Screenwriter, lyricist, and filmmaker Varun Grover recently spoke about the exploitation of writers in Bollywood. Grover said that the exploitation isn’t limited to newcomers, but even legends like Gulzar and Javed Akhtar are disrespected. Grover said that omitting the names of writers from promotional material is a practice that needs to change.
Without taking any names, Grover, in an interview with Jist, said, “A friend of mine recently worked with a very big filmmaker. This filmmaker doesn’t make very commercial films, but he does middle-of-the-road cinema, has been working for over 30 years, and is seen as a ‘messiah’ by his fans. An entire generation of filmmakers has been inspired by this person.
My friend was supposed to write the dialogues, but he was told that he needs to write the dialogues and the screenplay both.” Grover said that the filmmaker offered his friend, a notable comedian, only Rs. 50,000 in total! After negotiations, the fee was increased to Rs.
3 lakh, but only half the amount has been paid. Grover added, “They’ve told my friend that they’ll pay the other half when the film comes out, but who knows when that’ll happen..
. According to the laws of the Screenwriters’ Association, you cannot pay a writer less than Rs. 12 lakh for the dialogues, and around Rs.
20 lakh for the dialogues and screenplay both. This was done by a well-known director, who releases a new movie every three years. This is how writers are being exploited.
” Gr.