In Unscripted: Conversations on Life and Cinema, Vidhu Vinod Chopra speaks to his long-time collaborator and scriptwriter Abhijat Joshi about his cinematic journey. To be published by Penguin, the book provides a glimpse into the mind of one of Hindi cinema’s leading filmmaker-producers. 

Vidhu Vinod Chopra started out from Wazir Bagh, a small mohalla in Kashmir. Over a three-decade career, he has directed iconic films like Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, and others. His production company, Vinod Chopra Films, has backed the successful Munna Bhai series as well 3 Idiots, PK and Sanju. Vinod’s directorial comeback, Shikara, was released in theatres last year. 

Commenting on the book’s launch, Abhijat Joshi said, “Once, when I had helped Vinod with a quote for some occasion, he had gifted me a shirt and said, 'Quote ke badle shirt!' Today when I’m asked for a quote about him, I recall this moment. In a way, it is defining. It shows a man defying the mundane, trying to imbue each ordinary day of life with humour, charm, affection and good theatre. His intense love for family, cinema, food and wine, Ghalib and Gibran’s poetry is essentially a rebellious quest to lend some meaning to life when it is juxtaposed with death.  If the phrase 'Seize the day' didn’t exist, Vinod would have invented it. Along with the phrase illegitimi non carborundum — Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

Vidhu Vinod Chopra said, “I had a great time talking with Abhijat Joshi about cinema and life. Maybe someday, someone might read this book after I'm dead and gone and say, 'A man from a small mohalla in Kashmir had big dreams and fulfilled them without selling his soul, so why can't I?'”