“Sometime There May Be A Terrific Story But That Can Be Hidden In The Script That Is Going All Over The Place”, Says Sriram Raghavan

Jyothi Venkatesh

At the FICCI session on film writing, the discussion was on how the unambiguous success of well scripted films like Andhadhun, Stree, Badhai Ho. October, Raazi, Uri etc despite  the absence of big stars yet again underscores the great power of good writing. It was discussed that no matter  the genre or type of cinema, an interestingly told story always works inevitably. So is the entertainment industry doing enough to encourage and nurture this resource? Are screen writers finally beginning to get their lawful due/ What are the roadblocks that still needs to be negotiated?This session moderated by Anjum Rajabali celebrated the screenwriter but once more importantly explored  what still needs to be done to facilitate great writing so that the industry continues to churn  outmore successful films.

On being asked if the pressure of writing the same kind of story comes after a certain kind of script does well, Akshat Ghildial responded saying, “Yes, after Badhaai Ho, many people came to me saying we want another comedy or another small town film set in north written etc.” On being asked what should the screenwriters do to pitch their stories, Sriram Raghavan said, “We get a lot of scripts but one doesn’t find time easily to read multiple scripts entirely.  Also sometime there may be a terrific story but that can be hidden in the script that is going all over the place. So one should first approach a director with the story or synopsis. Apparently legendary Raj Kapoor always saw three things in a script, is it a good story? Is there scope for good music? And is there a scope for actors to perform on that story”?

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