Bollywood dialogue writer Niranjan Iyengar has penned dialogues for several actors, including Shah Rukh Khan, Irrfan, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra. He says he always prefers it when the actors improvise their lines on the set.
The writer, whose latest work in "D-Day" received appreciation, said that it is very important for actors to add a personal touch in the dialogues to make them more effective.
"I find it very helpful when actors improvise. When a film dialogue connects with people, it is because that the person who has rendered the dialogue has made it his own," Iyengar told IANS.
"If the actors are not convinced about the lines, then it is my job as a writer to convince them or change the line. I have never had an issue with actors improvising at all," he added.
Iyengar was biting his nails ever since he started work on "D-Day", directed by Nikhil Advani. He wasn't sure about the response the movie would get, but after he saw the final edit, his worries had faded away.
"It was a very unusual film right from the beginning. The process was scary as you don't know how it will turn out and what response we will get. But my fears were put to rest when I saw the final edit of the film and I saw that Nikhil had done such a good job. By that time, I had no doubts that it would be appreciated," he said.
"D-Day", which stars Arjun Rampal, Irrfan and Rishi Kapoor, released July 19.
In the past, Iyengar has written dialogues for films like "Ra.One", "We Are Family", "My Name Is Khan", "Kal Ho Naa Ho" and "Fashion". He said that he has always worked with friends and has never faced any sort of limitation as far as dialogue writing is concerned.
"My situation is a unique one. I have always worked with friends... But there were things which I had to learn from them.
"As a writer, you tend to think only from the writer's point of view, but there are many things like performances, time deadline and all. I started taking these into account and worked around it. I don't feel constricted at all," he said.
Creative clashes are bound to happen. What does he do in such cases?
"At times you feel you look at a certain thing from one perspective and the director and actor look at it in a different way. At such times, it is an incident-based thing. If I feel very strongly about something, I try to argue about it.
"But if the director is very insistent, then I go along as the director is the captain of the ship and his opinion matters the most," he said.
After experimenting with so many genres, the writer said that he has no favoured genre.
"I became a dialogue writer by chance. Karan (Johar) offered me 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'. In my head, I never had any particular genre. I don't have any specific preference. I get into every film with a fresh perspective.
"I try from my own life's experiences or from nurturing myself to do what is required to the best of my ability. So, honestly there is no genre which I like over another."