Latest / Breakdown Besties | Bollywood Screenwriting Podcast / E33: Are Writers Allergic to Fun?! | Go Goa Gone Screenwriting Masterclass
Transcript
- Akshay: humor and stuff that seems easy and light is the hardest to write. is my new realization that everybody is allergic to fun Ananya: romance genre by default is character driven. There scene work becomes a bonus. Over here scene work is critical. Akshay: it's only Saif Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: who can do this. I can imagine no other Indian actor do this. Ananya: they had to kind of keep him from Delhi also because they needed the dialogues in Hindi. Akshay: It's actually a great example of why tell don't show doesn't work, Ananya: we have written for shows like Mismatched, Rana Naidu, Inside Edge, they have come for the horror and comedy. You have to deliver on horror and comedy. Akshay: Yeah, that Ananya: everyone and welcome back to another episode of the Breakdown Besties podcast. I'm Ananya. I'm Akshay. And we are your breakdown besties. Combined, we have more than 14 years of experience writing for shows like Mismatched, Wedding.con, Ishq in the Air, Rana Naidu Inside Edge, Grahan and a host of others that have gotten stuck in development hell but will hopefully see the light of day one day. With the Breakdown Pesties podcast, our goal is to give you a film school experience. Where what do they do? They look at some of the most iconic films, watch them, examine the scenes, the dialogue, the structure, see what works, take it apart, understand why that works and then use those concepts and understanding in their own scripts to drive your own writing and write your own phenomenal, iconic Bollywood films. And today the movie we are going to do is a super fun 2012 film, I think, which I, my, it was a perfect length. One hour 42 minutes. I'm like, correct length of movie. Great Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: genre, exciting, silly, fun, keeps you at the edge of your seat, allows you to leave your brain at home. It is Go Goa Gone. So, starring Vir Das, I don't know why I'm saying starring, but I think it was a fun cast. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Right? Saif Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu, loved it. And Akshay: Yeah, yeah. I loved it too. Ananya: yeah, and written by, most importantly. Raj, DK, Sita Menon, Kunal Khemu and Raja Daipayan Sen. Big writing team. But all these Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: films which look so fun and simple, all of that, they like need a writing team like this to add all those different elements. Akshay: They're the hardest to write. Yeah, they're the hardest to write. Because, like I've said before, humor and stuff that seems easy and light is the hardest to write. Because otherwise. You know, like everybody it like this is my new realization that everybody is allergic to fun a little bit. So so when you actually are trying to make something fun, you have to constantly fight forces that. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: we need this joke, or we need this gag, we need this like easy setting. So that and that requires an army of writers to do that. Ananya: Exactly, because you run out of ideas for fun because our Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: lives are not like, hello capitalism, built for us to have a lot of fun. Like fun Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: is something you have to create time for, you have to put effort into. So your pool Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: of authentic experiences to draw from is also so limited that you're Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: like, okay, I need all these people to kind of contribute their idea of like fun. Akshay: And two more things on this, that fun and humor is such a weirdly specific experiential thing, right? Like if I have had an experience, now to for you to like think of and find fun in that, like as a producer, you're saying, But is this like is this relatable to everybody? I know you Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: as a person, so I can fully laugh at you for on your experience. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: But if you have to put this experience out for like a hundred thousand people outside, will they be able to relate to it? So that big constraint, Ananya: Hmm. Yeah. Akshay: fight is a big thing. And again, and humor Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: on paper is very different than humor when you actually see it on screen. So a lot of people don't know how to read humor that, this is a joke, this is a joke, this is a joke. And they'll be like, but Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: it's not funny. But then you narrate it to them, they're this is funny. Okay. So now Ananya: Exactly. Akshay: this back and forth fighting only can is possible if you have this big team of writers with you. Ananya: Absolutely, yeah you need an army. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Let's dive in the way we always do by getting into the log line. So what is your log line? Your log line is your film's guiding light or now our new and improved metaphor, the helicopter. Why is it a helicopter? Because it goes up, up, up, up, up and gives you a bird's eye view of your film when you're so deep here in the jungle, stuck in the weeds, page 56 and you're like... Why am I writing it? What is the point of the scene of this dialogue of this whole sequence of my life? So that is when you get into this helicopter and you go up and you see the overall picture of your movie. And that is something you always have to keep in mind whether you're writing like a big scene or a little line of dialogue. Does it serve what the log line demands? Right. And what does the log line demand? It demands four essential elements. Your first is your flaw, limitation, block or wound. This is something in the character. This is a trait that they have or this is a backstory which they have which now guides their actions and defines them, which is something that has stopped them from achieving element number two, their goal. The goal is the whole reason your audience is in their seat and watching the film. They want to see your character pursue something or achieve something. And that leads us to element number three, which is conflict. Because if your film is a journey of achieving the goal, the journey can't be simple. The journey has to be full of obstacles, full of challenges, and that manifests in the form of conflict. The conflict is an external manifestation of your internal flaw or limitation. So like we always say, if your flaw is that you're a coward, you are going to constantly come up against a lion and they're going to challenge you to stop being a coward, stop hiding because there'll only be so many times you can hide from this lion. You will have to come right in their path and face them. And finally, you have the stakes. The stakes are that what the character will lose should they not achieve their goal. It's not simply not achieving their goal. It's taking it even one level lower. Right? Okay, let me read out my logline of Go Goa Gone. A group of city boys must fight an army of zombies to escape from a remote island lest they lose their lives. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Right? Akshay: Yeah, that's exactly I have. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Instead of city boys, I had stoner boys. But Ananya: Stoner Boyz. I almost said laidback, which would have been in the same vein as Stoner. But I'm just like the third character Bunny isn't really like laidback, stoner-y. So was like, okay, Akshay: Korrekt, ja, ja, ja. Ananya: what really is their flaw? So the flaw Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: is that they're from the city. They barely navigate their convenient city lives of like having a job and having a partner, all of that. And now they must... escape from a remote island. That is their goal. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: And the conflict is they must fight an army of zombies. Akshay: Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: So that is obviously the conflict because these city boys who can barely navigate a concrete jungle must now navigate a real-ass jungle filled with these dead predator beings and like Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: not trip over a root or their own feet. Or and if they don't, the stakes are that they lose their lives. Akshay: Yeah. Correct. Ananya: Cool. That was easy for once. We have not disagreed, not had to dissect. Amazing. Moving on. We got it. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: Hero's journey. What is your hero's journey? Hero's journey is a journey anyone, not just your characters in a film, but even someone like you and I. Go on when we decide to do something new, when we decide to pursue a goal which we haven't pursued before. And usually we haven't been able to pursue this goal because we too have limitations or flaws which have been blocking us from achieving it, limiting beliefs, fears. But then you decide that, you know what, I want to do this. Or life decides it for you that you got to do this, right? And you go on this journey of achieving that goal. And it's really not a journey of achieving the goal. It is a journey of transforming and becoming this person who overcomes their flaw such that they are now worthy of their goal that now such a person is one to whom it will automatically come appear manifest. Right? And as you set out on this journey as a person or as a character, there will be several steps which are only logical to a journey like this. You will be asked to pursue this goal or the call will come from within. You will be like, no, I don't know if I can do this. You will refuse it or someone else will tell you that you can't I don't know if I can do this. You'll meet people who will help you on your way. You will face other obstacles, challenges. You will decide at the end of your journey as you're almost making it home that no, maybe I can't do this anymore. Maybe all is lost. This, as humans, happens in stages which are not really linear. It'll happen like maybe first one thing will happen, you'll set out on your journey, halfway through you'll refuse it, you'll go three steps back, two steps forward. But your film is supposed to be a cohesive narrative experience. Akshay: Hm. Ananya: Because of which, you have to hit certain emotional beats because they will keep your audience in their seats and they will give them an emotional and narrative arc to follow. So over here we use Joseph Campbell's codified hero's journey into its 12 steps, which show us what steps your main character has to take or your group of main characters as in this film and what do they need to do in order to finally achieve their goal. Okay. So the first step of your hero's journey is your ordinary world. Your ordinary world is the world in which your heroes exist before they decide to achieve their goal. So you understand who they are, where they're from, what's stopping them, why what's stopping them is stopping them and what is the time period in which they exist, the five W's essentially. You get a sense of the world from which they come. Now in Go Goa Gone, this is a fairly long sequence. Akshay: Hm, yeah. Ananya: This starts when you open with Kunal Khemu and Vir Das smoking up. You almost think they're college kids until you realize that, okay, they're just man children going to like work. They are not taking their lives seriously. They have one friend, Bunny, who's slightly older, who kind of, does take life quite seriously, too seriously. Vir Das gets dumped. Hardik gets fired from his job. That's Kunal Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Khemu's character. And then Bunny is going to Goa for a conference. So they pile on, they all go to go up. They go Akshay: Mm. Ananya: to a rave. Vir Das meets a girl, Kunal Khemu also meets a girl and then and the three of them essentially for some reason or the other can't do some drugs being sold at the rave. It's too Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: expensive. It's 5000 bucks a pill and they decide not to do it. Then you have the call to action. Your call to action is that phase in your hero's journey where your hero is told that come, come, go achieve your goal, go after it. And Akshay: Hmm, phone. Ananya: I'll tie this into the next one, which is the refusal of the call, because here you have many of them happen back to back. So refusal of the call is when either you're not heeding the call, because A. you don't realize the call is to be heeded you're like what no there is no call to be heeded or you're like no I can't do this or someone else is telling you that no you can't do this so over here they wake up the next morning after this rave and at first they see like some zombie in the distance but they're not sure what they're saying so the first sighting of the zombie is a call to action that run leave but they don't even register it. Then Akshay: Hmm, hm, hm. Ananya: you have bunny's character talking to a girl who he doesn't realize is a zombie. Even that's a call to action. He walks away from there without realizing it. Akshay: Cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: Then you have a Russian guy who's there with his katta. What is that called? The communist weapon. Sorry, It's something with S. Akshay: The the slicer thing. Huh. I don't know. Huh. Ananya: Anyway, yeah, the labor. It signifies farm work, labor, that weapon. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: So coming telling them run, run, run. And then some zombies come and they're like, shit, we need to leave. And then Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Vir Das' friends are like, come on, we're going from here. Like that's another call to action. Come, let's leave. And Vir Das is like, we have to save Luna, the girl he met last Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: night. So they all rescue her. They've still refused the call. And now they're like, we kind of have to leave, but where to go, how to go. And at that point they meet their mentor. Meeting the mentor is this phase of your hero's journey where you meet someone who has walked the journey that you are going to walk or has experience. So there they say Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: that, look, if your goal is to slay the dragon, here, Akshay: Mm. Ananya: here's the sword and let me teach you how to do that. Over Akshay: Hm. Ananya: here, is Saif Ali Khan's character as the Russian mafia slash the Delhi dude cosplaying as Russian mafia, whatever's going on. That was super fun. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: And... I love seeing Saif there, amazing. Ten out of ten. He always like risks. Yeah. Akshay: It's only it's own it's only Saif who can do this. I can imagine no other Indian actor do this. Ananya: No, no, they don't have what it takes only to risk up, take a bit of a risk. They want a role that's cut and Akshay: Yeah, yeah. And also the ability Ananya: dry. Akshay: The ability to also laugh at yourself. Like Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: even like Saif's Russian accent is not perfect in the movie, right? Like but it's it's so put on. Like it's and it's Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it's purposely done this way. To like evoke this kind of laughter. So yeah. Ananya: No. Laughter. Exactly. Yeah. Well done. So then you have crossing the threshold where they're like now you're you've taken one step into the world where you're like I'm going after this. There is no returning the door to go back into your old world has shut behind you. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: So over here I mean it's fairly evident that there is no going back right like to what old world did they return to the old world was Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: destroyed the time all the zombies woke up. like there was Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: no but it's also I looked at it from this point of view that when they say that we have a boat to leave the island Akshay: Hm. Ananya: and Saif is like okay we are going towards it so now it's like there's no backing out of this plan they have to go towards the boat it's also their only way out and now that they've told Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Saif, they're not gonna let him he's not gonna let him get away with it he's not gonna say that okay no hide it out now he is gonna make sure that they get to that boat so that is crossing the threshold Akshay: But yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: Then you have test allies and enemies. This is that phase of your hero's journey where you're now getting a lay of the land of this new world. You're like, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: okay, what are the rules of this world? How does it function? Who are our enemies? Who is going to be our allies? You know, all of that. Over here, this is where you see them get attacked by zombies, Saif explaining to them how zombies function, how you have to shoot their brain, all of that, like getting a sense of the world and escaping the zombies in different ways. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: Then you have the approach to the innermost cave. This is when the team arrives at the beach and they see the boat. They're like, OK, now we're going to get to our boat. Except that, that's obviously, as this has to happen, a zombie sitting on the boat. And that zombie is Kunal Khemu's hookup from the previous night. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: So they send him in there like, go talk to her, butter her up. And Akshay: Mm. Ananya: obviously, she doesn't entertain him, she is a zombie. And Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: so he comes back and now they are screwed because they are stuck and marooned on this island for Akshay: Foo. Ananya: at least another 16 to 18 hours as Saif tells them because the tide will bring the boat back. Akshay: So, Ananya: So now they're stuck here and that's the ordeal. The ordeal is where now that you've approached the innermost cave, you've gone after the dragon, and you've taken the bag of gold, now the dragon's coming after you. Or even if you've not managed to take the bag of gold, you've poked the dragon's belly and now they're coming after you. So this is when they go into a house that they find on the island. And over there, it comes out that Kunal Khemu slept with this Ariana last night. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: So he could be potentially infected, he could be a potential zombie and after that, Saif and his compatriot Nikolai, they go away on a secret mission and these people are left alone in the house only for the house to be swarmed by zombies from the outside. That is your main ordeal. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: They somehow manage to escape and that is your reward. Your reward is... Now that you have escaped these zombies or the dragon, you have a moment of peace, a moment of calm, you can breathe, things are better and this escape is that for them. Then you have the way back. Now this is your final sort of level of your mission that you're Akshay: Mm. Ananya: like, okay, now all is good, I just need to make it back home. But even your way back is not going to be easy. People are going to challenge you, you're going to have thieves who are gonna steal your reward, monsters who wanna destroy you. And over here, this is them making their way back from that jungle to the beach. And at the beach, they realize that they are swarmed with zombies. They're everywhere. And they're Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: just no match for them. And Saif hasn't come back from the mission. Where is he gonna find them? All Akshay: Hm. Hmm. Ananya: of that. And they reach their lowest point there. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: The lowest point is where they think they've lost Bunny, he's gotten eaten up by the zombies, that Akshay: Mm. Ananya: Nikolai has gotten bitten and now they've had to get rid of him, they've left him behind so they have one person less and they don't know what to do. And Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: then you have your resurrection sequence. Your resurrection is when you rise from the ashes. You realize that Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: even though you're at your lowest, there is still something to be saved, there is hope. It's Bunny Akshay: Mm. Ananya: calling them and saying that look, I can I'm actually alive and well, like come come get me. So Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: they go and they get him. And as Akshay: Mm. Ananya: they save him, they realize that actually cocaine can be used to Akshay: Mm. Ananya: neutralize the drugs that these zombies are on. So then as Saif is swarmed with zombies, they find his cocaine, which was his secret mission from last night, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: and they throw it, he shoots in the air, you know, bursts like a snowstorm over all the zombies and Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: the zombies are paralyzed and that is done. They're able to get into the boat after getting Ariana out of it and in a chase sequence and then they are on their way home. They are new people, they have all had realizations about their life path and they are they have returned with elixir. They're in their old world as people with knowledge of understanding who they are going forward. Akshay: Yeah. I was doing some a little bit research on this genre of films, which is that creature features and like monstrous elements which come into and like you have to escape them. So and I think this movie also mapped it very aptly, which was that there will be two moments in the film, which is when You as an audience realize that these characters have a no way out or they have external elements coming for them. And second is the characters realizing that we need to get out of here. So one is your Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: audience realizing a little before than your characters that this is a problem. So in Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: this movie, which is that the moment your other rave party people take those pills and you see their bodies having a reaction, you know, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: this is they're gonna become zombies. So and even Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: before these guys realize that we need to get out of here, like Bunny's character was talking to this girl who's a zombie, he still doesn't know, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: but the audience knows there. So that is one moment. And the second is when they realize that they need to get out of here. Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: So these two moments structurally are very important in a genre like this so that you hit your beats also of the hero's journey as well as of the genre. Ananya: Yep. And it also works because it's kind of like your first point that you mentioned where Akshay: Huh. Ananya: the audience knows but the characters don't know. It's Hitchcock's bomb under the table, right? Essentially. Where you're Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: like, okay, there's a bomb under the table and a family sitting around it. The audience knows that there's a bomb under the table and they can't Akshay: Hm. Ananya: wait for the family to clear out of the table. But everyone goes, Akshay: Mm. Ananya: comes back, pours their coffee leaves, okay. Akshay: So Ananya: and they're having a leisurely breakfast while you're waiting for the bomb to go off. You're like, can you all leave so that you're safe? And that is Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Ananya: essentially that concept, that fundamental now happening in Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: a horror or creature feature where you're like, Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: can you please leave because you know the creature is there, the bomb is there, but the character doesn't. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Cool. Should we go into theme next? Akshay: Let's do it. Ananya: Okay, what is theme? Theme is the whole reason you're a filmmaker, you're an artist. It is your point of view, your belief in the world, which you want to express through the medium of your art, that's your writing or your film. And in your film, this is posed as a dramatic question, because yelling and screaming at people that this is how you should live your life never really works. So what you do is you essentially use your film as a court case to make your point. Right? You show all points of views regarding your opinion and at the end of the day, what wins is the theme. Now, what does this look like? So in this film, I don't think there's an overarching theme. Right? It's not something they considered at a film level, but at a character level, it does exist. Each character goes on a journey of transformation on this film which is making a point about the filmmakers view of the world. So I'll start with Luv, which is Vir Das's character. In Luv's case the thematic question is, is love worth love, the adjective love, worth sacrificing? Because Akshay: Ha ha. Ananya: his name is also Luv. Akshay: Nice. Ananya: Yeah. Is love worth sacrificing your whole life for? Right? Because Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: if you see, let's break it down into his scenes. When he's in office, his friend is just like, Kunal Khemu who's like, you know, like, you've not even hooked up with her, you know, what's going on? And he's like, I am changing my whole life for love, you know, like I'm gonna fall in love. I'm cleaning everything up. He changes his whole life, sacrifices it for the sake of like... marrying this girl who obviously dumps him, she's cheating on him. Then even when he meets Luna, he's immediately like, you know, like, do we have a moment Akshay: Mm. Ananya: here? Okay, later. I'm sorry. I thought we had a moment, but okay, do we have a moment now? And Akshay: Hm. Ananya: at the end of it, like they don't get together at all, right? Him and Luna. So Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: that is it. The answer is no. Love is not worth sacrificing your whole life for. Like even when they should have heeded the call to action. Vir Das is like, no, no, I will sacrifice myself to go rescue Luna first. Like wo pyaar mein pagal hai. And usko phir Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: bhi ladki nahi milti hai. So the movie is very clearly telling you, the filmmakers point of view is like, bhai itna matlab mat karo types. Chill. Akshay: Yeah. And it's not even like in the end they have a moment where they hug it out or like kiss nothing. Yeah. Ananya: Hmm, nothing. They're like, tera chutiya kata. Like, tu chill maar thoda life mein. Akshay: Yeah, correct. Ananya: Then you have Hardik, which is Kunal Khemu's character. Which is is it better to feel and get hurt than to never feel at all? And in this case, they've also used feel as a, feel is a broader word, but you can say love, but I wanted to Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: kind of differentiate that because he's Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: also doing a lot of drugs, he's smoking up lot and stuff so that's escapism, so you're not feeling there. So Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: in his case also he's someone who's constantly getting high, he's hooking up with women, he doesn't want to feel his feelings and then you realise at the end, somewhere towards the two thirds part of it that actually he had been hurt by a woman so because Akshay: Mm. Ananya: of which he stopped feeling his feelings and by the end of it he realises that he says that girls should be respected but what he actually means is that it's worth investing in life. It's not, know, life Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: is not something you kind of need to just wait for the day to end. You kind of want Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: to invest and feel and enjoy life like he has faith, Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: a little more faith in life. Right. Akshay: Right. Yeah. Ananya: And then you have Bunny, which and in his case, it is our life's purpose to live seriously. Like is serious the way to live life, you know, and Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: he's always like, I got you guys your jobs. I have this conference. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: And at the end of it, I don't think there's any specific scenes where he has this change of heart. But Akshay: Huh. Yeah. Ananya: at the end of it, he does say that, damn life is so short. Right? I think he says that on the boat, yeah, Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. He does say that, yeah. Ananya: so that is his thematic arc too. So as Akshay: Mm. Ananya: a writer, as several writers, they have made this point of view by these characters survived and this is what they took away from this film. And you as an audience will take away the same thing because you have also gone on the second hand journey with your characters. You've ideally felt the same things that they're feeling. So you can come to the conclusions that these characters have come to and that is the court case for your theme. Akshay: Hmm. Sweet. But I just have to say that it does feel like the theme is not like representing the story of the film. It's not Ananya: No. Akshay: it's not very ingrained in the film the way we have broken down other films. Because Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: I feel it comes down to a little bit of weak characterization of our characters. Because You don't see the conflict sort of the theme thematic conflict them being pushed against at all times. Especially Ananya: No. Akshay: in terms of the creatures coming to attack them. Like for example, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Nir Das's characters thing would have been more strong if the creature came to attack her in some point of time and he had to again risk his life. So that becomes more important. But right now, this Ananya: yeah cuz life yeah yeah Akshay: was like she just became like a fourth member of the team. Ananya: member. Akshay: Essentially. And again Ananya: Yeah. Yep. Akshay: if Kunal Kemu's character was chasing another thrill, another high, and that's when a zombie came, again so that Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: would like strengthen the theme of the film, of their character at least. Yeah. Ananya: Exactly, absolutely. Like if Bunny was trying to remove his laptop and do some work or something. Akshay: Exactly. Yeah. Like he not got network so he's sitting in another cabin. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: And the zombies attack and if he dies there. So that would be more crucial. But the fact that Ananya: Exactly. Akshay: these characters haven't been properly arched out, that Ananya: Hmm, yeah. Akshay: that shows in the film because it doesn't come across in your interpersonal dynamics, also. Like Ananya: Mm-hmm. Akshay: I thought that moment where Kunal Khemu's character goes to and tries to sleep with Vir Das's crush, Luna. I Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: thought that would become a moment eventually. You know? Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: And sure, it's an interesting call that they have taken that we don't the film is probably not about this. So Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: we shouldn't. But it's still you're leaving high drama there. So Ananya: Exactly, it's on the table. Yeah. Akshay: It's on the table, so worth exploring. See where it goes. If you don't Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: like it, bring it down again. But Ananya: Exactly. Akshay: but then that scene becomes a little bit questionable. That what was the intent of the scene? Huh. Ananya: Exactly, it seemed more like a sounding board for Kunal Khemu to say what, like he couldn't say Akshay: Exactly. Ananya: these things to his like boys, you need a woman to whom you can confide in these things, that's kind of the idea. Akshay: Yeah, woman. Yeah. Correct. Ananya: It was just fun and yeah, character revealing Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: scene. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Cool. Let's go into genre tropes next. Akshay: Okay. the first genre trope I have is that it's these are genre tropes of a creature feature, monster film, horror film, or any of these the same genres. So Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: the first one I have is being attacked in a trapped environment. This is something that happens in all these movies that your characters will be in an enclosed space that they think is safe, but the monster reaches here, the creatures reach here, and a full sequence plays out where they're gonna either try to kill this zombie or monster or they're gonna escape from this space. There are multiple reasons why a sequence like this is done, which is that number one, you think your characters are safe. The characters think they are safe. So you're essentially like calming down the nervous system of everybody. You're also bringing their guards down, they're not hyper vigilant in this moment. And then when a creature comes suddenly, it gives you a shock value Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: and it immediately raises the stakes. And it immediately raises the emotion of the scene. Which is that Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: like you get a huge thrill immediately. And secondly, it does is that it contains your action sequence. So it's also production Ananya: you Akshay: and shoot friendly, which is that it's not everything is not outside in an island, you're not having to shoot in the daylight. So if you can figure out how to shoot ten to fifteen minutes of your film indoors in an enclosed space, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: that's a big reduction in budget, firstly. And it also Ananya: No. Akshay: it makes makes an action sequence different and exciting. Because Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: a zombie. But at least now you know the kitchen is involved. So you could throw the knife, you could use a staircase. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: There are multiple elements which can come in an enclosed space, which you would not get in an outside space. So then so Ananya: Absolutely. Akshay: the sequence here, which is of this trope, is that they are locked in this house, the four of them, and they think it's all cool, they're just spending the night the next day they're gonna leave, but it gets infested with zombies again. One was inside their house itself, and others keep like crawling up and they start banging the door windows and doors. Ananya: Yep. Akshay: This reminded me because in Jurassic Park there they have a very wonderful sequence I love, which is that the Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: two kids have like are stuck in a kitchen and now the dinosaur sort of like goes around the alleyways of the kitchen and they just have to like keep crawling here and there and try to escape Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: that. And I've noticed this in a lot of movies like Anaconda, they're on a boat and now the snakes will come. So and Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: I was trying to I was thinking, is it like it's a thing, like It did it's not a necessity. As I don't think it happens in high Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: production, high budget films, but I think Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: which is a movie which is like on a smaller budget, you must do this Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: because it will contain your film. Ananya: Absolutely and it's also the idea of abhi yeh log jayenge kahan. If you're stuck in like chalo here it's a house in a jungle but if you're in a boat and your snakes Akshay: Huh. Correct. Yeah. Ananya: are there where are you gonna go if you're in the high seas for example or snakes Akshay: Correct. Yeah. Ananya: on a plane though that's a song I don't know but like imagine a movie it is a movie right yeah so Akshay: It's also a movie by the way. Snakes on a plane. Yeah. Ananya: like kahan jayenge tum log hawae mein want or you'll crash somewhere right so that creates that Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: feeling of claustrophobia So you Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: have to get as creative as you can get as a character and also as a writer, right? Because Akshay: So Ananya: when you have limited things to play for, play with, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: you have to be extra, you have to think about what are the elements of the world. And we've spoken about Akshay: So Ananya: this often in scenes and sequences, right? When we talk about action scenes, how Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: you use the elements of the subworld to create action, micro world, yeah. So over Akshay: Micro World huh? Ananya: here too, that they're forced into being super creative. So from Akshay: Okay. Ananya: a character's point of view and from a writer's point of view, like constraints yield like leads to creativity. Akshay: Hmm, yeah. The other trope I have is your own becomes your enemy, which is that especially this is a highly specific zombie film trope, which is that Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: one of your companions or one of your friends will themselves get infected by a zombie. So they will essentially become a zombie. And what is gonna happen is now that you will have to face and fight them. So Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it's easy to fight monsters who you're not aware, like who are strangers to you, but it's a higher Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: emotional need or like higher emotional investment of from you, which when Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: you have to fight your own friend or your own family Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: member as a zombie, because now you're on different sides. This happens Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Akshay: in the film when Saif's companion Nikolai becomes is bit by a zombie and they know in that moment that he's going to turn into one too. But it comes later Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: on when he comes as the final nail in the coffin, that then they have to escape, he is the final zombie Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: they have to attack and leave. Ananya: Leave, yeah, absolutely. Akshay: Other trope I have is losing a friend. which is that if a group of people go on this journey and they are gonna get attacked by creatures or monsters, one of them will have to die. Because what will happen is that it will give you the others a more higher reason to get out of here, and it will create a sense of urgency that now, okay. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: Uptil now we were dilly-dallying a little bit, but now it's so close that one of us has already gotten sacrificed. Now the next could Ananya: Exactly. Akshay: be any time, it could be either of us. Generally, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it should happen ideally in a film like this early on. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: In this case, it happened very late where they think their friend Bunny has died. Ideally, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: what would happen is that the moment you cross the threshold, the zombie comes to attack, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: one of them needs to be killed immediately. So Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: that it really takes you from zero to hundred just in an instant. Ananya: Exactly. It establishes what the severity of the conflict is. Akshay: Exactly. The next trope I have is that your own greed creates your enemy. Which is that in these movies, what will happen is the reason the monster comes into place is that you tried to meddle in the natural course of actions of nature, and the nature has reward not rewarded you, but like penalized you with a punished Ananya: I missed you. Yeah. Akshay: you. with a creature or a zombie like this. So here, Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: which is that Saif ali Khan, who was this drug dealer, drug peddler essentially, which is that he like he introduced this pill into this rave party, and this Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: pill had an reaction, which is that these people become zombies. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: He hadn't anticipated that, but now because he tried to meddle with the natural course of action of for people, This is how Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: he gets treated, and he loses his friend in that moment. And then now he Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: only has to escape this monster he's created. So going Ananya: Nice. Akshay: with all of your creature feature films, which is that, you want to enter Jurassic Park because you want to do DNA tech, like you want to do more research on these people. Deep Ananya: Mmm... Yeah. Akshay: blue sea, you want to use the element of shock to cure something human disease. Now the thing is, because you're meddling in this ocean, you're meddling with the natural course of environment, you're trying to create a new dinosaur from the past, Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: they'll only come after you. The shark will come after you, the dinosaur will come after you, and here the zombies will come after you. Ananya: Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Nice. Akshay: and another trope I have, which is the quintessential love track. In a movie which is not hyper-focused on romance. It's important for you to have a small arc with at least one of your characters to give them a romance track. So that that's the most accessible genre of storytelling one has to connect with the audience. Now, Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: they didn't do that here, which is that he needs to go ahead with the research on these zombies, so I need to keep going back into the jungle. For here it became Vir Das's character that I think I like this girl, and we had something serious going on, so I need to go back into the jungle and get her back. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: This track will be pushed more and more ideally, like we spoke about that if she was in more danger, he would have gone and saved her. Or like Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it would orchestrate more situations where they would be compromised. That doesn't happen in this film, but a Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: quintessential love track is extremely important in a specific genre film because that Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: becomes your point of connect for the audience, essentially. Ananya: Yeah, wonderful. I had one more genre trope which is the logical explanation because Akshay: Mm. Ananya: this is where you have to distinguish between horror and creature, right? And horror is supernatural elements, all of that. But when you have a creature like a zombie, you need to explain how that creature was born, especially if you're in the human world, right? Like in Jurassic Park, they explain it's because they're doing all this testing and they want to recreate this thing. So that's how it happens. So over here too, it is the pill and he explains how the pill works. Like, okay, it can't be, you have a pill and you turn into a zombie. No, the pill, the drug is so strong, itna nasha hota hai ki the rest of your body can't deal with that and only your brain is alive and your brain is feeding off that nasha and it wants more and more nasha, which it's getting from other people's blood now. So they have a logical explanation to this. Akshay: Yeah. And like you mentioned in Bhool Bhulaiyya also, this is part of this space, which is the horror film, creature movie, which is that Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: somebody will explain the folk tale, somebody will explain what has happened, somebody will decode Ananya: Yeah, true. Akshay: it for the audience essentially, which is that Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: what is happening, please explain. Ananya: equivalent of that. It is the backstory equivalent. Like Akshay: Yeah, correct. Ananya: in the horror films you have a backstory because ghosts have the backstory and they are Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: lending faith to the idea that ghosts can exist, right? Like that Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Ananya: they'll come back, they died, they came back. But here this is the equivalent of the biological, the neurobiological sort of equivalent. Akshay: Yeah, correct. The sci-fi ness of it. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: Yeah, yeah, exactly. Akshay: Hmm. If this was a sci-fi film, the opening sequence would be how this drug got made, essentially. Which is like it's like Ananya: Yeah, yeah. Akshay: how the villain becomes a villain in a Spider-Man. That's the first chunk of the film. Yeah. Ananya: Sidemen. Yep, yep. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Let's go into scenes and sequences next. Akshay: Yeah, let's do it. Ananya: The first scene I want to talk about is the opening scene of the film. And we've spoken about this in several films like in Bhavesh Joshi and many, where your opening scene has to meet genre expectations. Now our genre here is horror comedy, right? So your opening scene has to deliver a hit of that to the audience especially if it's gonna take a while to get to the actual horror of it and it's gonna be comedy for a bit. So this happens where first you have the comedy where they forgot to pay the light bill, they're fighting over the remote, they're stoned, haha, banter, going on and then as the light bill thing happens the light gets cut off and because the light gets cut off and they're searching, they're hunting. Bunny's face falls into some food or something like that and the light, they flash a light on him and he looks like a creature. He looks like a bit of a zombie and you get a bit of a jump scare there. So you tell the audience that this is a genre with which we're going to be playing. This is going to be our playground. It will take a bit but here, Akshay: Mm. Ananya: here's your first entry way into this world. Like we will meet these promises. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. And another sub note on this opening scene is that they have a Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: Easter egg of sorts here, which is that the what they're watching right now is like Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: some Indian adaptation or like an Indian rip off of the Michael Jackson thriller video. Which was and Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: he was a full zombie in that. Like the thriller video is about zombies. Like that was the first time Ananya: Mmm. Akshay: pop culture had zombie infestation, in a big way. So I think it was also like just like a tip of the hat type of thing, ki huh. Like yeah. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: Like for whoever gets it. Ananya: Yeah, very cool. I want to talk about conflict piling as a technique. Conflict piling is essentially where you push characters with one conflict after another conflict after another conflict against a wall and you see how they're going to escape from that conflict finally. It reveals who the character is to you or what their way is of wriggling out of bad situations. It Akshay: So Ananya: essentially creates admiration or the opposite of admiration because wow look at them escape like this. Or that was a dumb idea. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: So, over here it is when Kunal Khemu is trying to hook up with a girl in the office. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: The first conflict is, they don't have condoms. So he has to go down and get them. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: The second is he comes back and she's like, I'm actually not sleeping with you. Like, what do you think was going Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: on here? And the third is before they can get out of that, the boss has entered. And now they have to run away from the boss. And now Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: the boss finds the girl. And the girl rats him out. So that's another conflict. And he sees Kunal Khemu outside on the ledge or outside by the window. Shirt nahi pehna hai, nothing. And he's just like, the boss is like, turn, turn. I know who it is. I can see your tattoo. Like you come to office Akshay: Mm. Ananya: tomorrow. If I find that tattoo on your back, you're so fired. And you're like, God, what's he going to do? He can't go back to the office building now, but he's on this ledge and he actually jumps. He just jumps from there. Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Ananya: And that you're like, what a dumb move. But in this film, that jump is actually a setup. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Because later on, when they have to rescue Bunny from all the zombies, and Bunny is at a height, he's like, dude, we only have one choice now, which is to jump. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: Bunny is just like, no, no, no, no, But Kunal Khemu is like, we're doing this. And you didn't need to set this up, but because they've set it up the fact that he jumps lands very organically with the audience. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: Like, yeah. This is his modus operandi. I also want to talk about setting up an expectation so high only for it to be deflated, contradiction as a technique there. So this is with Vir Das's character when he decides he's going to like pursue Priyanka, the love of his life in the opening part of the film. So he first declares to everyone that I'm gonna like clean up my life, I'm better than all of you. Then he cleans up all the alcohol, all the weed, all of that from the house, shaves, that. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: Then he tells his friend, he tells Kunal Khemu that my God, look at you, like, how are you like this? Blah, blah, blah, you're just smoking all day. You need to get your act together, self-righteous. And then finally, he buys a ring and he's like, I'm gonna propose to her. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: So you're really like, okay, this is where you want the character's expectations are so high. And the reason you set them up so high is so that the emotional impact of the fact that she's actually cheating on him lands. So Akshay: Mm. Hmm. Ananya: if you want the emotional impact of one thing to land, you have to set it up so much in one emotion, the contradictory emotion feels like a slap in the face. Akshay: Hmm, hm. The technique I wanna talk about is foreshadowing. Which was that foreshadowing is when you sort of give your audience a sort of a warning or like it's almost like hint number one, hint number two that this is something which is gonna happen in your film. So that when it actually happens, it doesn't seem as a major shock or you don't think that, this came out of nowhere. You have sort essentially warmed them up a little bit with an idea that is going to happen in the film. Now here Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: the foreshadowing happens when all your characters are sort of navigating the jungle and about to leave. And that time Bunny says that now it's the time that I'm gonna go get killed. That's what happens, right? Because you are the main Ananya: Hmm. Yeah. Akshay: characters and I am just the comic relief guy. And Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: that's what happens, my work is done and now I'm gonna get sacrificed. And they're like, don't say anything. Oh, is that how you think about yourself? All of that happens. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: Only to realize that that actually happens. They take the foreshadowing one level higher, which is that you actually follow him for a little bit. And when he says that I'm gonna go and pee and come, so you follow Ananya: Hmm... Yeah... Akshay: him, you build the tension there, you see actually a zombie coming face to face. You do think he's gonna get killed, he's about to be killed, but until he's saved by his friend. Now Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: this only works because you already set it up a little bit that, it's my time, I am gonna get killed. So you already know Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: the outcome of the scene, but you break that expectation of this outcome when your friend comes and saves you. Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: So it's it's a good technique and well done here for sure. Ananya: Yep. Akshay: The next I want to talk about is callback. Which is that a callback is a piece of information, piece of dialogue, a moment between two characters or multiple characters, where that moment happens in early on in the film and it establishes that nature of the relationship. And when that same moment happens later on in the film, you come to know whether the nature of the relationship has changed or remained the same. Here, there is this one dialogue which Bunny asks that, what do we know? What have we learned? Which is that whenever they are on this journey or when they're on any excursion of sorts, he asks to his friends that what do you what do we know, what have we learned? It's almost like summarizing a presentation, right? Like and he goes Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it goes with his character. What did we learn? What is the executive summary of this presentation essentially? Ananya: Yeah, that There's Steve Jobs poster with these questions in office and they do that shot. That's where it's coming from. Akshay: Ha ha yeah yeah yeah correct correct yeah yeah yeah yeah and it happens early on in the film and later on when they're on the boat this question is actually asked by Luna to these guys that what do we know Ananya: Hmmmm Akshay: what have we learned and again you know that now the nature of not the nature of the relationship has changed but the characters have changed this Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: this callback signifies that Ananya: Yeah, nice. Very cool. I want to talk about the rule of three. When we spoke about this briefly, I want to talk about the call to action. So I'll skip over quickly. Where essentially you want to build tension and you want to build suspense for your audience. You do it in three parts, each time bringing the scare much closer. So the first time you have it where they've woken up on the beach after the rave and they see the zombies in the distance. they're like, hmmm, I don't understand. Whatever. Then it's Bunny's character talking to a zombie without realising that he's talking to a zombie. So now the threat is close by, but you've had a close save. Escape. And finally, it's when the Russian dude with the sickle, it's called a sickle, comes with them and... Akshay: Mm-hmm. Ananya: comes to them and starts saying something in Russian, saying something in Russian and he's just like, they're like, what are you saying? What are you saying? And then the zombie comes and attacks them. So you're building on the tension once, twice, thrice. So for the audience, you're increasing the scare in their head because you don't want it to, it's about shock versus surprise, right? Like, Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: and over here, you don't want to shock the audience. You want to build up to this scare. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: So it's not a jump scare. So this is kind of how you do it. You know what's coming. So it has the Hitchcock ka bomb on the table wala feeling. Because even when the guy with the sickle is just like, my God, my God, like you know ki koi aane wala hai abhi. Those guys don't know, but you know ki koi aane wala hai. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: So I also want to talk about that scene itself, which is a great metaphor for show don't tell. I Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: thought it's a great screenwriting rule written like into this film where this guy, the Russian dude is trying to explain there are zombies, there are zombies but these guys are like, we don't understand what you're saying. As an Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Ananya: audience you know you also have subtitles because they're like, quite fun, I liked it, quite playful with the tone of the film. Akshay: Mm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Ananya: And then they're like, kuch samajh mein nahi aara hai, you know? And then the zombie comes and attacks him. So they're like, Akshay: So Ananya: abhi sab samajh mein aage ya. Which is a great illustration of the show don't tell rule as a screenwriter also. Akshay: Mm. Hmm. Yeah. Ananya: Why the show don't tell works? Because in Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: any language you say you've to use words. But here, the visual does everything for you. Akshay: Yeah. It's actually a great example of why tell don't show doesn't work, which is that this guy is trying to tell you. But when that actually is shown, okay, we got Ananya: Hahaha Akshay: it. Ananya: Got it. Nice. Then I also want to talk about Saif's entry in the film. Okay. Obviously everyone's very excited, right, to see Saif. But you don't see him for a while into the film, right? Like I had forgotten that his character was going to come. So, and then you see him at the rave. But you only see shots here and there, Akshay: Mm. Mm. Ananya: here and there. Like he's this mysterious, dangerous character. And then again, you don't see him for a long time. So that is delayed gratification. You Akshay: Mm. Ananya: make your audience wait, you tease them a little bit because Akshay: Mm. Ananya: they need to be given an entry and characters need to be given an entry based on their most defining function or trait. And over here, his role is of a mentor. He's kind of saving them. So when you first Akshay: Mm. Ananya: really see him, his entry scene then comes in with him shooting and killing the zombies. So delayed Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Ananya: gratification combined with a character technique. of introducing a character from their main trait or function. Akshay: Yeah. I do think like a delayed gratification here works because you have a star attached to your film, right? Like Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: I don't know how I would write this in the first draft of the film that in the Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: middle of a rave, this one mysterious figure is there. But like that won't have any impact on the page. But the moment, you Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: know Saif Ali Khan is gonna do your film. Now let's see how we can integrate him. So let's put him here. Ananya: Yeah, for sure. Akshay: so at least the audience knows that he will be coming soon. Like so far you've had fun. Ananya: Hmm... Akshay: But now it's gonna Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: like get one notch higher. Ananya: But also from a story point of view, he had to be there in the rave scene because Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: he's the one, as you said, who created this whole problem in the first place, right? He was the peddler of these drugs. So they had to show him Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Correct. Ananya: as the one there. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For sure. Yeah. Ananya: I want to talk about a visual misdirection also done through dialogue Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: a misdirection is when you point the audience in one direction saying this is gonna happen and then Akshay: Well. Ananya: something opposite also actually happens but it's rooted within the logic and the world of the film so your audience doesn't feel cheated that how could this impossible thing happen. Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: A little moment where they've done this is Vir Das is talking to Kunal Khemu and Bunny's character and they're there saying he's like I'm going to like go save Luna. They're like, you go, bye. He's like, I'm going. They're like, yeah, go by yourself. Like, fine, I'm going. Akshay: So Ananya: Bye. And then you have a shot of Vir Das walking alone and you think, he's actually going on his own only to cut Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: to realising that those people are lagging behind him, but they're coming. So the fact Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: that he was walking alone was like a misdirection. And then Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: it is rooted in logic that they are his buddies at the end of the day, they are going to come. So that was a misdirection there. Akshay: Hmm. Yeah. Hmm. Ananya: I also want to talk about exposition through conflict. Akshay: So Ananya: Now, exposition is essentially giving information to your audience. Like these are the rules of the world, you need to know it. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: Now, what I really like is they've done this scene where they need to explain that zombies need to be killed, shot in the brain. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: Now, you can say this, sure, Saif could have told them that yeah, zombies need to be shot in the brain. But instead they use conflict very well as a device to do that. So he gives Vir Das and Kunal Khemu's characters guns and he says bullets are very precious, you know. But before he can complete anything else, say more, there are zombies. And these guys hit the zombie everywhere, but the zombie doesn't die. And they're like, Akshay: Hmm. Well Ananya: damn, we're out of bullets. And Saif is like, you fucking idiots. And then he shoots one Akshay: Mm. Ananya: bullet in the brain. And he's like, that's how you kill a zombie. So they could have Akshay: Mm. Ananya: one line of dialogue instead they did it through a conflict filled scene that okay they're Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: gonna get killed, what's gonna happen, very organically done, so conflict Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: through that. Akshay: And it's important, no, because this registers in your mind. Now next time Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: they are fighting, they know they have to shoot in the head. Ananya: Exactly. Huh. Akshay: Because now they first hand saw the repercussion of if they don't shoot in the head, they're gonna come closer and closer. Yeah. Ananya: Exactly, Again, show don't tell kind of, right? Like in life, all lessons are learned by showing not telling. Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Or don't tell, yeah. Ananya: Then I want to talk about creating tension. Usually we use intercutting as a technique to do this. Now here they've kind of intercut, kind of had foreground background happening, which is the same thing like your rack focus going back and forth. Akshay: Hmm. Hmm. Ananya: It is when there's like a little group of zombies coming and all of these guys decide to climb up a tree and hide. How they manage to climb up a tree? I don't know. They just land up there. I'm like, you guys do not have the upper body strength to do this. So like, let's be real here. But okay. Maybe. But then he's the one who's falling, right? Like, Akshay: Yeah. Maybe Kunal Kemu has, but like not the others. False. Yeah. Ananya: so and then they should have played it as a joke that, I'm so strong. I climbed up, I climbed and then the branch breaks. anyway, that doesn't. Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: So this is where all of them are hiding out on the tree like some leopards and a Kunal Khemu is losing his grip. So he's going to keep falling and as he's about to fall, about to fall, zombies are coming closer and closer. So it creates tension. Okay. Oh my God, what's going to happen? Will he fall? Will he not? Will he fall? Will he not? And then he Akshay: Mm. Ananya: falls. The zombies have crossed, but they realize that they turn around, but Kunal Khemu doesn't realize that they have turned around. So again, Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: more tension because again, the audience has information that the zombie has turned around, the character does not. So again, bomb under the table. What's gonna happen? And after that, Saif comes and shoots. So he saves the day. Akshay: Yeah, yeah. I love moments like these in films like this, which is that ki it's just like such a good thrill in that moment. And you have Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: to realise when a genre like this is done, you have to focus on every thrill possible because that's exactly you need to deliver on. And like we spoke about Ananya: Yeah, that's what Dory. Akshay: like characters are half-baked, doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Like Ananya: Mm-hmm. Akshay: you just deliver on the expectation and the thrill of the genre. Especially a film of this genre. Ananya: Exactly. For sure they have come for the horror and comedy. You have to deliver on horror and comedy. That's Akshay: Yeah, that exactly. Ananya: it. Absolutely. One sec. Akshay: And again, which makes it w which makes my logic even more strong, which is like a film like a coming of age film, a film which is a romance film, a high drama film, is much harder to write. Because that's when you have to think everything possible about the characters, about their growth, about their arc. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: But a film which is thriller, which is mystery, which is suspense, which is like a whodunnit. All of that is you can just deliver on the genre expectations and your movie will still fly. Your character work can be Ananya: Definitely. Akshay: very weak in those movies, but you can still come out with flying colours. But romance, comedy, Ananya: Absolutely. Akshay: interpersonal drama, all this becomes very high Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: crafting jobs. Ananya: I think that's a function of the genre also. Like these Akshay: Huh, yeah. Ananya: genres don't need characters who are very strongly developed but a Akshay: So Ananya: romance genre by default is character driven. So even there Akshay: Exactly. Ananya: you're delivering on what the genre expects but the genre expects more of character than scene work for example. There Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: scene work becomes a bonus. Over here scene work is critical. Akshay: Correct. Exactly. Yeah. Ananya: Let's go to dialogue next. One dialogue technique I want to talk about is bringing in a metaphor to kind of explain the absurdity or explain others characters point of view of what you're thinking. So this one example of this is when Vir Das and Kunal Khemu are in the office bathroom and Kunal Khemu is like, have you ever even like slept with your girlfriend with Akshay: So Ananya: Priyanka? And he's just like, no, no, I'm saving that for marriage. And Kunal Akshay: Hm. Ananya: Khemu is like, is it petrol that you're "saving" it? So Akshay: Huh. Ananya: it's like he wants to be like, this is so absurd. But saying this is so absurd doesn't make sense again. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: So you're like, I have to compare it to something to tell you that your saving this is like saving petrol. Like it is in the same plane of things as that. Akshay: yeah. Ananya: So using a metaphor to show what you actually think. Akshay: Hmm, phone. Ananya: Then another technique in the same scene that they've used is relevance of the times. So this Akshay: Hm Ananya: film came out in 2012. That was when BBM was like really there, like the thing, Akshay: Mm. Ananya: you know. That and two years before two years after kind of thing like instant messaging was really like 2007 onwards and it was really part Akshay: So Ananya: of our vocabulary. Right? So over here, they're talking about WTF, FYI, BTW, KLPD. So it's Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: very like, this back in 2012, this was normal because we were talking like that, especially over chat. So it felt good to see it in dialogue because it was very contemporary, very relevant. And now Akshay: Yeah, yeah. Ananya: it creates nostalgia value. We're like Akshay: Mm-hmm. Ananya: man, this came from that! Kinda cool! Akshay: Hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think this is also like it happens in a lot of commercial film writings, which is that you try and develop a unique dialogue spin for each scene as possible. Especially the scenes Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: which are most talky. Which ki like this is not needed in the entire Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: film where because right, like they're chasing zombies, zombies are chasing them. There's no time, Ananya: I talk this. Akshay: but this is one talky scene of the movie. How do you make it different? So let's let's Ananya: Yeah, interesting. Akshay: do it in a cool way that every dialogue exchange has one short form abbreviation. So it's like, Ananya: Hmm... Yeah... Akshay: but BTW, okay, this. Okay, this K L P D. So Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: it adds also like a little bit humor there. So that it doesn't feel like unnecessary talk. Yeah. Ananya: There, yeah. Yeah. there's something interesting to latch on to. Then I wanted to talk about using the unexpected to create humour. Akshay: Mm. Ananya: So, Vir Das has got cheated on by his girlfriend and all of that. So now he's just like, I'm going to sleep with everyone, blah, blah, blah. So he goes on this bit of a mini rant and he's like, "every girl will be on my radar now." And then he turns to Kunal Khem, he's like, "except your and my family." That creates Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: humour. Why? Because when you're thinking of sleeping with someone, writing Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: about sex, family is the last thing you're thinking of, right? So to bring that thought in, okay, Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: but that has to also be rooted in logic. So it's like, yeah, but okay, apart from our families, I'll sleep with everyone. Like, you know? Akshay: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ananya: So unexpected, but rooted in logic. Unexpected always creates humour as long as it's rooted in logic, like I said, if it's Akshay: Hmm. Ananya: not absurd. Akshay: Hmm. Like, you know, one more example of this in dialogue work only, which comes in mind, which is that Saif's character introduction, Boris's introduction, is full that he has Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: this Russian lingo. He talks in Russian English. And then they are very confused that, you look desi. Like, how like, are you Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: seriously Russian? And the first thing he says, Dilli se hoon, bhenchod. So again, unexpected. You wouldn't expect Ananya: Unexpected. Akshay: him to say that no, I'm actually from Delhi, but I moved to Russia. All this doesn't need to come. But but this one simple Ananya: Yeah, yeah, Akshay: line, which you hadn't expected that this especially an English Ananya: Mm-hmm. Akshay: like Russian sounding English guy speaking English now suddenly is Ananya: Yeah, blonde hair, yeah. Akshay: now suddenly is actually saying a word like Bhenchod, that immediately Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: creates the contrast and unexpectedness. Ananya: Exactly, yeah. And Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: they had to kind of keep him from Delhi also because they needed the dialogues in Hindi. So was also a Akshay: Indeed. Yeah. Ananya: call for localization. Like it had to be done. Akshay: Cause yeah. I had one technique which I was just thinking while you were talking Which is setup and payoff, and the setup is so small that you don't expect this to land in any way. Which is that Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: the scene where they have been given guns the first time, Vir Das and Kunal Khemu, and they're just shooting, shooting, shooting. And this guy says, bullets precious. The bullets are very precious. And you just think, okay, fine, whatever. Later on in the film, when they're actually shooting zombies left, right, center, the bullets run out. Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: And you're like, he had said that they'll run out of bullets. And again, Ananya: Yeah. Akshay: now that we've seen the genre enough, you don't need to set up this moment that like we have limited number of bullets because that is the most obvious that they will run out of bullets when they're shooting Ananya: Hmm. Akshay: continuously. But it's still a small setup and payoff again to contain the realm of the world that it's not like they have unlimited resources. Ananya: And it is the real world that they're in. They're not in Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: some world where bullets auto replenish, right? They're not in like Harry Potter land. So Akshay: Yeah. Yeah. Ananya: they have to say that you will run out, your ammunition is precious, which is again a genre trope too, right? Your ammunition is Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: precious. Akshay: Yeah. Ananya: Cool, so that's all we have on Go Goa Gone. Hope you guys enjoyed the episode and you know the drill. Like, share, subscribe, comment with any questions, any recommendations, any suggestions, anything that you've noticed that we haven't. And we will be back next week with another episode of the Breakdown Besties podcast. Bye.