Vipul Rawal’s Exlusive Interview with GujaratHeadline in Ahmedabad
Vipul Rawal is a well-known Indian scriptwriter and creative professional, best recognized for his contribution to Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web on Netflix.
Recently, Vipul visited Ahmedabad, where he had an exclusive conversation with GujaratHeadline. His most recent film work includes Rustom, starring Akshay Kumar, a performance that earned Akshay Kumar the National Award for Best Actor.
A proud Gujarati, Vipul Rawal hails from Vapi, Gujarat. His journey is particularly interesting—he is a sailor-turned-scriptwriter. The evolution of his passion for scriptwriting into a successful commercial career is both inspiring and unique.
Vipul shared that during his time in the Indian Navy, there was a magazine called Rider’s Digest for which he used to write short jokes. He was paid ₹100 per joke at a time when his monthly salary was just ₹2,200. Those small payments motivated him to write more, and he recalls thinking, “Yeh toh achha hai.” Encouraged further by his then girlfriend, Vipul continued writing, honed his skills, and the rest, as they say, is history.
When asked how much time scriptwriting usually takes, Vipul explained that it entirely depends on the project. He revealed that he began writing the script for Taskaree: The Smuggler’s Web back in 2021, nearly four years before its release. Speaking about the making of Taskaree, he expressed immense joy in working with Neeraj Pandey. At present, Vipul is working on multiple scripts.
Talking about the craft of scriptwriting, Vipul said, “Scriptwriting is a craft where I know when to raise the graph and when to bring it down. A better script often comes from an odd personality—what will we write about a simpleton?” he admitted candidly.
For Taskaree, the writing team was taken to the Customs Department and given firsthand exposure to real operations, which greatly helped him write a more authentic and effective script. He also mentioned that writers sometimes have scripts ready in advance, which are later adapted with changes based on the cast or lead actor.
When asked about writing scripts in Gujarati, Vipul acknowledged that unfortunately, Gujarati films often operate on smaller budgets. However, he added that he can also write in Malayalam, as his wife is a Malayalee.
On being asked about his future plans, Vipul replied in a light-hearted tone, “I don’t plan that far ahead—‘kal kisne dekha, kaun kahan hoga kisko pata.’ Maybe I’ll turn into a farmer someday,” he said, ending the conversation with laughter.
