Jaideep Ahlawat's presence in Drishyam: The Conclusion brought a new dynamic to the popular thriller franchise. But creating a character who could stand apart from those audiences had already encountered was an important challenge for the writing team. For Aamil Keeyan Khan, the film's dialogue writer and one of its screenplay writers, the character needed a distinct voice, personality and way of responding to situations.

In an exclusive interview with PeepingMoon, Khan spoke about writing the character and working with Ahlawat, whom he admires for his ability to communicate without relying on lengthy dialogues.

"The biggest challenge was giving this character an identity of his own. When the actor who was originally supposed to play the part left, we didn't know who would eventually come on board. But we were very clear that he couldn't sound or behave like the character we'd seen earlier."

Praising Ahlawat's performance, Khan added, "He's one of those rare breed of actors who can convey an entire paragraph with a glance. He reminds me of Irrfan Khan so much! There's tremendous intelligence, restraint and emotional depth in his performances. He doesn't need to raise his voice to establish authority." 

For Khan, a character's impact does not always depend on the number of words they speak. Sometimes, an actor's expression can give a line an entirely different meaning. "Sometimes his silence is more intimidating and that's a tremendous gift for a writer. You spend hours finding the perfect words, and then Jaideep sir comes along, raises an eyebrow, and makes those lines sound iconic."

Interestingly, Khan's own writing instincts were shaped by years of theatre and stand-up comedy. Before establishing himself as a screenwriter, he spent time performing on stage, where he learnt the importance of timing, pauses and audience reactions. "A joke and a twist aren't very different structurally. Both involve setting up an expectation and then pulling the carpet from under the audience." 

He also believes that narrating a screenplay is an important part of the writing process. Khan performs different characters while narrating, paying attention to how people in the room respond to individual scenes."That instinct has helped me tremendously as a screenwriter. Whenever I narrate a script, I perform it too, complete with different voices for different characters. And while I'm narrating, I'm constantly reading the room. If a scene isn't landing, we go back, dissect it, and figure out what's missing."

Despite being associated with thrillers and horror films such as Drishyam 2, Bholaa, Shaitaan and Sky Force, Khan does not want to be limited to suspense-driven stories. "I think the industry has decided that I'm a very disturbed individual who should only be trusted with murder, kidnapping, supernatural possession and national emergencies."

The writer, who began his career in comedy, is keen to explore different genres and is also interested in directing. Comedy and romance are particularly high on his wish list. "But yes, I'd love to write a good comedy. Something where the audience laughs because the film is funny, not because they've discovered a plot hole."