Meet the writers

Filmmaker-writer Quentin Tarantino recently said, “This will be the writer’s year,” when he won the Oscar for the Best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained. It’s true, and it applies not only in Hollywood, but Bollywood as well.

B-Town writers too will vouch for the fact that things have changed for the better for them and the process seems to be on an accelerator mode. The importance on content is on an upward swing, and so is the focus on writers, as much as it is on directors or actors. Scriptwriters are increasingly becoming stars in their own right. The present guard of writers including Rajat Aroraa (Taxi Number 9211, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, Dirty Picture), Farhad and Sajid Samji (Golmaal, Bol Bachchan, Houseful 2, Ready), Shibani Bathija (Fanaa, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, My Name is Khan), Abhijat Joshi (Munnabhai and 3 Idiots) are names as well-known as the directors of these films.

Script is the star
The success of recent films (Paan Singh Tomar and Vicky Donor) without any big stars, purely on the merit of the content, is bringing writers to the centerstage. Rajat admits, “There is no denying that the focus on content has increased and so the way writers are treated today has also undergone a sea-change, which reflects on the remunerations that we are being offered.” 

However, he stresses that  writers have always been treated with respect. “The respect, however, is always in proportion to the quality of work they produce. Look at Salim saab, Javed Akhtar saab, Gulzar saab. Everybody worships them, as they should. Our industry in general, is generous with the kind of respect it showers on the stars and technicians alike.”

Getting recognition
Scriptwriter duo Farhad-Sajid, who’ve given five back-to-back Rs100-crore hits recently, point out that there was a time when the audience would go to theatres to see a Salim-Javed film, “We see that happening again, when people are drawn not only by the names of the stars or the directors, but also writers.”

Salim Khan, the veteran scriptwriter of films like Sholay, Deewar, Trishul etc, insists that  content was and will always be the king even if it’s a star-driven project. “Financially, a star has everything already, so you need a real good script to tempt the actor in him. Be it today or even 50 years back, or even before that, the best remembered films are the ones that had a strong story,” he says.

The anatomy of writing
Niranjan Iyengar, who has done the screenplay for Heroine and Fashion says, “A star or an actor is like the face; the director is the heart; the cinematographer, the mind; and the writer, the spine. People talk about the face, the mind and heart, but have you ever heard people compliment a person’s spinal cord? Although it is the backbone, and one of the most important aspects of the personality, it hardly gets talked about. It’s the same with writers. They may or may not be the most talked about, but it hasn’t dimmed their importance. There’s no denying that today, the limelight is on writers and this acknowledgement is being made on public platforms too at award ceremonies, which makes a huge difference.”

People deserve credit
Shibani Bathija says the audiences’ tastes have changed. The writers wrote unusual stories even back then, but they weren’t accepted as easily as they are today. “We get to make more real characters now and people find it easier to accept them. Earlier, most of the contemporary films would either find way to art cinema tags or would address to a niche audience. Today those barriers have been broken and we can tell stories that are more relatable and yet massy.”

Anurag Kashyap, who largely spear-headed the change, first as a writer with films like Paanch, Satya, and then as a director with film like Dev D, said in an earlier interview, “The door for writers was always there, but acceptance of ‘non-commercials’  films has opened it wider for writers who are not afraid to think out of the box. The industry has always been star-driven. That won’t change, but today, there’s much more space for content driven films too as compared to a few years back.”

Newcomers Inc!
Juhi Chaturvedi who has won awards and accolades for Vicky Donor says, “The production houses are now looking at producing films with modest budgets which minimises the risk for them to work with a newcomer.”

But getting a break wasn’t as easy back then. Farhad from the Farhad-Sajid duo reveals that the two had struggled for several years before they got their first break as lyricists and then finally as scriptwriters. “But we have always believed that if you are talented, work will speak for you.”
Shibani seconds that your work speaks for you. But in the industry, there is a big chance that a new scriptwriter will be exploited, “One always hears of these things, and I’m sure they happen too. However, things have gotten better. The Film Writer’s Association takes time and effort to take care of the interests of writer-members.”

Moolah matters   
While most scriptwriters prefer not to reveal much when it comes to their remunerations, they all do say that it’s improve. But they credit that to their hit films and “having proved our worth.” Money is not big for new writers. There is no standardisation because every project has a different budget. According to rough estimates, newcomer may get anything between Rs30,000 and Rs1 lakh depending on the script, while the more established names can earn figures as high as a Rs1 crore. Largely, most writers get a figure on the upper side of Rs 20 lakhs but less than a crore.

The write direction!
For most scriptwriters, getting into direction is  a natural progression, if not a stepping stone. Farhad and Sajid Samji, who’re gearing up to direct a film starring Akshay Kumar insist that it was a combination of experience, chance and talent that got them to get on the director’s chair. Says Farhad, “Of course, with directing a film ourselves, we get more control of our script, but that was not the draw for us.” His brother Sajid adds, “Whether you are a director, or a scriptwriter, you dream of seeing your story on the big screen. This time instead of letting someone else to handle our baby, we feel like we are becoming father ourselves.”

Writer-director Reema Kagti (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Talaash) feels that writing and direction often go hand-in-hand. “What I look for is telling a story onscreen. It may be a story I want to tell or a story someone else will bring to life. Either ways, it’s a creative outlet. As a writer, you understand the essence of the story and if you have the technical know-how then why not direct as well?”  Writer-filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia (Paan Singh Tomar) adds that directing your own script is a high.

Scriptwriters vs dialogue writers
While some like Farhad-Sajid prefer to write their own dialogues, there are others like Shibani who don’t mind handing it over to others. “As long as the dialogue writer and the scriptwriter are on the same page, it works great.”

Sajid offers his side. “We prefer doing dialogues on our own, because we are so in tune with even a comma that we know we can’t miss a beat when writing dialogues. Not that others don’t do good jobs, but it’s not easy to explain that punctuation to someone else.”

Writers vs directors
How easy is it for a scriptwriter to hand over his baby to a director? “Letting go of the baby is never easy,” admit all scriptwriters, “but when you know that the baby is in good hands, it’s easier to let go.” Rajat elaborates, “You learn to detach yourself with the script and trust the director completely. I think you are working with the filmmaker in the first place because you share the same sensibilities.”

Salim Khan points out that there are bound to be creative differences, but never a conflict of interests. “All interests are vested into making the project better. There’s no one person bigger than the product and all of us have to put aside egos, for it too work,” he says. “Differences will be there when there are so many creative minds involved. But usually when you work with like-minded people, the margin of difference is less. There is a fine line between involvement and interference. And we have always believed that whether we agree or not, the last word has to be that of the director.”

Rajat adds, “Bound scripts should never mean that one stops thinking about the film. You have to keep your differences aside and do what is right for the film. Filmmaking, more than any other profession, is a discourse in Sufism. A good film is the one where your work is invisible. When the director is right, handing over the script is the happiest moment.”

Writers vs actors
We always wondered if the writers are asked to change scenes and lines to accommodate a star. They all admit it happens, but they don’t take it personally. Says Shibani, “It’s better to go by the script, but if an actor is not comfortable with something, it’s better to change that rather than let the discomfort translate on screen. Besides, most stars are very reasonable today. They all trust their team to help them put the best foot forward.”

On-the-set writers
There was a time when the scriptwriter gave the script to the director and his job was done. That has changed. Most films have scriptwriters present on the set every day of the shooting. Niranjan says, “I often go on the sets, but only because I feel professionally involved in it.”
Rajat is very hands-on too, “I’m not on the sets every day, but I’m there on days when important sequences are being shot. It gives me a sense of ownership. A sense of satisfaction to see what I have put on paper being translated into what the audience will see on the screen.”

Remake mantra
How do the writers fell about remakes? Is there a dearth of good stories that Bollywood is revisiting old ones? Rajat points out,  “Remakes have their place in the industry, but there is solace in the fact that there are more original scripts written than remakes.”
Salim Khan, who is presently fighting with the ‘re’makers of Zanjeer over remuneration says, “Sure, sometimes you feel that there’s a shortage of ideas, but that has nothing to do with remakes. I am all for them as long as apart from copyright, the moral rights are protected too. And any change in script is agreed to by the writer.”

Why so many South remakes?
In the past two years most of the hit films have been remakes of South films. Like Wanted, Singham, Rowdy Rathore... Does this mean they have better writers? Khan explains that while we make remakes of South films, they do Hindi remakes too, “It’s a healthy give and take.” Farhad-Sajid, who have done the remake of Singham, feel that it is wrong to assume that remakes are easy.

Niranjan stresses, “I don’t think we are short on talent. But when a filmmaker is investing huge budgets, they have a right to minimise risks.”