28 February,2026 12:12 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sriram Raghavan
The Screenwriters Association's (SWA) first event of the year, Vartalaap, opened with an unfiltered and craft-focused conversation with filmmaker Sriram Raghavan, who reflected not only on his films but on the writing decisions, missteps and professional relationships that shaped his journey.
The event began with a rare screening of Raghavan's FTII student diploma film The Eight Column Affair. The filmmaker then went on a trip down memory lane, talking about how long before his breakout directorial debut with Ek Hasina Thi, he was working in Mumbai covering the film industry in his early days.
The job took him from Stardust to a trade magazine.
"If you look at the articles today, you can blackmail me! They used to be so bad," Raghavan joked. While his stint as a journalist didn't last long, he met filmmaker Mukul Anand and instantly knew he wanted to make movies.
"I had asked Mukul Anand, âShould I join the film institute or work with you?' He told me if I work with him it'll take me five years to make my first film, whereas it's be quicker to do the same after FTII. That said, it took me 17 years to make my debut!" Raghavan laughed.
But before his feature directorial materialised, Raghavan worked on TV, writing for shows, especially the long-running CID. He recalled how the show's producer, BP Singh, would call him to write episodes for CID, and he had to wing a story in one night.
"But writing for CID ensured that the next two months' money would be sorted," he said about sailing through financially uncertain periods at the start of his career.
For a filmmaker widely regarded as a master of the thriller genre, Raghavan surprised many by stating that he never treated logic as his guiding principle.
Recalling advice from Ram Gopal Varma during the making of Ek Hasina Thi, he said: "Don't worry about logic, shoot with conviction." At the same time, Raghavan was candid about missteps. Speaking about Agent Vinod, he admitted that he made a mistake at the writing table for the big-budget actioner headlined by Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.
"I focused more on individual sequences rather than the whole story and a solid character, which would have been the spine of the film," he said, noting that a strong, cohesive narrative must anchor even the most stylish set pieces. The lesson, he emphasised, was one he carried forward into later projects.
A highlight of the evening was Raghavan's recollection of his creative equation with Dharmendra.
"Dharamji was among the first people I narrated Ikkis to and he loved it unconditionally," he said, referring to his war-drama that marked the final screen appearance of the legend.
He also revealed that during the writing stage of Agent Vinod, he had conceived a role for the head of RAW with Dharmendra in mind. The film, he explained, initially had younger and older narrative tracks, and discussions were held at the scripting stage - including meetings with Zeenat Aman for a key part in the Russia portion. The track was eventually not pursued.
The conversation also turned to the industry's shifting landscape and the oft-repeated anxiety around theatrical decline and creative relevance, a concern Raghavan dismissed with characteristic ease.
"I don't have that fear. There are many films today that I don't want to make or can't make or don't even enjoy. But every year I find five or ten films I love. Sometimes you wish you had got that story. That happens to me a lot. I watched Marty Supreme, I loved it, but it's not a story I would tell. I don't feel irrelevant."
He acknowledged that he has seen ups and downs in his career but stressed the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships with producers. "It is important to develop this bond with producers. They are the ones putting money behind one's craft."
For writers navigating an unpredictable industry, his advice was pragmatic: in times when films may not work commercially, a "fabulous script" will always hold a screenwriter in good stead. "No producer will say no to it," he said, urging writers to keep honing their craft.
The session was attended by SWA President Charudutt Acharya, Lyricist Raj Shekhar (General Secretary, SWA), filmmakers Hitesh Kewalya, Anu Singh Chaudhary, Hardik Mehta, Arati Kadav, Amrit Raj Gupta & writers Arshad Syed, Gunjit Chopra among several members of the writing community.
