What to write about, says Niranjan Iyengar

In today's world of hyper communication and over-sharing, I'm sure there's a lot you can write about," says a friend, when I tell him about my column. "People are interested in a lot of s***!" he laughs hinting that my column should add to the pile.

I have to confess that I'm not much of an `ideas' person. I believe the world is made of two sets of people – One, that gets ideas and the other that executes them. The moment an idea occurs to me there's a voice in my head that screams, "If this has occurred to you, then it's occurred to others too." So I prefer executing. But I knew that I had to come up with a 'big' idea for my column to be relevant. Well at least an idea if not `big'.

Of course, I could begin by venting about the Twitter trolls who think they are entitled to express their adverse opinions on my chat show just because they know my handle or the random unknown Facebook freaks who wish me on my birthday with `Happy Birthday sir… Any casting happening?' or the manicurist at a hi-end salon who gives me tips on how the climax of Heroine should have been written differently to have `worked'! But none of it seems `relevant' enough.

Then there is the unsolicited advice given by an active `reporter' who makes customary calls to me (and the rest of the industry I'm told) asking for stories. She feels I must start my column with 'celebrity bashing'! "Pick out a mid-level celebrity and then bash him or her in print. It works. For, both of you will get immediate attention!" she says, her nasal voice overflowing with native wisdom. And what if I bumped into him/her in the next few days? I ask.

"Simple – Throw jargon like 'patchy editing', 'flawed re-arrangement of paragraphs', `out-of-context subbing'. If that doesn't work then promise to write a `positive' piece in another three weeks! That ALWAYS works." she says.

I'm still unconvinced and my deadline fast approaches. That's when I apply my magic formula. "When in doubt, go back to the basics!"

I time-travel to the early 90s when I started my career as a writer by becoming a journalist. It was a different world… Without the present-day platforms that dole out power of the pen to everyone – even those who don't know how to hold it! I try to remember the one lesson I learnt from those years of interviewing film stars, writing about their work and lives. And it comes to me. Any piece you write must have the humility of an opinion and never the arrogance of a judgment! That's the essence of my years in journalism and that's what I had to apply here. Seems simple, right? But any writer worth his/her salt will tell you that `simple' is often the most difficult to execute consistently. Hope I manage that my columns to come.