A lot goes into making a film beyond what we see on screen. While actors and directors make the most of the spotlight, many other actors and technicians, depending on the size of the production, work tirelessly on and off the set to complete a project. New departments are being created in addition to traditional costumes, music, cinematography, etc., as filmmaking develops around the world.
This News18 series is meant to celebrate off-screen stars, the people working behind the camera during production, as well as the various pre-production and post-production jobs that are essential for a project to come to life. Huh.
If anyone says that writing is the cornerstone of a film, it is obvious. To call him only a background artist would be to demean his effort, but the position of a writer is such that even after giving birth to a story, he remains behind the scenes. This is the reason why we often forget to associate their faces with the movies we watch, the star cast grabs our most attention. As much as their stories leave an impression on the audience, do writers get a chance to make their own mark? Are they credited for the success of a production in the same way that they bear the brunt of criticism?
Writers Nilesh Maniyar (The Sky Is Pink, Margarita With A Straw) and Akshat Ghildiyal (Congratulations, The Intern) answer these questions and give us an insight into their world.
The writers often face the brunt of criticism when the film is not good, but when it is a hit, people usually associate the film with the stars or directors. In the midst of this do writers get their due recognition?
Nilesh: Writers do not get their due recognition as they are not directly introduced by the marketing agencies of our studio. It has nothing to do with the audience. Three or four faces are needed to sell. If you have stars to sell, you sell them, if you don’t have stars and you have a manufacturer to sell, you sell them. If you have a director to sell, you sell to him. But if you have a star director, producer, the marketing people don’t want a lot of people to be sold; The work becomes difficult. Writers who deliver three hits back to back become stars. So there is no hesitation in selling them. But there is no golden rule, which should be that everything starts with writing. The journey of a child begins with the mother. So you cannot suddenly say that family is more important than mother. The mother is part of the family, but the core is still with the mother. And that recognition doesn’t come because there is no selling point for the writer other than the screenplay. And the audience is technically not interested in discussing the script. Then marketing agencies spend money there, and writers don’t get their due.
intact Sometimes it happens that actors or directors get attached to films because they are the people who take the film forward. Actors are the best selling item of a film. People think of a star before they step into the theatre. Same is the case with directors, some of our directors are superstars and they don’t need anyone else to promote their films. But now that is changing a bit as all the actors and directors are getting too democratised in terms of giving credit to the writers and other technicians in the film. And increasingly, we see people paying attention to these other technical aspects of filmmaking as well. So it’s a welcome change, it’s happening slowly. There was a time when Salim-Javed were the biggest names in the industry, their name used to be bigger than the actor and director. So we are far away from that but whatever is happening is a nice positive step towards the success of a film getting everyone due credit.
So, what are some things that you think could change to help writers in the industry gain more praise and recognition?
intact Writers need to pay more. If you’re bringing an original idea, you need to pay more for what you’re bringing to the table. It would be great if the authors were given a little more credit for their work and it was more upfront. The writer’s journey is far longer than that of every other technician involved in the film. If you envision an idea and then develop it into a script, it takes months, sometimes a year or two. But, as a writer, your work doesn’t end there. Then you have to keep on shooting, and stick with the film till dubbing and post-production are completed. So, that in itself is a journey of about two to three years. So I think we need to get paid and give a little more credit for what we do.
How do you keep it innovative?
intact As with every subsequent film, you shouldn’t fall into the trap of writing the same stories. You don’t know when that trend will run its course, and you’ll have to adapt to something else. Therefore, it is very important to keep writing varied content. Industry pigeonholes you very easily. After Badhaai Ho I got around 5 movies about pregnancy as if I am an obstetrician or gynecologist and know everything about pregnancy. So, people suddenly saw me as a guy who can write pregnancy movies and I had to turn down those offers because it didn’t make sense for me to do such things. I think it’s a constant struggle. You have to keep changing styles and changing the environment you find in the things you do. It’s up to you to break that slot.
Nilesh: We don’t have enough space for indie writing in this country. Before Sky Is Pink was roped in by Siddharth Roy Kapur and Ronnie Screwvala, I intended to produce it in an indie way. I got a German co-producer on board, and I realized, in Germany, a lot of regional funding happens. Government funding which is for cinema, for art. You should do cinema as a business, but art literally enriches and enriches our society. I think there should be a quota, like 25% of the cinema coming out of the country should be indie cinema. Only then will we leave something behind for generations to savor. Otherwise we are all doing temporary things.
When writing on marginalized characters or certain communities, do you feel constant pressure to misrepresent them?
Nilesh: It is absolutely scary to write about subjects and characters who are vulnerable, fighting their battles in society at large, trying to make their way, in a very ignorant society, otherwise; It’s very scary. And how do you do that not being an arrogant, arrogant writer who says I know it all. I didn’t know much about disability or the LGBTQ movement before I got into Margarita With a Straw. So when you approach a topic, you have to go to the experts in that subject, you have to really respect them and give importance to the opinion of the people in the movement. You have to listen to them, and listen to them all. And then you come back to the table and try to contain all of that. But I am not making any documentary. I don’t need to cling to all these opinions to a T. But let me see, I don’t do anything wrong or injustice with it. In the end, I still have to tell the story of a character, which has to be felt from the heart. So yes, it’s scary, but it’s challenging, and it’s rewarding. What I love most about Margarita with a Straw and The Sky Is Pink is that I’ve come out of these journeys as a more knowledgeable person.
On the changing nature of the material:
Akshat: Right now directors, producers and even actors are trying to understand the fact that content is really important. They understand that people are exposed to world cinema, Netflix, Amazon right now, so we can’t churn out the same stuff and keep it to the audience over and over again. That’s why these days more emphasis is being given on content, which is very happy to see.
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