Inside Chamak: Writer–Producer Geetanjali Mehlwal on Crafting SonyLIV’s Musical Phenomenon

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 12: When Chamak hit SonyLIV, it didn’t just premiere — it erupted. At the epicenter of that creative storm stands Geetanjali Mehlwal, the writer–producer whose rare fusion of intellect, instinct, and rebellion transformed a musical drama into one of India’s boldest pop-cultural statements.

From Legal Briefs to Lyrical Firestorms

Geetanjali Mehlwal’s journey doesn’t follow the typical film-school narrative — it reads more like a sharp, high-stakes legal drama.
A seasoned entertainment lawyer, she spent years dissecting contracts, copyrights, and creative conflicts before stepping behind the pen herself. That unique combination — razor-sharp legal insight blended with fearless creativity — is precisely what became the spine of Chamak.

Produced for SonyLIV, the series dives deep into the electrifying universe of Punjab’s music industry — a world pulsing with glamour, rivalry, loyalty, and ambition. But Chamak isn’t just another glossy show about fame; it’s a narrative charged with emotion and authenticity, exploring identity, generational scars, and artistic defiance.

As Writer–Producer and Writer across both seasons, Mehlwal didn’t simply write a show — she constructed a living, breathing world. Each beat, betrayal, and verse carries her creative imprint, making Chamak less of a story and more of an experience.

The “Chamak” Universe: Where Music Meets Morality

At its core, Chamak is less about music and more about the human rhythm behind it — the politics, the fame, and the fight for voice in a world that commodifies art.
The show follows a rising artist navigating the glitter and grime of Punjab’s pop scene, balancing authenticity with ambition.

The writing — Mehlwal’s writing — makes sure it never falls into cliché. The characters breathe. The choices sting. The dialogue hits like verdicts — sharp, layered, final.

Her legal background shows — every episode feels cross-examined, not just written.

“It’s about power,” Mehlwal has said in interviews. “But not just external power — the power of truth, of identity, of finding your own rhythm when the world wants to control your beat.”

That philosophy runs through the veins of Chamak, giving it a rare kind of integrity in a genre often ruled by glam and gloss.

The Creative Engine: Mehlwal’s Dual Power

Writers often fade behind the lens. Mehlwal doesn’t.
She’s that rare hybrid — a writer, producer, and lawyer who understands both the art and the arithmetic of storytelling.

As producer, she shapes the vision. As writer, she crafts the soul. As lawyer, she protects the integrity.
Together, those roles make her less of a “crew member” and more of a creative architect.

Her time on Disney+ Hotstar’s Criminal Justice — where she was part of the core writing team alongside Shridhar Raghavan — honed her sense for realism and tension. That experience helped her design Chamak with the same authenticity, but with rhythm instead of robes.

It’s courtroom intensity meets cultural chaos.
And it works.

Building Beats, Not Just Scripts

The success of Chamak lies in how Mehlwal understands sound as storytelling.
She treats music not as background score but as dialogue — a living, breathing character that exposes emotion and history.

In that sense, she doesn’t just write scenes. She composes narrative symphonies — layering politics, memory, and rhythm into something distinctly cinematic yet unapologetically real.

Her scripts are known to move between intensity and intimacy with startling precision — one minute you’re inside a power tussle, the next you’re in a moment of pure, aching vulnerability.

That duality — heart and hustle — defines her writing style.

A Voice That Speaks for More Than Herself

While Chamak is a story of artists and egos, it’s also an ode to identity — particularly how Indian creators wrestle with self-expression in a society obsessed with conformity.

Mehlwal’s own life mirrors that tension.
She juggles the creative chaos of production with the precision of legal counsel, the demands of storytelling with the discipline of law.

“I’ve always lived between two worlds — the creative and the legal — and I find immense joy in building bridges between them,” she says. “Law taught me structure and empathy; writing gave me freedom and voice.”

That’s more than a quote — it’s a manifesto.

Beyond the Screen: The Planet Food

For someone who spends her days dissecting scripts, Mehlwal’s “The Planet Food” blog is an unexpected detour — and yet, perfectly on-brand.

It’s a culinary journal turned creative sanctuary, where she writes about food, memory, and identity with the same precision she brings to her screen work. It’s storytelling through flavor — thoughtful, personal, and deeply Indian.

That creative restlessness — whether in law, cinema, or cuisine — makes her one of those rare polymaths who never repeats herself.

What Chamak Really Means for Indian Streaming

Chamak isn’t just a hit series — it’s a cultural benchmark for how Indian OTT can explore regional stories without falling into tokenism.

It treats Punjabi music not as a stereotype, but as a socio-political ecosystem.
It gives Indian youth a mirror, not a fantasy.
It shows that authenticity can trend.

And for that, much credit goes to Mehlwal’s fearless writing and decisive production vision — proof that substance can still win in an era obsessed with surface.

The Verdict

Whether she’s drafting a contract or a climax, Geetanjali Mehlwal works with surgical precision. Chamak is her courtroom — only this time, the audience delivers the verdict.

And the verdict is unanimous: Guilty of brilliance.