Although he has earned his bread and butter being a writer in the industry, with the films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and 2 States (2014), among others to his credit, over the last week, Hussain Dalal has been in the news for an acting gig. The writer landed the role of Munna in Toofaan after a bizarre phone call from director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. “He directed a film I had written — Mere Pyare Prime Minister [2018]. Every time we wrote something together, he would say, ‘Yeh role kar le.’ After he watched Judgementall Hai Kya [2019], he called to read out the opening scene of Toofaan and I knew I had to do it,” he says.

With his latest outing in front of the camera, Dalal has realised that he enjoys both writing and acting deeply. But does he prefer one over the other? “The more I write, the more I understand acting. I understand the challenges and frustrations of an actor, which improves my writing. I have 10 films a year, but for me, it has never been about picking what’s better. I just want to go to work every day.”

The writer has big projects in the pipeline, including Brahmastra, Ajay Devgn’s Rudra for Disney+ Hotstar, Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa, Dongri To Dubai, and Raj-DK’s next with Amazon Prime Video. Making time for acting in between his writing deadlines can’t be easy, but he says his passion for the art form drives him. “It’s easy to get lazy, but magic is created by the virtue of showing up everyday. I tread carefully with acting. I don’t need to pick up gigs to run my kitchen. It’s only now after Toofaan that I am considering acting as a viable career option.”

On the writing front, one of his most interesting projects is perhaps Applause Entertainment’s adaptation of Call My Agent, the French series that became a global rage. Set in the corridors of a Paris-based talent management company, the series gives a peek into the lives of stars and the PR machinery that keeps them shining. For Dalal, working on its adaptation has been a long party. “We have to tap that ‘chai se zyada kettle garam’ culture into a narrative. The star always walks alone; insecure actors bring an army of people. This industry doesn’t have an agent culture, so this was a tough show to adapt.”

Was he flooded with calls from stars, requesting not to bring the skeletons out of their closets? “The beauty of good writing is to attack culture and society, and not people. So, there are the satirical touches we’ve given, while retaining the format of the original.”

This adaptation is starkly different from Dongri To Dubai, inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s book of the same name. Dalal informs that the screenplay has been created by Zaidi and Rensil D’Silva. “Abbas [Dalal] and I joined in later to do dialogues and additional tweaking of the material. It’s a classic story of a boy who came from poverty and ruled the city; it’s in the same beat as Narcos, only rooted in Bombay of the ’60s.”

Actor hopes to resume next in Nov, then confront Aayush Sharma, reunite with Sajid Nadiadwala and roar as Tiger
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 5, 2020)

Mirror (Feb 20) was the first to report that Salman Khan will be playing an upright Sikh cop in LoveYatri director Abhiraj Minawala’s next, which features Aayush Sharma as a gangster. The film was to roll in Delhi in April, but the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown played spoil-sport. During the lockdown, Salman stayed put with Abhiraj and writer Hussain Dalal, who has penned films like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, 2 States, Jawaani Jaaneman and Baaghi 2, in his farm in Panvel working on the script which is now locked. Titled Guns Of North, it will be shot in 90 days once life gets back to normal.

According to a source close to the development, the film is based on the Marathi hit, Mulshi Pattern, recommended to Salman by his friend, actor-filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar. “While in the original, Upendra Limaye’s cop was on screen for just 20 minutes, this time around, the script has been rewritten, to focus on the confrontation between Salman and Aayush, who play cop and gangster. He has almost 50-55 days work,” informed the source, adding that the extended cameo has now become a full-fledged role.

The shooting dates are yet to be decided because Salman’s first priority is to complete and release the Prabhudheva-directed action thriller, Radhe. “Around 10 days of shoot still remains. Now, they are contemplating letting go of a song which is not integral to the narrative. Salman is still at his farm and looking to resume work on Radhe in October or November. It’s a big screen entertainer, so the makers are in no hurry to release the film. If they can get back to action in the next two-three months, they will target the Republic Day weekend. If they miss that, their next consideration will be Eid 2021,” shared the source.

After Radhe and Guns Of North, Salman will move to the Sajid Nadiadwala production, Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali, directed by Farhad Samji, and then, towards the end of next year, to Tiger 3, which will reunite him with Katrina Kaif. “Salman has a tentative calendar in mind, but he won’t risk his health or that of his cast and crew for any work commitment. He is waiting for the case count to reduce and the vaccine to arrive before taking any decision. But after a much needed break of more than seven months, there will be four back-to-back Salman starrers. Meanwhile, he has locked two-three more scripts for his production house, which he will announce once the cast is locked,” the source signed off.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 28, 2019)

Model-turned-actress Sobhita Dhulipala who had made her Bollywood debut with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal in Anurag Kashyap’s 2016 thriller Raman Raghav 2.0, will next be seen in Sitara. The slice-of-life film is produced by Ronnie Screwvala.

“Sobhita will play Tara, a feisty, independent girl who recognises a flaw and sets out to redeem herself. In this process she pushes her family into confronting their own demons and forgiving each other. She fell in love with the story the minute she heard it and instantly agreed to be a part of the film,” informs a source close to the development.

The film will be helmed by Vandana Kataria who made her directorial debut with Noblemen, featuring Kunal Kapoor and Ali Haji. Vandana has also assisted Zoya Akhtar on the Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt’s musical drama Gully Boy, besides working as a production designer on films like Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy.

“Vandana has co-written the film with Sonia Bahl. Hussain Dalal known for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Baaghi 2, has penned the dialogue for this one too. Sitara, which is set in Kerala goes on the floors in the next three months,” the source signs off. 

Hiren Kotwani (DNA; October 15, 2018)

Even as Bollywood gets increasingly corporatised, we continue to hear stories of someone being shortchanged. More often than not, it’s the writer. The latest, in this case, is Manoj Mairta, who says Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is not giving him his rightful credit in the upcoming film, Mere Pyare Prime Minister. The writer also sent a legal notice to the filmmaker.  He says that since he hasn’t received any response in the stipulated 15 days, he will pursue the matter in court.

Manoj tells us that he had registered the script in 2014 before he contacted Rakeysh. Eventually, they entered into an agreement in April 2015. It was only a while after Mirzya released in 2016, that he began working on Mere Pyaare Prime Minister. The movie revolves around an eight-year-old boy (played by Om Kanojiya) living in a Mumbai slum who wants to build a toilet for his mother (played by Anjali Patil).

However, after the film’s completion when its first look was unveiled in 2017, Manoj learnt that he was not getting the credit as promised. When his repeated requests failed to get an appropriate response, he approached the Screen Writers Association (SWA) in October 2017. When both, Manoj’s and Rakeysh’s scripts were evaluated, the Dispute Settlement Committee (DSC) observed that the latter’s was ‘merely a rewritten and polished’ version of the writer’s work.

After evaluating their scripts and agreement, the DSC noted that the writer should be given a solo credit for the story and first credit for the screenplay and dialogues, while the filmmaker should be given the second credit for the screenplay and dialogues and no credit for the story.

Manoj maintains that in the communication of the film, whether the first poster or the news of the movie being selected for the upcoming Rome International Film Festival, his name is being left out even as those of others working on the project are being mentioned.

When contacted, Mehra replied via a text message, “He (Manoj) has made a default representation at SWA. There is another writer in question, Hussain Dalal, whose rights we need to protect. So, the matter will come up for discussion and all will be resolved soon. If you look at our IMDB post, he (Manoj) is very much there as the writer.”

The parallel universes of writing and acting have rarely intersected in Bollywood. But now, a new breed of Hindi hyphenates — actors who write and writers who act, are coming into their own
Nishit Tiwari (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2018)

Talking to Hussain Dalal is like watching a stand-up routine. Every train of thought is punctuated with pauses and culminates in a punchline which, more often than not, lands where it is intended to. It wouldn’t surprise anyone who has been at the movies regularly for the last five years. Since Ayan Mukerji’s 2013 directorial, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani (YJHD), for which he wrote the dialogue, Hussain has worked in 25 films, some as an actor and others as a dialogue writer.

The 29-year-old Mazgaon boy — he describes himself and his co-writer brother Abbas as boys from streets nobody knows the names of — is an eminent member of Bollywood’s actor-writer community. While the two parallel universes have intersected more consistently through generations in Hollywood, its Bollywood journey has been woefully sporadic. The few people who come to mind are Guru Dutt, Kader Khan, Neena Gupta, Saurabh Shukla and Neeraj Vora.

However, the advent of storytelling platforms, predominantly streaming websites, and, as veteran actor-writer Saurabh Shukla puts it, the human tendency to seek newness, have given an opportunity to the Hindi hyphenates to come into their own.

Like most of his contemporaries, Hussain comes from a theatre background but he wears the duality of his aesthetic on his sleeve. “My default setting as a writer is commercial, while as an actor, my sensibilities match with art-house cinema,” he says. And the statement checks out, if you look at his work. After YJHD, he did Abhishek Varman’s directorial debut, 2 States (2014), and has reunited with Ayan on his third film, the Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt-starrer Brahmastra. Then there’s Varman’s Kalank, and Baahubali star Prabhas’s upcoming bilingual Saaho, for which he has co-written dialogues with his brother, among his upcoming projects. As an actor, he will be seen with Rajkummar Rao and Kangana Ranaut in Prakash Kovelamudi’s Mental Hai Kya, “a more story-oriented, fun film.”

“People ask me for the secret of my success but I am just trying not to be poor,” he confides, almost annoyed with the tone of the queries. “I am extremely scared of self-importance, as I have seen many talented people drown in that ocean,” he reasons. Elitism is another trigger word for him, but point out that YJHD was elitist too, and pat comes the reply, “But it was consumed by the non elite. The idea is to create content that doesn’t require 10 years of education and a degree to understand.”

Unlike Hussain, Ashrut Jain’s tryst with writing was set off by the stifling stillness of small town life in Jabalpur. “I was a good orator and used to write my own speeches. You won’t believe it, but even before Gadar came out and its dialogue, ‘Doodh maangoge toh kheer denge, Kashmir maangoge toh cheer denge,’ became famous, I had used it in an Independence Day speech,” he claims, and thus establishes early on that his patriotism fuels all his creative endeavours.

The actor in him took longer to surface. “That’s the difference exposure makes when you are born in a small town and not between Borivali and Bandra,” he notes. Ashrut discovered theatre in college and subsequently, his true calling. Afterwards, he took up a job in the casting department of Yash Raj Films. Brief turns in films like Goliyon Ki Raas Leela Ram-Leela and M S Dhoni - The Untold Story and a lead part in the 2016 dramedy, Sunshine Music Tours and Travels, followed in quick succession. But his most notable turns have come with Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk this July and Shree Narayan Singh’s Friday release, Batti Gul Meter Chalu.

He is now gearing up to make his first film as a writer, A Road Trip To Pakistan, in which he also plays the protagonist. “My first love is acting. I want the next generation to talk about me the way we talk about Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Ranbir Kapoor,” he asserts with wide-eyed optimism. What happens to writing, then? “I still write and have two scripts ready. Besides, I approach writing as either a creative outlet or a tool to become a better actor,” he says.

Amitosh Nagpal, a 33-year-old National School of Drama alumnus from Hisar, Haryana, tells people that he is ‘an actor who writes, not a writer who acts.’ “But I am writing more than I am acting,” he laughs.

After making a name for himself in Delhi theatre circles as an actor, he came to Mumbai in 2006 to do films. Instead, he ended up making ad jingles and wrote, directed and acted in plays before he landed a break as lyricist in Dibakar Banerjee’s National Award-winning dark comedy, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye (2008). He’d delivered two of the year’s biggest earworms, Superchor and Jugni, with the former even earning him a National Award nomination. “The songs were written in an hour or two,” he recalls, and is low-key dismissive of praise for producing something in a very short span of time. “It’s amusing when people give gyaan and cite rulebooks instead of just getting down to work,” he shrugs.

Brief roles in Dabangg, Aarakshan and Besharam, among others, haven’t done enough to satisfy the actor in him and Amitosh, whose most well-known work now is as an actor and translator of a widely-travelled and well regarded play called Piya Behrupiya, is ready to take matters into his own hands. “I have written the dialogue for Amole Gupte’s Saina Nehwal biopic and a film called Aadhar for Drishyam Films. Now, I have four scripts ready and I will play the lead in all of them,” he states.

Zeishan Quadri (left) who shot to fame as the actor-writer of Gangs Of Wasseypur, had come to Mumbai to become an actor. But Anurag Kashyap pointed out that he had all the makings of a good writer. Soon enough, an eight-page concept note turned into a 200-page ‘upanyas’ (novel), and subsequently led to the two films, in which Zeishan, who is now 35, played the character of Definite with quiet intensity.

“Going by the praise I received for my character, I figured I’d be inundated with acting offers. But the industry accepted me more as a writer,” he says, the reason being that “there are more actors in Maximum City than writers.” Quadri is now foraying into the romcom genre. “My stories usually start with a pistol but in this one, it will start with a rose,” he says. The film in question is one of the most anticipated films of next year, but Zeishan is tight-lipped about the details. On the acting front, he says that he has accepted a role in a new film to be directed by Ashwini Chaudhary, whose Dhoop he had loved.

At 47, Manu Rishi Chadha is of a different vintage, but his sensibilities are as contemporary as they come. Born and brought up in Chandni Chowk, he was raised by a Punjabi mother who hailed from Bihar and subscribed to the Hindi magazine, Dharma Yug, which was then edited by renowned author Dharamvir Bharti. “My subconscious mind was crammed with anecdotes, stories and the way they were narrated. My old Delhi upbringing taught me a lot without taking a fee,” he philosophises.

“When I arrived in Mumbai, I didn’t get dialogues to speak, I got them to write. It was fun because an actor lives a character but when I am writing dialogue, it is for an entire set of them,” Incidentally, Manurishi wrote the dialogue for Oye Lucky... and played Abhay Deol’s friend in the film....

More recently he wrote Nanu Ki Jaanu, and is making sure to get as much writing in as he can. “I act when I can, comfortably, as writing is priority. I feel a responsibility towards it. Besides, professional writing is all about meeting the deadline. I probably don’t get acting offers because I don’t have a good rapport with casting directors,” he chuckles, adding that in Mumbai, his friends Piyush Mishra and Deepak Dobriyal encouraged him to write.

Why is this tribe finding a footing in the Hindi film industry now? Saurabh Shukla, who featured in and served as a screenwriter on Satya (1999), Ram Gopal Varma’s most seminal work in the gangster-drama genre, among others, quotes French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. “The more things change, the more they stay the same. Every generation gets sad, happy, gets into fights and falls in love. The difference is, a young couple probably fights over the internet now. That said, our quest for newness has brought us to the realm of realism.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 23, 2018)

Irrfan Khan who has been away from the city for four months, undergoing treatment for neuroendocrine tumour, recently attended a screening of his upcoming film, Karwaan, in London. The screening was organised by the makers at the screening room in Henry Wood House, a business centre in London, for the actor who was eager to see the final cut.

Dialogue writer Hussain Dalal who was in London for another project wanted to meet Irrfan and was present at the screening. “He seemed happy to see me. His wife (Sutapa Sikdar) and some close friends were also present at the screening. After the film, we spoke about it. He had some minor suggestions for the team but overall, his family and he seemed pretty pleased,” informed Hussain, keen to work with the actor again.

Meanwhile, debutant director Akarsh Khurana informs that after the trailer came out, the actor was happy with the response it was getting, particularly all the love his character Shaukat had received. “He spoke to me at length after the screening in London and I was happy and relieved with his response and that of his family. Hussain who was also present for the screening told me about everyone’s reactions which were, thank God, rather favourable,” exults Akarsh.

He admits that Irrfan’s fans are curious to know how he is doing and if he will be a part of the promotions leading up to the film’s release on August 3. “At this point we don’t want to burden him with all this. His approval and blessings are with us, and that’s all that we need. He sounded good when we spoke and we’re all hoping that he bounces back from this challenging phase soon,” the director adds.

Sharing memories from the shoot, Akarsh smiles, “Honestly with Irrfan sir and Dulquer (Salmaan, Malayalam actor who will be making his Bollywood debut with the film) in the same frame, I often had to remind myself that I was the director and not a fan. The whole shoot felt like a working picnic.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 16, 2017)

Akshay Kumar’s comedy show, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, with him as a super judge, will have director Sajid Khan and actor Shreyas Talpade stepping in for previous judges, comedian Zakir Khan, actress and comic Mallika Dua and actor-writer Hussain Dalal. The trio will bow out after the top 12 contestants are announced.

Having directed Akshay in films like Heyy Baby, Housefull and its sequel, and with Shreyas in the Housefull franchise, Sajid is gung-ho about reuniting with the actors. “There is tremendous talent on the show. Akshay and Shreyas are like brothers and our bond will be evident. We won’t have to worry about the laughter because whenever we are together, we end up laughing,” chuckles Sajid, adding that Akshay is the right judge for a comedy show because his comic timing is unmatched in Bollywood. He recalls a moment from the Housefull shoot when he told Akshay he’d be wired up to climb up to the building’s first floor. “I looked away to talk to someone and when I turned, he was on the first floor. For him it was a breeze but I was terrified. He told me not to worry and asked me if I’d like him to stand on one foot on that parapet,” Sajid shudders.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 23, 2017)

Akshay Kumar, who was last seen on TV as the host of the action-reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi in 2011, is set to return with The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. And while work on the comedy show doesn’t kick off before the month-end, Akki, who is currently shooting for the Reema Kagti’s sports-drama Gold in London, is taking an active interest in its run-up. At his behest, internet sensations Zakir Khan and Mallika Dua, and actor-writer Hussain Dalal, who serve as mentors, are undergoing training with Akshay keeping tabs as he wants everything to be perfect.

“Yes, we are taking workshops being conducted by theatre experts, which is great for me as I come from a stage background as well,” Mallika told Mirror.“We’ve had two sessions so far, one of which was conducted on a one-on-one basis.”

According to the comedienne, who’s raked up over three lakh followers on Instagram alone with caricatures and sketches, the trio brainstorms their roles as judges-to-be, and how they will mentor contestants in the workshops. “At the end of the day, it’s about making them better, not about criticising and/ or evaluating.”

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 11, 2017)

After delivering hits like Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani (made in Hindi as OK Jaanu), Anjali Menon’s Bangalore Days and Martin Prakkat’s Charlie, Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan is now Bollywood-bound. Son of veteran actor Mammootty, the 31-year-old actor will be seen in Ronnie Screwvala’s yet-untitled production that also features Irrfan Khan. The film marks the directorial debut of Akarsh Khurana, who has co-written the script with Hussain Dalal, the dialogue writer for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and 2 States. Abhishek Bachchan, who was initially tapped for Dulquer’s part, had to opt out as his dates clashed with JP Dutta’s comeback film Paltan.

“It’s a light-hearted comedy that will see Dulquer and Irrfan as friends on a road trip. The film rolls by the monthend in Kerala,” informs a source. Mithila Palkar from the popular web series, Girl In The City and Little Things, is the female lead.

Dulquer is gearing up for the release of Bejoy Nambiar’s Malayalam-Tamil bilingual, Solo, and Soubin Shahir’s Malayalam film Parava. Irrfan is at the Locarno Film Festival for the world premiere of The Song of Scorpions.