As a screenwriter, you rarely get to put a face to your words. Sometimes, years pass before the audience even knows who wrote their favourite story. So, when Divy Nidhi Sharma got the chance to perform his own story at the ongoing seventh edition of the Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival, he grabbed it with both hands.

“When you’re a screenwriter, there are many people involved between you and the audience before the story reaches them. But when you recite a story, there are no mediators,” says the writer, who has penned a new story, Jewan, for the festival.

As Sharma kicks off the year with fresh writing, he reflects on how his last outing — the Aamir Khan-starrer comedy Sitaare Zameen Par — has made Bollywood’s top studios take him “more seriously” now. 

“A film like Sitaare Zameen Par opens a lot of doors. Now when you go to pitch to a studio or a producer, you know your word is taken more seriously. It wasn’t just a commercial hit, it was well-received by the common people because of the intent with which the film was written,” he shares.

“We made a film that was well received. The film made decent money. It got families back into theatres. That was our objective. Beyond that, there is no end to wishes and wants.”