Most authors want to convert their books into films – Mushtaq Shiekh Part 2

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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USA: Oye! Times readers Get FREE $30 to spend on Amazon, Walmart… You may argue that Mushtaq Shiekh is the busiest writer in our industry. The truth is… he is. It's another thing that he is often seen gracing the red carpet premieres and events, spends most of his time at his favourite coffee shops, has as many as five to six back to back meetings there, then shifts his focus from Bollywood to books and as the sun sets, you see him partying with Ekta Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan and a few more high profile celebrities. Great writers have always fascinated their readers, be it their style of writing or simply just their style. Mushtaq comes across as fascinating, a bit fashion conscious and, for a change, fiery when it comes to films. Authors turning screenplay writers, the need to succeed in animation, that one chance to go back in time and the vital missing ingredient in story telling is the chat I have with Mushy in this Part 2 exclusive.

"Today, I know most of the authors who are more bothered about converting their books into feature films"
Books should not be written with the mindset that it will eventually be adapted into a screenplay and then a film. I wouldn't do that. I call it the curse of the screenwriter. Today, I know most of the authors are more bothered about converting their books into feature films. The royalties don't seem to pay so much and the publishing doesn't seem to have gone through the roof either. So the only way some extra hype can be generated is to announce your book into a film. All authors secretly desire to see their book breathe and come to life on the big screen. It's just a trend.

"Once you are into animation, you cross all boundaries. I don't think we have that kind of patience and perseverance"
We could adapt our most famous and most read Tinkle into a movie too, why not? But sadly, nobody in our film industry wants to touch animation or embark into that territory. I'm saying this because I have had a word with a lot of producers. One of our big players tried to get into it and got it all wrong. Many production houses tried but failed. So the herd mentality is – 'We don't want to try it because others failed'. Honestly, animation films don't get made in a year or two. It takes years of hard work. You require someone's vision for years to get it right. Pixar is the best example. Once you are into animation, it crosses all boundaries. I don't think we have that kind of patience and perseverance.

"Back in time, I'd love to write Amar Akbar Anthony, Guide and Naseeb"
If I had to go back in time and choose a few films that I'd love to be a part of as a writer, it'd have to be all the 'lost and found' sagas because in there I find chance, luck, hope, courage and love unexplained. Amar Akbar Anthony, I'd kill for to be a part of. I'd love to have written Guide and Naseeb and the only English film I wish I had written would be As Good As It Gets. It is all pre-empt and God has a hand in this to call this movie 'As Good As It Gets' because it's as good as it ever gets.

"The b***s to question the destiny and ask for a 'real deal' is the first component that attracts me to a story"
The one ingredient I search for every time I tell a compelling story is the ray of hope. Hope keeps us all alive and I search for that in every story, and the capacity to fight the odds. I seek that extra magic. The b***s to question the destiny and ask for a 'real deal' is the first component that attracts me to a story. Hope floats and keeps us all from sinking, and the moment you see that in the story, you identify with it.

Click here to read Part 1

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