Pursuing her studies in Charter Accountancy, Aditi Powar didn’t
imagine that she would be receiving an award at a glistening ceremony in the
presence of noted actors and personalities working in the Indian television
industry. However, she was excited and humbled to be a part of the team that
won the Best Screenplay and Best Story for Indian serial ‘Wagle Ki Duniya –
Nayee Peedhi Naye Kissey’ at the third edition of the SWA Awards, recently
organised by the Screenwriters Association of India, in Mumbai. This was the
first live event after the first two editions were held online.
Aditi was part of the writing team for the new edition of the
noted Hindi series, ‘Wagle Ki Duniya – Nayee Peedhi Naye Kissey’. She won the
Best screenplay award along with her husband, Sambhav Khetarpal and the Best
Story for the same series with the team of Aatish Kapadia, Jayesh Patil, JD
Majethia, Sambhav Khetarpal. “Being nominated for the award by Screen Writing
Association was a big thing for me given that there were industry veterans and
some of the finest writers that were nominated in the same category. To win the
award, not just for story but for screenplay as well, feels surreal,” says
Aditi, reminiscing the starry night.
Born and brought up in Goa, Aditi is a former student of
Mushtifund High School. She graduated in Commerce from SS Dempo College. “I
completed my CA internship when I published my first book, ‘Storm in a Teacup’.
I was selected in a pan India writing talent hunt called ‘Star Writers
Program’, an elite screenwriting course where I was trained by an expert from
Los Angeles, David Freeman. I was mentored by the best screenwriters across the
world and learnt about the various nuances and techniques of screenwriting,
post which I secured a job at Star TV,” says Aditi, daughter of Ashok and
Ashwini Powar and only younger sister to Shivam. She started off as a staff
writer for Star TV by writing screenplays on a show called ‘Ishqbaaz’ in 2018.
She worked on several shows for Star TV while she was employed
at Star, post which she started her journey as a freelancer with a show, ‘Kyon
Riston Mein Katti Batti’ where she was co-writing the screenplays alongside
Anjali Bahura and Tapasya Udaiwar, two of the veteran screenwriters in TV. “I
found a mentor in Anjali and we went on to write story and screenplay for
several shows including ‘Aladdin, Naam Toh Suna Hi Hoga’ ‘Rudramadevi’ and
‘Hero-Gayab Mode On’. In 2020, my husband, Sambhav Khetarpal and I, partnered
up and joined the core writing team of ‘Wagle ki Duniya’ and have written for
it ever since. We also wrote story and screenplay for a show on star TV called
‘Vidrohi’, a story based on the life of the freedom fighter Bakshi Jagbandhu,”
she shares her journey into the world of Indian television.
‘Wagle ki Duniya’ has been an iconic series and being associated
with it made it even more special for Aditi. “Wagle ki Duniya’ will always be a
special show for me. Not only because it is remake of the old ‘Wagle Ki
Duniya’, that aired in 1988, starring none other than Shah Rukh khan himself in
one of the episodes, on a concept penned down by the legendary RK Laxman but
also because it is made by Aatish Kapadia and JD Majethia, the makers of
popular shows like ‘Sarabhai VS Sarabhai’ and ‘Khichdi’. Also, this was my
first independent project alongside my husband. ‘Wagle ki Duniya’ has a team of
very experienced producers, writers, who are veterans in the industry and I got
to learn simply listening to their work and getting their feedback on mine. Our
script head, Jayesh Patil not only helped take the scripts to another level, he
has also been a wonderful mentor and a motivator. This show has given me a lot
as I got a chance to speak about issues which were not spoken on Indian TV like
good touch/bad touch and menstruation taboos. The episodes even trended on
social media,” says Aditi, as she calls her experience surreal.
Working
in Mumbai, she believes that home is where the heart is and for her, both her
home and her heart belong to Goa. “I fly down often simply to clear the
clutter, take a break from the hectic schedule and rejuvenate myself. Of
course, my mother’s home cooked food and my pets are a plus,” concludes Aditi.
