Overview
- Hirani delivered a packed masterclass titled “Film is Made on Two Tables — Writing and Editing: A Perspective” at IFFI 2025 in Panaji.
- He framed his core maxim as “Writing is emotion imagined; editing is emotion experienced,” adding, “The writer writes the first draft, the editor writes the last.”
- He called theme the soul of a film and conflict its oxygen, noting that a story begins when a character truly wants something.
- Casting editors as unsung heroes, he said that shifting shots and sound can change meaning and even flip a story 180 degrees, echoing D. W. Griffith on shaping audience emotion.
- Longtime collaborator Abhijat Joshi illustrated the approach with memories that informed 3 Idiots, emphasizing lived experience, clear character desire, and the collision of valid opposing truths.