How The Team Of Qarib Qarib Singlle Took Bollywood One More Step Qarib To Gender-Neutrality
Gazal Dhaliwal: Dialogue and Screenplay Writer
On pursuing her chosen profession… “I had a pretty difficult childhood, and films used to be my only escape into a fantasy world, which gave me joy and hope. Since then, I had a burning desire to become a part of this dreamland. Even after working with Infosys for two years, I couldn’t shake off that feeling. In 2005, I gave up software engineering and moved to Mumbai to try my luck in the industry. I was first hired by Govind Nihalani as an assistant writer. I learned a lot from him, which eventually helped me to get my first dialogue-writing gig with Tanuja Chandra. She showed an instinctive faith in me right after our first meeting and I believe that it was a blessed day when I met her.”
On sexism in Bollywood… “I’ve had one-off instances of (lesser-known) producers asking me to travel to their Madh Island bungalows to “work on a script”. Once, a director said to me that I couldn’t write a certain script for him because I was a woman. Apart from these, I think my struggle has been pretty much what any unknown writer from outside the industry would have to face to catch a break. Very few producers care to pay their writers well – irrespective of them being male or female.”
On her favourite project so far… “I don’t take up a project unless I find it exciting in some way. Lipstick Under My Burkha was a delicious screenplay for me to bite into. Similarly, all the chess analogies in Wazir were very interesting. But I have to say that my favourite script to work on has definitely been Qarib Qarib Singlle. Romcom is my favourite genre, but QQS was a most unusual, quirky romcom, hence making it all the more attractive. The characters Tanuja had in mind were inherently fun but at the same time deeply layered. It was truly satisfying to explore the nuances of Jaya (Parvathy) and Yogi (Khan).”
On what drew her to QQS… “The first thing that drew me to the film was Tanuja. I had developed a special bond with her and felt that our chemistry as co-writers was beautiful. She is very welcoming of ideas and is extremely generous as a person as well as a writer. I felt heard around her, which is most important for a writer. The second significant factor was the fascinating journey of Yogi and Jaya. In fact, for me, Yogi is pretty much an ideal man for any girl. He is a gentleman, makes you laugh, takes care of you and, every once in a while, says a sher in your praise. I wanted to spend time with Yogi and writing his story seemed like the best way to do that.”
On her next project… “I can’t speak much about it, but it’s an untitled Vidhu Vinod Chopra film that’s juicy, meaningful and a whole lot of fun!”
