “I did not study creative writing. I majored in philosophy and worked in a hotel. The experience was spontaneous,” she said.