Exclusive: Sumit Arora on Fighting TV Writer Label Border 2 and Winning Recognition in Bollywood

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Sumit Arora is riding high on the success of Border 2. The writer has come a long way, from his early days in television to making a mark across films and OTT.  With shows like Dill Mill Gayye and Sadda Haq, he captured young audiences on the small screen, and today he is the mind behind some of the most quoted lines from Stree, The Family Man and Jawan, among others. When we sit down for a conversation, he reflects on arriving in Mumbai as a teenager with big-screen dreams, navigating the stigma of being labelled a ‘TV writer’, and eventually breaking into films with Stree. He also speaks about the evolving value of writers in mainstream cinema, crafting whistle-worthy moments for Shah Rukh Khan, shouldering the legacy of Border and more. Excerpts:

You moved to Mumbai from Meerut at a young age. What were those early days like?
I came to Mumbai when I was just 17 or 18. The plan was always to write and direct films. I was new and didn’t know how to speak English because I was a Hindi-medium student. I did not know anybody in Mumbai, so there was a lot of struggle even in terms of meeting people. I realised that somehow you have to survive in the city first and then aspire to do films. I got into TV writing and assisted a senior writer. I started making money through television and that helped me settle in the city and work on myself and my craft.

You became one of the highest-paid TV writers. Did that kind of success so early on feel surreal or scary?
Success for me meant doing the kind of work that I want to do. While I was writing for TV, I was making
a great deal of money. All of that was just a way to move towards what I wanted to do, which is writing for films. TV gave me financial stability and a platform. Even while I was making money, I did not think I had become a successful person.

Was it difficult to leave that secure pay cheque and make the leap to films?

Yes, it was difficult. When I was trying to shift from television to films, I was calling directors and producers to ask for meetings. They would ask me what I had written and at that point, I had only done TV shows. Although I was working on relatively young, contemporary shows like Dill Mill Gayye and Sadda Haq, just saying that I worked in television carried a certain stigma. They had no understanding of me as a person or as a writer. The moment they heard the word ‘TV’, the conversation would almost end there because they thought you didn’t know how to write for cinema. It was a big problem I faced, and I’m sure many others who try to transition from TV also face this. But I never succumbed to that notion. I had come here to do films, so I kept working on my craft.

How long did it take to break this stigma?

It took a while. I had a few friends who were also trying to transition into films. I became friends with some assistant directors in a common circle and Amar Kaushik, who eventually made Stree, was one of them. I also started writing several film scripts on my own so that, if someone was interested, they could read my work and get a sense of what I do. It was when I made my short film White Shirt that people began to understand my sensibility. Then Amar Kaushik asked me to write the dialogue for Stree and that became the turning point for me. The first moment I felt seen as a writer was while writing Stree, when I felt what I was writing was being understood and cherished. There was some frustration before that, as I felt it was taking too long to reach where I wanted to be. But at no point did I feel that I should quit or go back.
When writing patriotic films such as 120 Bahadur or Border 2, how do you avoid overwriting heavy emotions
and keep patriotism from turning into jingoism?

You just have to follow the character you’re trying to create and stay true to the intent of the film. You intend to tell the story of these brave men who served their country. When your intent is clear, you will never cross the boundary.

How was it revisiting a legacy film like Border?
It was like an adventure. I had seen Border (1997) in a theatre in Meerut, and when I was asked to come on board Border 2, I looked at it as an opportunity that, of course, comes with a lot of responsibility. It is a great privilege to be offered the chance to be part of a film you saw as a child. It has been loved for almost three decades. Crores of Indians have seen Border and have many emotions attached to it. It’s a film loved by the Army. When we were writing it, director Anurag Singh and I were aware of that responsibility and tried to do justice to it.
Did the nostalgia attached to the film ever interfere with the writing process?

‘Interfere’ is not the right word. Nostalgia is attached to Border, and we were all aware of that. But we were respectful towards it.

Sumit Arora

What do you think young writers today misunderstand most about breaking into this industry?

Mainstream cinema is slightly looked down upon by a lot of young writers. They look at it as something lowbrow. If sharper minds come and work in mainstream cinema, they will enrich it. Their writing can be seen and heard by a larger audience. Younger writers should take up mainstream cinema and experiment with genres and craft. It is the need of the hour.

After writing for Stree, Jawan, The Family Man and now Border 2, do you feel pressure to always come up with memorable or clever lines?

The only line remembered by the audience is the one that genuinely fits that moment in the film. If we try to write one smart line without it fitting the context, it will never become memorable. Take the line “Kitne aadmi the?” from Sholay. It’s not a remarkably written line, but it’s memorable because the entire scenario works. You can’t reverse-engineer it. It has to come organically from the context of the film.
Jawan’s dialogues have become pop culture favourites, and Shah Rukh Khan won the National Award for the film. As the dialogue writer, how did you feel when his win was announced?

He should have won the National Award long ago. It’s entirely his win, and it was overdue. Every project comes with its own expectations for a writer. With a film like Jawan, you are writing for SRK and for a director like Atlee, who is known for his mass films. So you have to understand both sensibilities. It is very different from something like The Family Man, where you need humour, sharp writing and sharp exchanges. With Jawan, the expectation is that you deliver ‘mass moments’, yet retain your individuality. Mass moments can’t feel dated; they have to reflect what today’s audience enjoys. I like to write things I would enjoy watching as an audience member. If I am writing a mass film with a huge star, I think about how I would want to watch that star today. What kind of lines would I like him to say? What kind of mass moments would I enjoy? You have to strike a balance between your sensibilities and the
requirements of the film. That’s how you find an interesting and unique zone.

Sumit Arora

For years, audiences have remembered iconic lines and the stars who say them, while the writers behind those lines often remain unseen and unheard. Is that changing now?

It’s always a work in progress. The industry still has an internal problem. They understand the value of good writing but there is reluctance when it comes to giving writers that same value. People know we need good writing and that without good content we cannot make a hit. Everyone understands that. Yet when it comes to remuneration or respect for writers, they hesitate. When a young writer delivers something strong, you should be able to identify it and reward it appropriately in terms of money and recognition. You shouldn’t have to wait until someone has delivered five hits. Respecting a person’s stature is not the same as respecting writing itself. This fundamental shift needs to happen. I interact with a lot of young writers, and if I find something interesting, I try to mentor them. That’s something I would have wanted when I was starting out, for people with access to help young writers.

Sumit Arora

 Is there any film or show that did not land immediately, but you’re still proud of?

I’m proud of Chandu Champion. It did not work immediately in theatres, but it found its audience.

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Sumit Arora
You are also working on your directorial debut…

I can’t talk much about it, except that it’s a very exciting new story.

Does direction feel like a natural next step from writing, or is it a completely different battle?
Both. I always wanted to direct, so it does feel like a natural move. But it’s a different ball game altogether. It comes with different requirements and skill sets. As a writer, I’ve always been involved in the overall filmmaking process at every stage, so it’s still familiar territory. I love the scripting part. I love the shoot. I love being on set. And I absolutely love post-production. 

Also Read: Exclusive: I relate to Srikant Tiwari: Sumit Arora on The Family Man, working with Raj & DK & more

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: filmfare.com

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