Bollywood screenwriters strike for better contracts

BY ABHIJEET DESHPANDE| IN Media Business | 02/10/2015

Abhijeet Deshpande

We are on the brink of history. In a few hours from now screenwriters for films and TV from around the country will launch perhaps the greatest offensive in the history of Indian cinema. At the stroke of midnight on Oct 3, 2015 all Writers from the Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Bhojpuri and other Film industries will put their pens down and go on an indefinite strike which is called upon by the FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees). The Federation is the mother body of 22 different crafts including the screenwriters. The bone of contention being the reluctance of the Producer bodies to sign the MOU which is signed every 2 years between them and the FWICE.

The MOU is a document detailing the minimum wages of the members of various crafts, their working conditions and the like.  But of course the writers will be joined by other talent-based unions such as those of the directors, cinematographers, actors and other unions. But in this collective effort to restore a new and a mutually fair working order in the Industry, it is the screenwriters who will be headlining this strike. And there is a good bit of history to that.

In India, screenwriting as an artform was generally perceived to be a very idea-based, non-technical discipline where all there is to it is some good ideas, at the most a pen and paper and a bit of coffee. The ones holding such a limited understanding of the craft of screenwriting would never say the same about editing or cinematography or direction. Writing for the screen is a lot like sculpting. Apart from the dominant aesthetic of design, colour and shape, there are also inherent principles of measurements and other arithmetic. Writing for the screen is much the same. But of course it is an idea driven craft but its effectiveness and expression heavily depends upon the understanding of its grammar. But most do not think so. Anyone can write, so Everybody started to Write! Thus the trained, talented and passionate writer saw his importance being reduced to a mere rhetoric.  This is an ugly and unfortunate inheritance that we are stuck with today.

The effect: writers are paid peanuts, that is when they are paid at all. Even the top writers are paid a lot less  than what they would actually deserve. The Writer’s fundamental right to credit is often at the mercy and mood of the Producer. Royalties are another contentious issue. The Copyright Act amended in 2012 unequivocally states that whenever a film written by the writer is showcased in any other medium apart from the cinema hall, the writer is entitled to a part of the revenue. And this right to receive royalty is un-assignable. Yet the contracts that most producers throw at the writers deny the existence of this law. Under the garb of flimsy terms like advance royalty, they rob  the writers of what can be a long-term source of income for the writer and his kin. In the absence of any pension schemes in the writers’ old age, denying the writer what is lawfully his is nothing but perverse gluttony. What’s worse? The writers are so institutionalised in this exploitation  that they think this is how it is has been  and this  is how it will be.

It took decades to acknowledge the problem. But what was needed was a solution. The bad contracts had to be fought by--a Good Contract. Enter the stalwart who has singlehandedly heralded the cause of screenwriters in India: Mr. Anjum Rajabali. A teacher and screenwriter, he with his colleague Saket Chowdhary conceptualised a Model Contract. They called it the Minimum Basic Contract (MBC) which is so detailed and pervasive that it covers even the smallest of eventuality. It provides for a fair and mutually beneficial engagement between the Producer and the Writer. It has all come to the MBC now. The producers have refused to come to the negotiation table to discuss this MBC which is now a part of the MOU. At an individual level a few of us have tried to fight over personal battles for our rights. But what is needed is collective bargaining and the Pen Down Strike is the last resort of the oppressed writer.

A writer’s pen is what changes mindsets and moulds ideologies. The pen is the catharsis of those in pain and the eloquence of the wise. A writer putting down his pen is therefore not just a Film Industry issue. It is a societal concern. A culture which allows for the chief architects of society like the writers to be abused is a culture on the brink of disaster. So here’s a small appeal to my writer friends.

What exactly does the strike mean for the screenwriter? He will not write, communicate, transact or professionally engage with the producer, director or fellow writer during the period of the strike. He will not even do his own screenwriting. A complete pen-down means no creation written material takes place during the period of this strike. Of course such a strike is difficult to implement and impossible to enforce. The Film Writers’ Association is not going to barge into your home or hack into the laptops to see if work indeed has stopped. But it is about understanding the larger issue.

 Of course there will be trouble and moralities come into play here. There will be temptations and there will be repercussions. But let’s take the fall for one last time. For one more time lets fight even those who may be our own. Because tomorrow when the last drop of blood has been shed and the final battle has been won and the taste of sweet victory trickles down the jawlines of the tired us, we would have all been a part of a beautiful story that we could proudly tell our grandkids about. And isn’t it all about good stories. I thought it was. So let’s write this one.

Abhijeet Deshpande is a FTII graduate in screenplay writing and  a member of the executive committee of the Film Writers Association. His writing credits include Shaitan, Mi Shivaji raje Bhosale Boltoy, Table no. 21, Shootout at Wadala and the upcoming Wazir.