As a part of the expansion programme, Creative Writing Department has been established at Asian Academy of Film & TV. This department is headed by the widely acclaimed novelist R K Mishra. His Excellency Mr Sibte Razi, currently the governor of Jharkhand state is its chief patron.
A weeklong workshop on the art of writing was recently organized by the Creative Writing Department at Noida, Film city. This workshop focused on writing stories, dialogues and screenplays for film and television. Eminent literary figures interacted with the participants during the workshop.
In this opening remarks Director, Asian Academy of Film & TV Sandeep Marwah said such workshops provide necessary support to those who feel like writing as an outlet for their inborn creative talent. The principal aim of story telling should be to expose the inner working of human mind through conflict, whether it be told in a short story, novel, play or movie, he added.
Eminent poet and chairman Lalit Kala Academy, Ashok Bajpai dwelled on the importance of reading of the works of great literary masters and careful listening by the writers. He stated that proficiency in writing can’t be acquired without serious study.
Head of Hindi Depatment, Jamia Milia Islamia Asgar Wajahat said that the basic ingredients of a screenplay are the premise, the characterization and dialogues. Premise, he added is the seed out of which a story, novel, plays or movie germinates and grows. Look around and be observant and you will find the world is an inexhaustible confectionary shop from which you may choose the tastiest delicacies available therein, he added.
Expressing his views Chairman Hindi Sansthan Ram Saran Joshi said that dramatic narrative on the screen is typically conveyed both verbally & non verbally. The verbal communication – dialogues – is a supremely important tool that has been refined and shaped through long usage. Every word of dialogue should suggest the premise, set the tone, present an immediate problem, advance the plot and most importantly reveal the character, he opined.
Talking about characterization, Dr. Ganga Prasad Vimal said that human beings have three dimensions – Physiology, Sociology and Psychology. If a writer understand that three dimensions can provide the reason for every phase of human conduct, it will be very easy for him to write about any character and trace his motivation to its source.
Intervening in the interactive session with the participants Dr Manager Pandey, formerly of the Hindi Department, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, said that character is the fundamental material the writer has to work with. Therefore, regardless of the medium the writer is working in, he must know the character as thoroughly as possible, he added.
The well known poet Kedar Nath Singh also shared his views on creative writing with special reference to poetry during the workshop.
In his concluding remarks R K Mishra informed that two teaching and training programmes have been structured by the creative writing department and world be launched in the near future. One of these – a three month long refresher course for the working professionals and another – on year long for the freshers. He also announced that each one of the 12 participants of the workshop would be helped to write script for a short film and the production of the best three of these would be financed by Marwah Productions. R K Mishra also promised to hold similar workshops on popular demand, in future.