Sudip Sharma is Co-Authors Players Starring Abhishek
Most youngsters join IIMs to script a perfect career. But,
this IIM-ITE has quit board rooms for Bollywood. Few know that the screenplay of
the recently-released Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Players has been written by an IIM-A
grad.
Sudip Sharma, a 2002 batch alumnus, quit his regular job to pursue screenwriting
for films in 2006 perhaps the first IIM-ITE to have turned a screenwriter. It has
been taxing so far but just as much fun. After graduation, I sold colas and paints
for a few years before realizing that is not my true calling. When monotony hit,
I took refuge in my greatest passion movies, said Sharma, who has co-written the
screenplay with Rohit Jugraj. While being an MBA from IIM-A did not open doors for
him in the film industry; the learning prepared him for the struggle. The IIM-A
process makes you tough and diligent and gets you used to the grind. The degree
is not of much help in films as they are two different fields. In fact, I have not
tried to use it either, Sharma said.
Growing up in a conventional middle class family in the 90s, Sharma’s career options
were limited to chartered accountancy and MBA. I tried C.A but got bored quickly
so MBA was the default choice. Plus, you do your MBA when you are 21-22 years-old.
As you see and experience life, you tend to discover your true calling. Sharma’s
last film before Players was Semshook the story of a Tibetan boy born in exile in
India. It travelled to international film festivals and got him nominated for the
best screenplay at the New York Indian Film Festival.
Later, the opportunity to write for Players was offered by filmmakers Abbas-Mustan.
The film, however received a lot of flak from critics for its screenplay. I should
have at least one solid reason to do a particular film and in the case of Players,
it was the opportunity to do a remake of a film that I enjoyed watching The Italian
Job. “Criticism or praise does not matter as long as I can look at my work objectively”,
he said. For someone whose highly paid batch mates would love to swap careers with,
Sharma does not see his career choice as unconventional, I tell my batch mates that
I would love to swap bank accounts with them. Good or bad, I am a screenwriter now,
said Sharma who has also co-written director Navdeep Singhs comedy Rock the Shaadi
with Abhay Deol and Genelia DSouza to be released later this year. Then there is
a James Hadley Chase style thriller set in the bad lands of UP.
Career options discussed:
In order to familiarize its students with career options outside corporate world,
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmadabad (IIM-A) organized an event called Idea
Fest. Successful personalities interacted with the students and delivered lectures
at the event. Organized by the entrepreneurship club and the public policy group
of the institute, the two-day event concluded on January 15th .We wanted to create
a platform for interaction between students and experts from various fields who
have made unconventional career choices, said Prashast Srivastava, coordinator of
Public Policy Group. The event brought to the campus many illustrious people from
varied fields such as venture capital, policy research, image management and education.
Head of PRS Legislative Research, M.R Madhavan, spoke about the lack of awareness
among legislators.
Courtesy: Times of India
