Close encounters

Seated in the conference room at Yash Raj Studios,the two get ready to field queries but every now and then,one keeps looking at the other to take the lead. Sahni relents,sighs and tells us that though he wrote the script of the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rocket Singh,the story was conceived by both.

“One day we were driving somewhere and started talking about our first jobs and the related struggles. We realised it’s a great subject,” Amin narrates,adding,“We hardly know about the lives of sales professionals so we thought a slice of life from the their lives will be interesting.” However,the two refuse to divulge more than this as “that will give away the story”.

Their pairing is merely two films old but the association isn’t; they’ve been friends since they’ve worked together with Ram Gopal Varma. Chak De cemented the bond. Ask them if they belong to the same school of filmmaking and Amin laughs: “Jaideep doesn’t belong to any school of filmmaking.” Sahni takes the cue: “I was a computer engineer who one day came across the screenplay of Gandhi and was so fascinated by the medium that I decided to try it out. I’ve learnt on the job from people like RGV,Dibakar Bannerjee,Shimit—all of them influence my work.” Amin explains his stand in return,“When I was 32,someone told me that if you study films you will only end up making films about films. Since Jaideep didn’t belong here,his perspective is fresh and untainted.”

Sahni,39,admits that Amin also plays the role of a sounding board for him. “Writing is a very lonely job — you sit in your room and will be writing for days together. There are times when you need to know where to stop or whether at all you are headed in the right direction. With Shimit’s experience of judging writing,he has often guided me,” says Sahni.

One characteristic that clearly stands out is their treatment of music—Chak De or Rocket Singh have practically no music. Amin flatly says he is bad with songs and that Sahni’s scripts don’t have any scope for them. The writer also doubles up as a lyricist and has popular songs like Haule Haule from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Bure Bure from Bluffmaster to his credit,smiles and explains his view. “To have films with songs is a form unique to South Asia. Though I love music,I feel not everyone can make musicals. It’s a specialisation,like weaving kanjeevarams. Since I can’t do it,I won’t abuse the form.”