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Vertical Micro-Drama and the Psychology of the Exhausted Audience

Some of the sharpest writers I know turned down micro-drama projects with a particular kind of pride. Not a scheduling conflict. Not a creative mismatch. A refusal. Because they considered it beneath them. The same thing happened...

Shop Talk

What is Branding and Why It’s So Deceptively Difficult?

At the agency, there’s a recurring learning session where someone talks about what they know, and the rest of the team hopefully picks up something useful. It’s a good initiative. Recently, HR asked me to lead one on Brand...

Room NotesUnformula

The Storyteller’s Instinct: Where the Techniques Fail

At the agency, a task force was formed to explore AI filmmaking. They approached me to give them a crash course on storytelling. My first reaction was to laugh. But then it struck me — saying no would be a disservice. So I...

Verses

The Hero’s Act

The Hero's Act Sun sinks in the sky’s lament, Still you wait for your moment, Caged in your self-made shrine, Dreaming of your day to shine. "There must be a better way," you say, "One day I’ll rise and make my hay. Today’s...

Room Notes

The Anatomy of a Spark: How a Random Social Media Post Pulled Me Back to Direction

When I wrote and directed Stripped, I made myself a promise: I would never direct again unless every ingredient was right. Stripped got its share of attention. It travelled, got reviewed, went viral organically, and in many ways...

Storytelling

When the Wrong Hero Takes the Journey: The Narrative Collapse of Thamma

In Hollywood's mythology, vampires have always ruled the supernatural hierarchy—elegant, eternal, and terrifyingly in control. Even when pitted against werewolves, they stood at the top of the food chain. But in Maddock's...

Musings

The Certainty Business: How Hallmark Turns Predictability into Profit

You know what's the first rule of storytelling? To keep the audience guessing till the end. At least, that's what the rest of the world believes in. From HBO to Netflix and everything in between. The goal is to consistently...

Storytelling

Shifted Lens: Reframing PK and E.T. Through Fresh Eyes

I believe it was in some interview, where Director Govind Nihalani was discussing his film Ardh Satya (1983). The film was revered by masses and critics alike as India's first corrupt cop movie. That would mean an entire nation...

Room Notes

When Art Chooses You: Why Perfect Is the Enemy of Finished

It's 3:30 AM. In a couple of hours, I'm supposed to wake up and go to work. But here I am. Just wrapped a few scenes for a feature film and decided to stop for the night. I had cracked the screenplay till interval already, but...

Storytelling

How Chennai Express Found Characters, While Param Sundari Settled for Stereotypes

Bollywood loves its North-meets-South romances. We've seen them in Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993), and 2 States (2014), where cultural clashes act as shorthand for conflict. But let's set those aside. For...