The students and I hang onto every word. Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.

The Foundations of a Storyteller

Tell us about your childhood reading influences.

I grew up in Old Delhi, bound to a house filled with books on Literature and Marxism. These books were my sole inheritance from my dead grandparents, both of whom were academics. They became the primary staple of my childhood reading. I don’t think I could fully grasp half of the stuff I was reading but I do know that a copy of Maxim Gorky’s Mother filled my nine year old brain with a furious love for words. Later came the more age-appropriate stuff like the Enid Blytons and Champak magazines. By then I was already surreptitiously drawn to the James Hadley Chase hidden in the lower shelves and preferred those over the school’s prescribed morally upright reading list. I read morally upright and ethically ambiguous writers with equal appetite and relished both.

Your storytelling style is so fiery. Were you always rebellious?

I grew up in a very dysfunctional setup. My father had schizophrenia and he was an alcoholic, and my mother was like the master caretaker, and then I was the sub caretaker- so I knew that the little time that I have, I have to max it. That was my rebellion - to do everything, to create that juice in the small moments that you have, you know you have limited time to yourself because you have bigger duties to deal with.

The Art of Reading People

When you walked into this class, you immediately read the room—calling out our possible indifference and adapting your communication style. How did you cultivate this skill?

It’s second nature now, but it came from the necessity of my childhood. It’s a combination of IQ and EQ -you want to elicit a genuine connection from the other person. You want them to actually listen to your case.

You need to see -is the other person looking a little scattered or distraught? Are they distracted? What can you do for them to like, pay attention to you before you start making your case. And if they’re not interested, can you do something that they start paying attention to you ? Can you do something where it is not so much about you, but about them? Can you observe things really quickly, like, what’s going on, what’s on the table, what is the room atmosphere like?

Can you make some conversation which is not about what you want from them ? It shouldn’t look like it’s intrusive. But maybe they have, you know a pen from somewhere, or something else around them and maybe you can make a conversation about that.

This skill is the foundation of persuasive storytelling—whether in screenplays or business pitches. It’s about establishing a connection before delivering content.

Breaking Into Bollywood: The Audacity of Hope

How did you land your first script writing opportunity?

Someone told me if you manage to get into Yash Raj studios you can submit your script there. I had just graduated from Film and Television Institute and had come to Bombay with just Rs.5000 in my bank. I had a script, which I’m now so embarrassed to even show to people. But in that moment, I had a strange irrational overconfidence. I talked my way to the studio and begged to use the washroom. Somehow the receptionist took pity on me and let me in. When I was there I took out my phone and took so many photos. I took my own sweet time to pee. Because I was like, maybe this is the only time you will ever be at Yash Raj studios. So just enjoy this moment ! Somehow I was actually able to convince the person at the front desk to let me meet the person who heads the script department. Five or six weeks later, I got a call. It was from Yash Raj studios ! We would like you to work on something that we have, would you want to pursue that? I mean, who the hell will say no to that?

Storytelling with Purpose

Whether it’s Chhapaak, the story of an acid attack survivor, or Margarita with a Straw, which challenges stereotypes about disability, your stories have a clear purpose. What is storytelling like for you?

It means being able to engage an audience which is not an audience that’s friendly to feminist tales. In mainstream Indian cinema, the narrative typically centers on men. When women appear, it’s tokenism.

I know that I get about ninety minutes of screentime. In that time I have to tell you a story, arrange the facts in such a way that by the end of it, you’re talking, you’re crying, and you’re convinced with my argument for whatever I’m doing.

Storytelling is noble manipulation - arranging truths so they compel action. Whether you are a scriptwriter, a lawyer or a manager, this is what you do for a successful pitch - you take facts that are available to everyone, arrange them to make a convincing argument.

The Tangible Impact of Storytelling

Your films have sparked many conversations and even policy changes. Tell us about some reactions that stood out to you.

After Chaapaak released, Uttarakhand actually provided for a state pension for acid attack survivors. So that was a very visible direct result of the film.

When ‘Guilty’ released—a story about campus rape—the response was unbelievable. If I wasn’t already convinced of my work’s power, that was the moment I realised I am doing God’s work. The number of messages I received was insane—women and men pouring out their stories because they saw themselves reflected in the film. People wrote saying, ‘I have been this woman,’ or ‘I witnessed this happening and couldn’t do anything,’ or ‘This happened to my mother or sister.’

Netflix or audiences might not consider that film a major hit by conventional metrics. But the impact it had on real people’s lives? That’s success to me.

I’ve actually seen the impact of how books heal you, and how art heals you. Art is literally, like free therapy.

Portraying Difficult Subjects Responsibly

Many of your films deal with violence. How do you approach framing these stories?

Art should heal, not harm. The film Spotlight which deals with pedophilia in church is a great example - you don’t see the act on screen, you see the impact of it, but you don’t actually show the abuse. Else someone will just take that piece out and put it on YouTube and then watch it thousands of times to get off on that.

As someone who works on trauma-based subjects, I consciously try to minimise how trauma is visually represented. Even in crime scripts, I imply violence rather than graphically depicting it. The repercussions reveal the horror more powerfully than explicit scenes ever could.

In Chhapaak, we showed the acid attack’s aftermath rather than dwelling on the moment of violence itself. This approach forces viewers to confront the long-term consequences while avoiding potential retraumatisation.”

The Audience’s Responsibility

What can viewers do to support meaningful cinema?

Choose wisely. At some level, we all need to expand our humanity, and this will reflect in how we receive cinema. Many consider their entertainment choices tertiary decisions, but they’re actually crucial. If you hate-watch ‘Animal’ but pay for a ticket, you fund more ‘Animals.’ In a country struggling with how women are viewed, celebrating misogynistic cinema impacts women’s daily lives.

There are shows even in the mainstream that have depth and nuance. A series like Panchayat proves depth can be popular. While it is extremely accessible, and it is about a small town, the writing has depth. So there is a way to do it.

Resources for Aspiring Storytellers

Any favourite books on storytelling and screenwriting you’d recommend?

On Writers and Writing (Previously titled as Negotiating with the Dead) by Margaret Atwood

Writing the Character-Centered Screenplay by Andrew Horton

As Atika prepares to leave, she is surrounded by students asking her questions on being a writer, on craft, technique and inspiration. In parting, she tosses one final question to the students: ‘Will you be the suits, the studio bosses, that green light more Panchayats, or the ones that fund more Animals?’

In true Atika fashion, she’s transformed a lecture into a mirror—challenging these future business leaders to consider how their decisions might shape India’s cultural landscape. And that might be her most persuasive storytelling trick of all.

(Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonya’s Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or suggestions, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal.)