Learn How To Write a Blockbuster With Raju Hirani & Abhijat Joshi

Exceprts from a session with Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi on ‘how to make a blockbuster’ at Jio MAMI Mela

At the Jio MAMI Mela held on Saturday at Mumbai’s Mehboob Studio, director Rajkumar Hirani and screenplay writer Abhijat Joshi were the opening panelists for the day. The session was packed with film stars, filmmakers and budding talent who were all there to talk about a variety of topics. The crowd was more than eager to hear Bollywood’s hit writer-director duo, the Salim-Javed of our generation, open up about their work and experiences.

This session was moderated by well known film critics Anupama Chopra and Rajeev Masand, and the topic of discussion was, ‘How to write a blockbuster?’ Raju felt it was too pompous a topic, but here’s what ensued.

I feel it’s very arrogant for me to sit and say ‘how to write a blockbuster’. The fact is that I didn’t go out to make any blockbuster. I didn’t go out to satisfy everyone because that’s not possible. My only tip is ‘be happy with what you are making’.

Rajkumar Hirani, Filmmaker

When the duo was asked what irritates them about each other, Raju just smiled, and didn’t answer. But Joshi was bold enough to say this-

Sometimes I am really excited about a scene/dialogue which I have written but haven’t told Raju about yet. And I keep saying it’s excellent so finally he tells me, ‘Okay, can I hear it?’

Abhijat Joshi, Screenplay writer

What we learnt was that a lot of dialogues, scenes and stories in their films are taken from their personal experiences. Every touching moment in their films is a slice of life that they have either heard or experienced themselves. Like the scene in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in which Sanjay Dutt’s character becomes a radio jockey and gives people solutions through some Gandhigiri . In that scene, a female caller seeks his help to decide if the boy she’s meeting is good marriage material. Munna tells her to wait and watch how he treats the waiter. He suggests that if the guy calls the waiter with a whistle, “to phir kat lena” (then leave).

Now, this was something that came from Raju’s personal experience. He said that when he used to frequently eat at Udipi hotels in Mumbai with his friends, one of them always whistled out to the waiter, which Raju thought was rude. When he corrected his friend, he was told that they’re paying money, so it’s okay to call the waiter like that.

The duo also knew a guy who didn’t get admission at a film school, so he studied filmmaking in someone else’s name, because he didn’t want a degree and only wanted to learn the craft. He was the inspiration behind Rancho of 3 Idiots.

Towards the end, students and budding writers were allowed to ask the masters a few questions. It even reached a point where an aspiring writer asked for Hirani’s contact number. That was Hirani’s cue to exit, understandably.

The rest of the day was packed with sessions with other film stars. From Deepika Padukone to Varun Dhawan, and from Alia Bhatt to Sonam Kapoor, everyone shared their filmi experiences. But Hirani and Joshi’s talk was the real highlight of the day.