EXCLUSIVE: Bollywood Screenwriters On How Storytelling Will Change Post COVID-19
How will writing for showbiz evolve in the times post COVID-19 and lockdown? FilmiBeat speaks to some renowned screenwriters of Bollywood. Excerpts from the interview.
Larger-than-life
or
realistic
-
what's
Bollywood
or
television
without
its
stories?
Like
every
industry
in
the
world,
the
Indian
entertainment
industry
is
currently
at
a
crossroads
of
change
with
the
Novel
Coronavirus
(COVID-19)
bringing
the
world
to
a
grinding
halt
for
not
just
days,
but
weeks...and
now,
months.
There
is
a
scenario
staring
at
its
face,
where
the
film
industry
will
have
to
start
everything
from
scratch
and
reboot
to
put
new
systems
in
place
in
a
post-Coronavirus
world.
Filmmaking
cannot
happen
without
good
storytelling.
How
will
the
current
scenario
affect
storytelling?
Screenwriters
in
Bollywood
have
already
begun
getting
briefs
that
are
different
to
what
they
have
been
accustomed
to
till
now.
FilmiBeat
spoke
to
Bollywood's
renowned
screenwriters
Jyoti
Kapoor,
Kamlesh
Pandey,
Sanjay
Chauhan,
Purnendu
Shekha,
and
actor-TV
producer
JD
Majethia
about
changing
times
in
showbiz.
'Scale
down
is
the
new
brief'
There
was
a
time
when
writers
were
told
to
let
their
imagination
soar.
Today,
it's
all
about
reining
it
in.
Writer
Jyoti
Kapoor,
who
wrote
the
Akshay
Kumar-Kareena
Kapoor
Khan
film
Good
Newzz,
"The
new
brief
is
to
write
stories
that
can
be
shot
with
minimum
crew,
using
as
little
locations
as
possible
and
with
minimum
characters.
All
the
big
productions
are
being
postponed.
Even
when
things
open
up,
it's
going
to
be
work
under
restricted
production,
at
least
for
the
next
few
months.''
Although
writer
Sanjay
Chauhan
has
not
got
such
briefs
yet,
he
questions
the
whole
premise
of
making
films
with
fewer
characters.
He
says,
"The
story
decides
its
characters.
Films
like
Trapped
and
Thappad
can
be
made
with
lesser
characters,
but
larger-than-life
films
cannot
be
made
with
lesser
characters."
What
about
soaps
and
series
on
television?
Writer
Purnendu
Shekhar,
whose
Rishton
Mein
Katti
Batti
is
ready
for
telecast
says
that
there
has
been
no
change
in
the
brief
for
him.
"I
hope
there
is
no
change,
because
I'll
have
to
change
the
entire
story
with
that.''
'Feel-good
content
will
be
in
demand'
Stories
on
television
are
set
to
change,
but
more
in
terms
of
the
genre.
Says
actor
and
TV
producer
JD
Majethia,
who
also
heads
the
TV
division
of
Indian
Film
and
Television
Producers
Council
(IFTPC),
"There
is
so
much
drama
happening
in
people's
lives
that
they
won't
be
interested
in
dramas
and
tragedies.
If
you
ask
me,
I
will
be
focussing
on
making
positive
content
and
one
that
gives
hope
and
will
entertaining." Majethia
has
popular
shows
like
Sarabhai
vs
Sarabhai,
Khichdi
and
many
others
to
his
credit.
Seconding
Majethia,
Shekhar
adds,
"Many
producers,
I
believe,
have
decided
not
to
focus
on
serious
subjects
for
now.
In
fact,
they're
planning
to
keep
their
new
shows
light-hearted.
Look
at
the
TRPs
-
Doordarshan
is
currently
the
No.1
channel
because
of
Mahabharat
and
Ramayan.
The
only
other
channel
that
comes
close
to
it
is
SAB,
which
clearly
indicates
people
want
to
laugh
and
watch
positive
shows
in
these
times
of
depression
and
uncertainty.
If
that
happens,
then
writers
like
me
will
face
problems,
as
I
am
known
for
dramas."
'Narration
on
video
calls
is
exhausting'
Most
of
the
film
writers
are
busy
doing
video-call
narrations
on
Zoom
and
Microsoft
with
actors,
directors
and
producers.
"Producers
and
actors
have
started
taking
narrations
on
video
calls.
I
hate
the
idea
of
narrating
even
under
normal
circumstances.
Imagine
giving
virtual
narrations!
It's
draining,
exhausting
and
a
futile
exercise
that
has
gone
on
for
too
long
in
our
industry.
Scripts
are
meant
to
be
read,
not
narrated.
A
good
script
is
precise
and
conveys
everything
a
writer
wants
you
to
know.
All
you
have
to
do
is
read
it.
If
there's
one
thing
I
would
like
to
request
actors
and
producers
to
do,
is
that
they
should
start
reading
now
that
they
have
some
time
on
their
hands,''
says
Kapoor.
On
the
other
hand,
writers
writing
for
TV
are
being
asked
to
send
in
episodes
for
the
producers
to
create
a
story
bank.
Kapoor,
also
the
Chairperson
of
the
Dispute
Settlement
Committee
of
the
Screenwriters
Association
(SWA),
adds,
"The
DSC
has
been
getting
a
lot
of
non-payment
complaints
of
late,
especially
from
TV
writers.
In
TV,
you
get
paid
three
months
after
the
telecast.
So,
while
writers
are
expected
to
churn
out
content,
they
don't
know
when
the
next
payment
will
come
in.
If
the
episodes
won't
get
filmed,
they
won't
get
paid.
Why
make
them
slog
then?"
FilmiBeat
feels
it
is
indeed
very
disheartening
to
not
get
paid
because
an
episode
didn't
get
filmed.
If
a
writer
has
done
his
or
her
job,
they
should
be
paid
for
it
and
it
should
have
nothing
to
do
with
whether
filming
happens
or
not.
'COVID-19
has
changed
things
for
some
in
showbiz,
not
everyone'
Writers
are
finding
it
difficult
to
utilise
the
lockdown
to
write
stories.
Kapoor
says,
"People
keep
telling
me,
'so
you
have
ample
time
now,
you
can
get
some
quality-writing
done'.
And
I
wonder,
who
can
really
be
productive
with
what's
going
on
around
us.
The
world
as
we
know
is
changing
every
second
and
the
stories
are
bound
to
change
with
it.
But
it's
too
painful
to
document
all
that
is
happening
around
us.
I
want
to
write
/
see
normal
stories,
happy
stories
that
we
can
escape
to
when
everything
else
around
us
is
so
bleak.''
Kamlesh
Pandey,
writer
of
films
like
Delhi-6,
who
conducts
an
online
screenwriting
workshop,
feels
otherwise.
"COVID-19
has
changed
things
for
some
of
us,
but
not
for
the
majority.
Sooner
or
later,
life
will
get
back
on
track
and
the
old
habits
and
attitudes
will
return," he
predicts.
What
do
you
think
will
change
in
Bollywood
and
showbiz
in
general?
Give
your
opinion
in
the
comments
section
below.