Today we’d like to introduce you to Shuchi Dwivedi.
Hi Shuchi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in India in a very academic household. TV and movies were an indulgence, but every time we went to the theatre it was an event, and there would be endless discussions about what we thought about the film. We loved movies but never thought of it as a career opportunity. But I guess this obsession with fictional characters took a deep seat in me, and I processed that through acting and writing in college. I studied history in my undergrad and used its interdisciplinary nature to write and direct plays. Here, I learned a lot about working with people and really interpreting texts. And even though there was a lot of praise for my work, I could not imagine pursuing it as a year.
So I went on to a regular academically oriented work; I studied law and became a lawyer. But my fascination with human beings and their psychology continued to fascinate me, and I worked as a criminal defense lawyer for four years. And despite running away from my instinct, I finally ceded to it and quit a career in law and decided to become a screenwriter.
I moved to Mumbai and started working in a writer’s room, where I worked as the writer’s assistant on the show CALL MY AGENT BOLLYWOOD. Right while we were working on this show, covid hit. And every studio went into hardcore development. There were a lot of half-baked ideas that I worked on for a while. Most of them did not get converted into shows, but what this taught me was how to weed out good ideas from bad.
After working in the industry for over four years, I realized that I wanted to learn a more formal form of screenwriting. And most of the writing I had done so far was instinctive and was melded with personal experiences. As a professional writer, I wanted to learn the tricks of the trade that carries you forward beyond your instinct. I applied to AFI and was positively excited and surprised when I got in.
Being an AFI has been a transformative and rigorous experience. Being a part of an international cohort, I was pushed to create work that touched on the human experience and yet stayed in the realm of narrative story structure. I’m excited to step into my second year and focus on collaborating with some of the exceptionally talented people I’ve met here.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest challenge that I faced in the industry is the lack of respect that writers were given.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think my experience as a lawyer informs so much of my work and makes me stand out as a writer. Having spent a substantial amount of time working in the justice system makes you develop a thick skin and a rather dark sense of humor. This inevitably seeps into my work and helps me have a distinctive voice.
Being at the American Film Institute has also helped me realize that films cannot be made in isolation and made me into an effective collaborator, which I believe is my biggest strength. I never shy away from working and reworking on drafts to ensure that the team has a solid foundation to work from. I pride myself on my ability to collaborate with my peers.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I love working with people from different disciplines, and I deeply appreciate when people reach out to collaborate. They can reach me on my Instagram (@shuchi_dwivedi), Twitter (@sd_shuchi) or LinkedIn.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shuchi_dwivedi/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuchi-dwivedi-5b5456149/
- Twitter: @Sd_Shuchi
