Pritam and Pedro Writers On Creating Show's Wit And Heart, Working With Rajkumar Hirani: We Try To Find A Bit Of Ourselves In Our Characters - EXCL

Arshad Warsi and Vir Hirani’s Pritam and Pedro has struck a chord with audiences thanks to its seamless blend of humour, warmth and emotional storytelling. While the performances by the cast including that of Vikrant Massey, Boman Irani and Mona Singh, apart from Vir and Arshad have drawn widespread praise, the show's dialogues have emerged as one of its biggest strengths. Dialogue writers Pranjal Saxena and Shashank Kunwar, who previously worked on Love J Action and Salt City, recently opened up about the creative process behind Rajkumar Hirani's streaming debut. In an exclusive interaction with Zoom, the writer duo spoke about finding the show's distinctive voice, collaborating with the celebrated filmmaker and writing for an ensemble cast.

Speaking about the approach to the dialogues of Pritam and Pedro, Shashank said the team wanted to keep the writing emotionally honest while complementing the show's unique premise. "The approach was to keep it simple and heartfelt,” he shared, adding, “The show has a unique premise and telling, staying with that and building on the same in dialogues, kept things in sync and contributed to the voice/message of the show! We believe when stories and dialogues are able to engage the audiences, take them along the journey, narrated in a language which belongs to the people, things are more often than not well received!"Pranjal revealed that the brothers often draw from their own personalities while shaping characters, adding that their upbringing has influenced their writing style. The writer added, “We also try to find a bit of ourselves in our characters. Helps us to connect with them and that gives us a handle to lend some voice to them. Growing up in West UP automatically enriches you with dry humour and sarcasm. Lucky to have some of it in us as well."

The writers also reflected on collaborating with Rajkumar Hirani, whose films are renowned for balancing comedy with emotion. According to Shashank, Hirani's clarity of vision allowed the writers the freedom to contribute creatively while staying true to the filmmaker's storytelling sensibilities."It has been absolute pleasure to get on board with Raju Sir! His clarity and vision helps to put the energies in the right direction. The question was never what to say, the endeavour was – how to say it best. The process was pretty organic. The jam sessions, the discussions were an open ground, where the team tried to put out their best performance! It was a teamwork where the creative stamp we bring in, was always welcome and sought!,” the writers signed off.