Kamal Pandey: Garmi Isn’t Merely The Story Of Students & College Politics (Picture Credit: Garmi Poster)
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Kamal Pandey’s writing skills have always been appreciated. His latest work, Garmi on Sonyliv has received a lot of love. Read on to know all he had to say about the show in a recent chat.
“Students are the future of any country. When the social and political environment instills an awakening inside them, then the future of the country also undergoes a metamorphosis. As the name suggests, Garmi is the heat, inside the youth of the country, the fire ignited due to their circumstances, the heat which is capable of altering the direction of a country. Garmi also showcases how politics has found its abode in the highly regarded educational institutions of the country, how money, power and crime has infested the roots of these institutions like a termite.” Kamal explains as he talks what the series is all about.
In the same conversation, Kamal Pandey also shared about how it is relevant in today’s time. He said, “The USP of Garmi is not merely the story of the students and the typical college politics. But it mirrors our current society, the deranged educational system of our country where, especially prevailing in the renowned government colleges, that is alarmingly affecting the lives of these students, hence the country. The unique and interesting characters, unprecedented twists and turns not only shock you as a viewer but the new faces of the students involving themselves in the politics of North-India also make you wonder as a fellow citizen,” he adds.
While writing Garmi, the one thing that he especially kept in mind is that the story should have today’s truth and the mindset of the characters should be completely captured. Kamal Pandey said, “I also wanted to make sure that there should is a novelty in the storytelling without risking the realness, it should reflect the current socio-political situation of the youngsters of our country in the most authentic way – how do today’s students think, how politics is playing a major role in their lives, what is their ground reality, how money and power have gone above all emotions and values. A lot of ground-level research was done for this and after a deep analysis, the writing of Garmi was finally done.”
The great response from the audience around Garmi has been a motivating experience for Kamal. “The success of the Garmi has brought a lot of optimism, a belief that hard work always pays off. If you work with utter dedication and honesty, it will always find its voice. It gives you a new identity and a sense of comfort regarding your creative capabilities,” he adds.
All these good things in life reminds Kamal of his initial days. He comes from a village in Chitrakoot Janpad, Uttar Pradesh. “My father was a doctor while my mother was a home-maker. Unfortunately, my father passed away when I was very young. So my initial upbringing was solely done by my mother in our paternal village. I did my intermediate from a town nearby and then graduated from Allahabad University. I had always been deeply connected to Hindi literature. In fact, a lot of my stories and poems got published in a bunch of papers and magazines which received plentiful recognition there. However, my fascination with cinema and visual storytelling unfolded In Allahabad University where I was introduced to the world of cinema.”
He continued, “I knew I wanted to write for movies, which is why when I saw an opportunity, I immediately moved to Mumbai. I was in the 1st year of my Masters in Hindi Literature in JNU, Delhi, so I had to drop out of university. After a lot of hardships, I got to write for a film – Aanch. The movie wasn’t filmed completely and was released in very limited places. But then I got to write movies like Shakti: The Power, Run, Shagird, a superhit TV show called Na Aana Is Des Laado and many other hit shows, and even produced a show for Star Plus called Ruk Jana Nahi. Apart from this, I have also written movies like Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, Milan Talkies, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana. During the lockdown, I had written and directed a movie called ‘Jahaan Chaar Yaar’. Additionally, this was the time when I wrote the web series ‘Garmi’ for SonyLiv.”
