Mid-day 44th anniversary special: Mumbai helped script a career for him

Syed Shadan now writes for the film industry. Pic/Shadab Khan

As a child growing up in Raipur, listening to stories about progressive Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz from his maternal grandfather, Syed Shadan, 24, would never have guessed they would one day turn him into a writer. Today the youngster is in Mumbai, writing for the film industry.

"Nanaji was a shayar and an economics professor. Faiz had come to Bhopal in the 1980s, and my grandfather was part of that mehfil, when he wrote something for the celebrated Pakistani poet and author. My mother still remembers that, and for a good part of my life, I have heard her tell this story over and over again," he said.

Little did Shadan know, this memory would form the basis of ‘A dinner at Khan's,' his script that won him the opportunity of a lifetime. The Screen Writers' Association's ScriptLabs had invited entries, and the selected six scriptwriters were going to be mentored by Vikramaditya Motwane, Sudip Sharma, Alankrita Shrivastava, Shakun Batra, Smita Singh Khan and Abhishek Chaubey.

"I was among the six selected entries. It was fairly simple; one had to send five pages of the story and the first 10 pages of the script. Only if you were selected, they would ask for the full script," Shadan said. The film (the basis for which is ‘A dinner at Khan's') revolves around what is now known as the Rawalpindi conspiracy - a coup attempt in Pakistan to overthrow the government in 1951, in which Faiz played a significant role.

"But then that script is still to see the light of day because it is very difficult to move forward with a film set in Pakistan in the current political climate," Shadan said. While the chance to be mentored by the best in the industry happened because Shadan was in Mumbai at that point, it is not what brought him here in the first place.

In current times, access to the internet can make a difference in somebody's life. That is what happened to Shadan. In 2020, when he was in his fourth year of law school in Raipur, he decided to put himself out there on a screenwriter's community on Reddit. "I was really just looking for some feedback," he said.

In a twist of fate, somebody from Vishesh films reached out to him to take the script that he had put up on Reddit, forward. "They wanted me to write further but nothing came off that project. But that was the beginning, that got my foot in the door. I began an association with that production house," Shadan recalled.

A year later, the production house reached out to him and asked if he was interested in assisting filmmaker Hansal Mehta with his film, Faraz. This was in 2021, just a month or two before COVID-19 cases surged across the country - Shadan soon moved to Mumbai.

"From then on, there was no stopping. I eventually started writing with the writers of Faraz. I want to become a filmmaker eventually but it is much easier to break into the writing scene than the filmmaking scene," he said.

It is not uncommon for new arrivals in Mumbai to face a series of hurdles while searching for a house to rent. He realised the first strike is whether you are a single man or woman; the second is if you are not a vegetarian, and the third is when you do not belong to the community that the building members ‘approve of'.

"This is the first city I have lived in apart from Raipur. This is where I became more politically aware," Shadan said.

However, it came at the cost of facing the personal horror of being discriminated against - Islamophobia. "Finding a house in Mumbai was a reality check. The only places I could find a house were where other Muslims also lived. It pains me to put it like this, but this has been my experience in the city. I had to visit hundreds of houses in Mumbai before finding a suitable accommodation," he said.

Mumbai meri jaan?

Love about Mumbai The people of Mumbai are unmatched. Nowhere in the world have I seen the creative community come together like in Mumbai.

Hate about Mumbai As much as we see diversity in Mumbai, what I hate the most is the lack of cohabitation. I would like more and more people from different backgrounds to live together instead of there being community-based areas. Other than that, most times I dislike the pace of the city because it overwhelms my artistic side.

Expectations from Mumbai I wanted to be a part of the creative community in Mumbai. While moving here from a small town, I also hoped that I would be a part of a much more progressive city.

Did Mumbai live up to it? While it has lived up to the first part, it has failed in the latter part.

Will it remain forever home? Mumbai is not my home yet. Sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking I am in Raipur. But I am now comfortable in the city. I look at Mumbai as my workplace and Raipur as my home, and I don't think that will change anytime soon.