Writer ki izzat and a happy incident
Salim-Javed used to carry a paint-ka-dabba on a bicycle to hand-paint their names on the film posters the night before the film released. (Source: Javed Akhtar’s interview book by Nasreen Munni Kabeer.)
Blatant lies.... Co-writer's name is missing again
But a more prevalent, and as easily ignored now as a Sunny Deol film, issue is writers not even getting due credit in the film’s publicity. Most of the TV promos list ‘lyrics’, ‘DOP’, ‘editing’, sometimes even ’sound design’ but easily skip ’screenplay/script/dialogue’ credit. As baffling as it may sound, it’s become a widely accepted norm now. And no, this post is not a ‘writers jhanda uthaao…’ variety. Just a few observations to set-up the happy incident I (accidentally) triggered yesterday at PFC.
I have been following Nikhil V.’s blogs on Aladin and really liked the genuine passion he showed for his project. A bit heartbroken to see that even Aladin’s posters had no proper writing credits, I posted a comment on his blog. In most cases I know, the comment would have either made no difference or would have been replied to and forgotten.
(Heck, it happened with my own film ‘Zor Laga Ke Haiyya’. My name was missing from all the publicity, and even after talking to the Producer nothing changed.)
But a twist was in store as this morning Nikhil called me and told that the comment (and information that writing credits were missing/incomplete) has caused quite a flutter and Sujoy was very upset. He wanted to know the exact location, size etc. of the ’standee’ I had mentioned so that it could be brought to the notice of the producers and publicity people.
By the evening, I guess after making a few rounds, the ‘offending standee’ (Nikhil’s words) was removed from PVR Goregaon.
I know, for most people, it may be a minor issue (and I know some sad cynics may go further and call it a gimmick) but for me – it’s an action that shows commitment of the people who chose to call themselves ‘boundscript’. Thanks Nikhil, Sujoy and the whole team at Aladin….this means a lot to a writer. This means ‘respect’.
Tags: Aladin, Credits, Respect, Writers
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
good write up on an important subject…
Unbelievable. Writers are fighting for respect, recognition and money. Shame. Utterly disgusting situation.
Everybody in this world respects writers. They look upon writers with awe. They are marvelled by a writer’s thoughts and imagination. They know that the writers have the power to change the world. Truth is writers have changed this world.
But the harsh reality is everybody respects writers except writers themselves and the film producers.
It’s fact that in today’s world, even the most powerful person in the world does not disrespect anybody; not even their servants. So why is it that the writers find themselves in such a terrible situation?
Simple. Writers don’t complain. Writers are not united. Writers don’t speak for their community. Years of inaction by the established writers has resulted in the writing fraternity to become a world of idiots.
Writers work hard. Writers make a honest living. Writers have their concience in the right place.
It’s high time that writers believed in themselves and respected themselves. Don’t be afraid to write about your problems. Internet, newspapers and magazines are the best forums. Don’t be afraid to complain. What would happen if every writer in the film industry complains about their problems? Unite. Complain. And find it out for yourself.
Hey! thats really nice Vidushak ( Varun ).I had been following that exchange of comments between you & Nikhil.So I’m glad for the action taken.Hope this encourages more people to appreciate the writers, lets hope for the best.
I agree with you Varun . I go mad when i see writen and directed by when there is professional Writer on board. In many case i have seen director’s contribution to the whole script is limited upto 5 words “its working” ” its not working” and they think they are eligible for written and directed by credit.
Writer’s ki izzat se yaad aaya …writer’s conferance mein writers ke contract ko dinbhar discuss kiya tha ..kaha gaya woh contract?
any one any clue?
ya is saal ke writer’s conferance mein phir se dinbhar issi topic par aur baat karenge ?
Sujoy and team and wish you all the luck.
Nikhil your jini is working ..writer ki wish puri kar di .
Varun keep it burning
Yes Rahul….writer’s conference is generally like Bapu ka janamdin. Say good things on that day, cut a few ribbons, and then come back to this big bad world.
IMDB still doesn’t credit Nikhil V. for anything on Aladin. I’m not saying IMDB is the holy grail, but when I read Nikhil’s article on that song a few days back, I found a member of that nowadays rare species in this bijiness – a (fellow?) poet and wondered what his contribution to the movie was. IMDB told me it was nothing. Still, I am glad that your efforts have at least brought him some credit.
Arsenik….Nikhil has clarified in his blog that he is NOT the writer of the film, Ritesh Shah, Sujoy Ghosh and Suresh Nair are.
And they are credited properly on the official website. And now, on the standees in Cinema halls as well. (The offending standee has been removed.)
Good to hear this, Varun. Thanks for sharing
Vidushak, Rituparno Ghosh had told at a workshop that he wrote the script for Raincoat in Bengali. But the movie was in Hindi and Sameer ‘translated’ the original script to Hindi; which is essentially ‘Language Inputs’. And if you see the credits of the movie, it follows this pattern throughout — players, decor, poetry (and lyrics).
Gopi,
calling ‘translation’ as language inputs is basically insulting both the languages involved. Translators, world over, are treated at par with original writers and rightly so, since they need to understand and decode the idiom of two languages rather than just one.
‘Language inputs’ is a mischievous, if not out-rightly demeaning credit for a work that involves all the complexities any other writer would face.
(And if you think the Brij-bhaasha poetry in Raincoat (Mathura Nagarpati…) could be simply translated from Bangla/English to Brij and credited casually as ‘language inputs’ then that is a sad reminder of how little we know of languages, idioms, and regional nuances.)
Big deal yaar. Translation is translation. These days even churning out music at discos/pubs have been made into a career. Imagine calling “check it out” over and over again, a career!
Thanks Vinay. Am not surprised at the comparison.
Brij-bhaasha poetry translation hasn’t been done by the ‘translator’. Again, I am not demeaning his role. I was saying that he did not WRITE the movie; which is what this post is discussing. And you should appreciate that Rituparno included the translator(s) in the opening credits. How many other movies do you find it?
And Vinay Joshi, you seriously disgust me. There are nuances in every performance. What you cannot comprehend is still sophistication for people who understand the craft. DJing (seamlessly ‘churning’ out music at discos/pubs keeping in mind what the crowd is digging) IS a profession; and it’s a difficult one, trust me. And it’s not about calling ‘Check it out’ over and over again. You try keeping a roomful of people (100 or more) dancing for four hours (or more) straight. And calling ‘Check it out’ or using the microphone too often is the sign of a weak DJ. The best of them lets their music talk.
@Gopi
Point taken. We are discussing writers’ credit here. I raised the ‘translation’ issue just to point out the mischievous ways directors use to boost their ego and nullify else’s contribution.
(Though I wish we knew how much of it was actually translated and how much newly written. Anurag Kashyap has made public his disappointment with the way he was credited for ‘Water’, just as a Hindi translator or such. (Which means) we can’t take the Producer/Director’s version to be the last truth.)
It’s not only writers and other people who get left out of the credits. Sagar Desai was not mentioned on the Quick Gun Murugun cd. As an actor I’ve been left out of the credits as well (Metro for example). I have to run after the producers to ensure my name is there. I don’t care whether I have 3 scenes or 15 every one should be credited. I don’t think it’s in the dvd as well inspite of informing the relevant people. Yes I know imdb is not the holy grail, but if you are not on the credits of a film then it’s very difficult to be added.
It is a basic lack of professionalism and courtesy that seems to be rampant in our industry.
Yes Ashwin, I agree, it’s a brutal and depressing industry for ironically the most externally-cheerful of the professions.
Everybody should be credited and I don’t understand this crazy insecurity which stops people-in-command to do so. Lack of professionalism, I feel, is a milder term for a bitter-cynical psychological problem like insecurity (and sometimes megalomania).
But on a hopeful note, we have some people who seem to care. May the tribe grow….
Ashwin,
On an entirely different note, do you feel you are getting typecast in roles either as a homosexual or a rich businessman who doesn’t give hoot about others or both?
Hi tejas,
I don’t feel I’m getting typecast as a homosexual since it’s 2 movies that I’ve played gay parts. The character in Metro appeared straight whereas in Fashion he was more flamboyant and obviously gay.I’m happy with both. I guess I’m more typecast as a rich businessman as you put it, since I’ve played more of those. I still like to think that I’ve played varied roles in the films I’ve acted in. Not been asked to do too many Gay parts after Fashion so am not worried about that. I guess if I accept another gay role then you could definitely say I’m typecast. In the meantime I’ll just act, regardless of the role :-)
Tejas – Check out Ashwin in QGM ( he plays a foreign scientist employed by Rice Plate Reddy ) and also Yeh Mera India where he plays a sardar.
@ Ashwin- Its really nice to see you portraying these roles.Hope you are able to avoid the typical typecasting as far as possible.
If any of you have followed ‘The Great Indian Comedy Show’ (later ‘Comedy Show Ha ha Ha’), you would know the range and diversity of characters Ashwin played.
Let’s wait and hope he gets more worth his talent…
Yes, in fact I loved all the characters in TGICS. My favorite Ashwin character was of Chappel.
I just came across an article that is somehow related to the topic.
Link – http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/features/2006/08/24/1465/index.html
I know that article is pretty old, can anyone shed some light on ‘what happened about the issues discussed at the conference’ ?
Dear Varun First let me congratulate you on this “All time burning issue”. I think writer’s credit issue is as old as “Alam Ara”. I won’t comment on APKGK issue, because the “MISTAKE” rectified, and I saw my name in print ad and in some standees but yes, damage has been done…I would like to raise a point about this trend. I failed to understand why this “MISTAKE” happens in every second film. Surprisingly Lyricist write only 5 or 6 songs and get proper credit in all films. Because when somebody eats credit, he knows that he may have to perform that art sometime. He can not operate camera, so cinematographer’s credit is safe. He can not recite poetry, so lyricist credit is safe, but anybody can narrate a small story or scene or incident so they think..they are the writer…!! Another factor is jealousy. They see, actor performing, cameraman filming, but they don’t see writer, writing…!! Writer works in isolation, they always come up with finished product, nobody see them actual working, burning midnight oil, so they don’t value writers hard work and that thinking make them writers credit eater…again thank you for this great article.
RD ji,
thanks for commenting! And you are very right – the isolation factor, the fact that writers generally don’t hang around with the cast-crew-producer for the whole duration of the project, and most of the times, a film is over for the writer when it is just beginning for the rest of the team – makes the difference.
Nobody can be expected to remember or be grateful.
(Disclaimer: Before somebody blames me for ‘wallowing in self-pity’, let me clarify, all this is just cold-blooded analysis, done with a smile and not with a tear waiting to roll down…)
Hey Varun,
Thanks so much for the kind words – and Sujoy joins me in saying that
Going further on this, why don’t we, at PFC, start something of a writer’s list – whatever new film is being written/released, let’s try and get the names of the writers and put them out with the film’s poster. A separate section which just highlights the writers working in the industry. I’ll try and get some podcasts/interviews in, and everyone else can pitch in? That ways even if there are no credits for the writers in the world, at least here, we can celebrate their craft and skill. And once word gets around, maybe we can have meets/interviews with writers of new films as soon as they are released?
Nikhil, that’s a good idea. Very much worth doing! Can PFC provide us with the ’section’, design-wise? Something of a ‘writers’ corner’ where all such articles will be archived together?
And getting exclusive interviews of writers would be a great step-forward. I would also contribute to that as an interviewer.
it is one small step for Varun but a giant leap for writers. Thanks for bringing this out in your blog.I endorse the writer’s adda in PFC suggestion too.
Thanks Indu. “Writer’s Adda” is a nice name.
@PFC
How can we formalize this? What do the editors think of the idea? I am ready to take up the job of updating, verifying, and monitoring the data.
Dear Satyapriya.. All you want to know who is r d tailang… but you know everything about me…what i wrote, how i wrote…you know all my stupid writings…my small city mnipulation…buttering stars and using my name and my village’s name during the show…why superstars of this country call me their friend…what a research on me…!! are you my fan…? thanks