Moni Singh on her audio series Devil Se Shaadi: I always wanted to write a sweet, simple and family-oriented story | Exclusive

Hailing from Bihar, Moni Singh persevered in her professional journey at a very young age and produced a successful audio series, Devil Se Shaadi. The series is loved by the audience for its nuanced storytelling. Singh talks to OTTplay exclusively about her writing process among other things.

Excerpts from the interview...

Moni, could you tell us a little about professional journeys and how did you get the inspiration to write your audio series Devil Se Shaadi?

I got to know about Pocket FM through my friends in January 2021 and I had no prior experience of working as a writer. This is my first professional work as a writer and initially, I faced some difficulties and challenges along the way, but I did not give up and devoted myself to learning. I read a lot of novels, tried to understand the story design, the style of the writer and the way of telling a story. Devil Se Shaadi is a very simple and family-oriented series that I wrote. The series tells a love story where an arrogant guy and a sweet girl fall in love. The focus is more on family dynamics depicting how all the members live and survive together. It is also a love story between a boy and a girl and their journey of falling in love with each other. I always had in mind that I wanted to write a sweet, simple and family-oriented story and these values inspired me to write Devil Se Shaadi.

During this current age of OTT, what are some of the elements you need to keep in mind to write content for OTT platforms?

It is surely the age of OTT and there are multiple elements to keep in mind while writing for OTT because we do not have the information about the kind of audience that is consuming our content, whether be it in terms of age group or cultural background. Thus, from time to time, I try variations in my writing so that I can make the audience from different backgrounds feel that connection with my stories. Teenagers want enjoyment and want to watch comedy. Hence, I add elements of humour to keep the fun intact in my writings.

Could you tell us a little about the elements you add in your writing when you cater to a specific audience in mind?

For a married couple, a story about marriage is what they would connect with so with the advent of OTT I try and bring those variations to cater to a wider audience base. Hailing from Bihar, my cultural background helps me connect to nature. I try to add those elements of nature to my stories. I also belong to a joint family and hence I have that connection with joint families too which is why my characters mostly belong to joint families. I also try and make my stories very realistic. I do not add those unrealistic and unexpected moments in my stories that are not possible in real life. I try to keep things as real as possible for people to feel that relevance to the story. I think that is the reason for the success of my audio series. I regularly get DMs and messages to connect with the audience.

What was that specific moment or instance that made you realize that you wanted to make your career as a writer? How do you see it going forward in the age of Artificial Intelligence?

From the very beginning, I used to watch a lot of TV shows and read a lot of stuff. I was always very interested in writing. I did not know about any platform that could support my writing but after I got to know about the platform I started writing and never left it. I want to go forward in this profession and do not plan on leaving it. I will keep writing as long as I get such opportunities in the future. Now in the age of Artificial Intelligence, technology is a threat of course. It is very easy to translate content and it is not only a threat for content generators, but it poses a lot of threats to other professionals working in other industries too.

How is writing an audio series different from writing a screenplay or any other forms of writing?

While writing for an audio series, it is very important to add subtle nuances in the story for the audience to imagine the storyline. It is very important to observe the surroundings and perfect the narration of the character concerned. This helps to make that connection between the audience and the character. It is very important for the audience to feel the emotions of the character and relate with them.

What was the initial reaction of the audience towards you and your writing after your series became so successful?

I regularly get messages saying that they like my series and my writing style. I too enjoy it and feel a sense of achievement when I read those messages. In the initial stages of my career, I read a lot of fictional and non-fictional books. For fictional, I used to read Chetan Bhagat a lot. Later, I also started referring to audio series for my work. I always tell people who would want to write to keep writing and not get demotivated. You will surely be successful. I have also tried thrice, and it is only once that our series became popular that I am now slightly known.

What were some of the films or web series that you watched on OTT platforms during the pandemic?

I am a big fan of cinema and I usually watch movies from the 90s. During the pandemic I watched a lot of web shows like Sony LIV's Scam 1992. The dialogues and storytelling in those movies (and shows) also give us an idea on how to add variations in our writing. My observational skills have increased since I have started writing professionally and that is evident in my writing.