Rajesh Saksham & Saima Ahmad on getting their dues in TV: ‘Writers have to fight

Should a storyrsquos success go to the filmmaker or the writer Itrsquos a question often debated in entertainment circles While OTT platforms have given good writing and writers centre stage television lags behind However producer Guroudev Bhalla hopes to change that with his show JagritimdashEk Nayi Subah At the showrsquos launch the producer introduced the writers Saima Ahmad and Rajesh Saksham on stage and credited them for their contributionmdasha rarity in the world of television In conversation with midday screenwriter Ahmad and story writer Saksham discuss the showrsquos origin the state of writers in the television industry and why change is long overdueEdited excerpts from the interviewHow did the story of JagritimdashEk Nayi Subah germinateRajesh Saksham It started with my desire to write a story that is connected to the soil and I wanted to base it on those who were ignored by the progressive society Being a writer on many historical shows I had learnt that there are nearly 150 to 200 tribes in India who fought wars alongside Maharana Pratap and Shivaji Maharaj In the early 1780s the tribes and kings coexisted peacefully because they never ventured into each otherrsquos domain However the British were keen to explore the forests and the tribes rebelled against it an example being the Chuar rebellion in Bengal At that time many tribes were criminalised and defamed until the Criminal Tribes Act CTA was repealed in August 1949 which decriminalised nearly 2300000 tribals in India However after a few years the Wildlife Protection Act was issued which made hunting illegal That was a massive setback for the tribes who earned their living from hunting The story of Jagriti played by Asmi Deo is based on one such small tribe and their exploitation In the show the tribe provides the animals theyrsquove hunted willingly to Kalikant Thakur played by Arya Babbar in exchange for a small amount of money and protection While they are safe from the law they are kept away from society They stay away from education because they feel if they are exposed to it they will lose the identity of their tribe One voice rises against it allmdashJagriti Wersquove shown her as a part of the fictitious Chitta tribe She is born to a modern and educated woman a magistrate Jagritirsquos aim is to change the fate of her tribe and unite them with the rest of societyWhat are the themes yoursquore exploring through the storyRS The story throws light on social discrimination lack of education freedom from the oppressor and from a rigorous mentality In todayrsquos society we are trying to eradicate another kind of mentality of patriarchy especially in light of some of the heinous things they do to women We are making people think and maybe help free themselves from such an attitudeDo you think such shows really influence peoplersquos mentality and their viewsSaima Ahmad After watching the show if your views about the help working in your own home change if you ask them whether they have voter ID and you include them in your society then I believe we wouldrsquove accomplished our mission People in the lower strata are dissatisfied about how society excludes them In so many buildings there are different elevators for residents and the service staff If the show makes you wonder why should there be a different lift for everyone then it has successfully conveyed its message If the urban audience stops treating the underprivileged as invisible we would have achieved somethingHave you seen daily soaps effecting change in societyRS I donrsquot have any personal experience of seeing drastic changes However I have heard that after Udaan there was renewed focus on bonded labour People are bought from Bihar Bengal and Jharkhand to work in the brick kiln Parents sell their daughters and sons to work in factories Itrsquos a kind of bonded labour There was a report about it in NDTV after which the police raided the place I am not saying the change happened because of the daily soap but when the domestic help in peoplersquos homes are underage we ensure to send them to school It could be our consciousness or fearSA What was normalised 10 years ago we are at least questioning it now I remember our house help had separate utensils and would eat in the kitchen When I had asked my mother why her utensils were kept separate from ours she claimed it was a habit which she later changedThis is the first event I attended where writers are introduced and given as much importance as the lead actors Do you think writers are now getting their dueRS When writers Salim Khan and Javedrsquos Akhtar Zanjeer 1973 came out they wrote their names on the posters I believe writers have to fight for their rights The director might be making the film but it is written by writers Itrsquos not that after wersquove written it it becomes someone elsersquos intellectual property It will always belong to the writer who wrote itOn TV every show has the same flavour today Some writers are only concerned about the paycheque that comes their way When a writer sees themselves like that they donrsquot attempt to do something new nor are they allowed to do something new Itrsquos a bold step for this showrsquos makers to take a stand for the writers and introduce them Most channels donrsquot entertain such exposureSA Despite it often being said that film is a directorrsquos medium and TV is a writerrsquos medium daily soap writers rarely get their due Itrsquos true that you have to fight for your place in the world Women began to get liberated when they stood up and fought for their rightsDo you think churning out episodes from Monday to Sunday is hampering writers from penning good stories Should we have seasons like in the WestSA Some channels are taking this initiative now where they are looking for a strong story and are not changing it irrespective of the TRPsRS If this happens the fate of television will change in India We worked on JagritimdashEk Nayi Subah for six months in detail We will not change our story irrespective of the TRPs You cannot bring math in storytellingPast worksRajesh sakshamgtgt Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kiigtgt Udaangtgt Jhansi Ki Ranigtgt Maharana PratapSaima Ahmadgtgt Divya Drishtigtgt Baghingtgt Kyunki Saas Maa Bahu Beti Hoti Hai gtgt Ikk Kudi Punjab Di