Spirit W | A passionate storyteller: Undercover Utopia's Mrinal Jha

Mrinal Jha, the co-founder of Undercover Utopia, is an independent script writer and creative producer for several channels which include Zee, Star Plus, UTV, Balaji Telefilms and Doordarshan. She has written four novels till date. They are November Rain, The Prayer, Soul Search Engine and Class MMX. Interestingly, she also recently won the best writer - story award in 2008 at the Gold awards function held in Dubai, for the serial Maayka. Mrinal Jha along with her husband Abhigyan Jha recently produced Kaali- Ek Agnipariksha for STAR Plus.

Mrinal is also the producer of Jay Hind the first ever TV show made exclusively for the internet platform. It is also India's first  late night stand up comedy show on the internet.
Adgully caught up with Mrinal Jha during the launch of Qubool Hai that airs on Zee TV to talk about her life and career. Reminiscing about the early days of her career she says, “I started my career as a copywriter 18 years back. It was during the era that saw the launch of satellite TV. I wrote  a novel during that time which made me foray into the space of writing. Later I started writing Maano ya na Maano and since then I have continued with my writing.”

November Rain, her first novel, launched in 1994, received rave reviews and was an instant sensation. The book inspired actress and producer Aroona Irani to make the serial Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahan. The show immediately struck a chord with the viewers, thus spanning over 300 episodes on Zee TV.

Mrinal is  inspired by and admires Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee and believes that he is a complete visionary. She says, “I really hold him in high esteem and admire the way he has led ZEE from the time when there was no Distribution etc. During that time he understood the needs and demand of the audience and brought content that people would love to watch.”
When asked what made her choose writing as a profession, she said, “Firstly I cannot imagine myself elsewhere. Secondly I have always loved telling stories and this field is so creative and every time you tell a story it has to be new and interesting. This point marks your creativity and passion.”

She is of the opinion that this entire field of television, programming and writing has just one basic challenge that is to be able to tell the kind of story that the audience demands and that too at the right time. In terms of experiencing any kind of prejudice in this industry, Mrinal, says that till date she has never faced any  although she has been writing and producing shows since quite some time now.

While signing off Mrinal gave her humble advice to the young writers of today who wish to make it big in this field. She said, “Be sure that you are a true writer before you enter this field.”  
Mrinal has scripted for serials like Kaahin Kissii Roz, Kya Haadsa Kya Haqeeqat, Tum Bin Jaaoon Kahaan, Banoo Main Teri Dulhan, Amber Dhara, Chhoona Hai Aasmaan, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Santaan, Kasturi, Maayka and Pyaar Ka Bandhan. The recent ones include; Qubool hai, Kaali- Ek Agnipariksha and Sanjog Se Bani Sangini and this has enabled her to communicate with the maximum number of Indians every day. | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal@adgully.com]