Meenakshi Sagar, Producer at Sagar Pictures, was born in the entertainment industry with Ramanand Sagar being her grandfather, Moti Sagar her father and Amrit Sagar her brother. Her entry to the entertainment world could always have been easy, given the reputation and clout of her family. However, she is someone who has an inborn itch of swimming against the tide and leaving her own trail. Meenakshi, did not get into showbiz. She went on to work for an export firm and lived a life on her own terms. She is an epitome of courage and resolve for she never deterred from taking decisions, be it good or bad, but yes, she took them and went ahead to script her life’s journey. She got married at 19 and divorced at 26. Now, she is a single parent of a girl and she is living life with no regrets. Professionally, she is back working in her family business and is a producer at Sagar Pictures. Tellychakkar.com managed to talk to this rebellious woman for our ‘Behind The Lens’ segment. Excerpts: You never wanted to be a part of the entertainment business. Why? Let me begin this way. From an early age, I have been very fond of writing; I had been writing from the age of ten. But since I always wanted to do something of my own, I took up a job in an export firm. But after working for ten years in the firm, when my brother Amrit told me that I had proved my mettle and wanted me to get back to the family business of making shows, I decided on joining him as a writer. Then after our family separated, my brother wanted me to take up some more responsibility. So I became a producer. So, you never wanted it easy? Yes, I never wanted to be in this place because I was a Sagar (Ramanand Sagar was her grandfather). I always felt the need to stand in a queue for admission and get admitted on merit. That is why I did not even join our company after passing out of college. You’re not seen in parties. Why is it so? For the last five years, I have been writing for 15 to 17 hours a day. After all this, I had no time to party. Moreover, I am a reserved person and do not have any friends in the industry. No friends at all? I have only one. She is Ashwini Yardi, but for me she is not an industry person; instead we are more like family. Okay, now tell us about your writing experience and what was the first story or script that you wrote? (pauses) I first wrote the story screenplay for our show Akkad Bakkad Bambe Bo that used to air on Star Plus. Later I went on to write a lot of shows like Alladin, Dharam Veer, Meera among many others. You told us that you have been writing from the age of ten but writing for TV is different. From where did you learn this art? True, I loved writing stories ever since I was a kid and used to force my family to read them. But, as you said writing for TV is different and for me it was more of a self learning process. I bought a lot of books on the art that helped me understand the form. Apart from it, Sheela Keswani and Deepak Sehgal of Star Plus helped me understand the technique. They helped me grow as a writer. You’ve been more into writing for your own production house. Did you ever feel the need to write for other producers as well? Not until now. I have been writing a few stories for Esselvision Productions’ Fear Files of late. It so happened that after my father separated from his brothers, I was given the responsibility of a producer. At that point of time I did miss writing. Since I was fed-up a lot, I took up the writing job for Esselvision. Turning a producer too must have been a learning process? Very much, but being an MBA helped me understand the sales part well. Plus my dad was my mentor. In fact, even today he is my mentor. I get to learn so many things from him. What do you want to do next? I want to shift from mytho to something more social on Indian television. I have been a great fan of Balika Vadhu (Colors). But I just hope we could make more of the western sort of shows. I want to get into the Dexter and X-File zone but, the audiences need to be ready for it. Moreover, the channels need to experiment too. So, to get immediate creative satisfaction, I am looking at aligning with films after which I’d like to write a book.