Bhawana Somaaya

The idea of forming an association of film writers first originated at the Sunday cultural and literary meetings held at the residence of Shri Anil Biswas, the music director, in the year 1950.

Towards the end of 1950, a meeting of film writers was held in the Shree Sound Studios to form a film writers association, electing D.N. Mandhok as it’s President, Mahesh Kaul and Pt. Sudarshan as Vice Presidents, Madhusudan as General Secretary and Shakeel Nadayuni as Treasurer. The members of the executive committee were, Kamal Amrohi, Dr. Safdar Aah, Narendar Sharma, Inder Raj Anand, Arjun Deo Rashik and Ramanand Sagar.

One of its earliest actions is related in a news item in Screen, dated November 9th, 1951 and published immediately after the release of film industry commission report:
“The Film Writers’ Association, Bombay, passed a resolution deploring the lack of representation for Screen Writers on the proposed film council. It asked the Central Government to provide adequate representation to them”

Story, script, song and dialogue writers of all languages belonging to the Bombay film industry were invited to attend a meeting organized by the Film Writers’ Association to be held at Shree Sound Studios on Saturday, May 29th, 1954.

Thus on August 7th, 1954 the newly formed Film Writers’ Association of Bombay elected the following executive council for 1954-1955: “Ramanand Sagar (Hon. General Secretary), Vishwamitra Adil and C.L. Kavish (Joint Secretaries), Pt. Sudarshan (Treasurer).

“The Executive Council members are: K.A. Abbas, D.N. Mandok, P.L. Santoshi, Mahesh Kaul, I.S. Johar, Rajendar Singh Bedi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhanvi, V.P. Sathe, Shakeel Badayuni, Krishna Chandra, Kamal Amrohi, Rajendar Kishen, Ali Raza, Nabendu Ghosh.”

One of the earliest and most important objectives of the association was to ensure a minimum wage for screen writers. A letter dated 3rd January 1961, signed by the then President of F.W.A., K.A. Abbas, addressed to I.M.P.P.A. records the fixed minimum wages as follows: Rs. 2500 for a story, Rs. 2000 for a screenplay, Rs. 3000 for a dialogue and Rs. 500 for a song.

In keeping with changing economic conditions these rates were, of course, revised from time to time. The first such revision came in August 1962 after a rather arduous struggle.

In the following years the members of the Association seemed to be divided on the question of registering the body under the Trade Union Act. This issue was discussed in the meeting of the organization committee of the Association held on May 15th, 1955, but it was only on February 26th, 1960 that the General Body meeting of the F.W.A. decided to register the F.W.A. as a Trade Union. The members authorized to complete these formalities were K.A. Abbas, Qamar Jalalabadi, Sahir Ludhanvi, Shashi Bhushan, Vijendra Gaur, C.L. Kavish and S.R. Basar.

Over the years the Association has given the film fraternity many talented writers and these writers have built the credibility of the association. A dramatic change has taken place in the lyrics and screenplays, as in the levels of payment for this work. Gradually writers became more aware of their rights and slowly began to speak in a collective voice.

The year 2007 saw the first seminar held by the Film Writers’ Association, at F.T.I.I in Pune, where prominent writers spoke on a variety of subjects. In the following year 2008 the Association held a two day seminar at Mumbai’s Film City, dedicated to the greatest Indian poet of the Twentieth Century, Vijay Tendulkar.

This year FWA holds a seminar at FTII, Pune on ‘The Uniqueness of the Indian Film Script’ to be held in August 28-29, 2010

India is today the world’s largest film producing nation with a total output, in various languages, of more than 1000 films annually. The film industry led by the Bombay based Hindi film now has a global reach, and Indian films are screened and released in more than 90 countries worldwide. Its expansion has been so widespread that mainstream Hollywood film companies like 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Warner Brothers have begun to invest in the production of Indian cinema.

It is noteworthy then that the development and form of Indian cinema has continued to retain its identity as distinct from the dominant form of Hollywood cinema. Right from its genesis and early influences to its flowering into an independent and full-fledged economy, Indian cinema has had a unique identity, almost a different language of film, in terms of content, form, presentation and performance.

The reason being that in its early form, Indian cinema was largely influenced by local and indigenous traditions of performance that flourished in the late 18th and early 19th century. These would include Parsi Theatre, Sanskrit Dramaturgy, Nautanki, Tamasha, the Ram Lila, the Raas Lila, and folk cultural forms of various regions. Mythology and Indian epics also provided inspiration for early Indian cinema.

The first full-length motion picture in India, made by Dadasaheb Phalke, brought together elements from Sanskrit epics in his Raja Harishchandra (1913). It is largely agreed that the Bombay-centred Parsi Theatre played the most influential role in the genesis and early form of the Hindi film. The first Hindi and Indian cinema talkie, Alam Ara (1931) was based on Joseph David’s popular Parsi Theatre play. The phenomenal success of Alam Ara made it mandatory for Indian cinema to have music, song and dance.

Following its success, playwrights from the Parsee Theatre became much in demand: amongst them, Agha Hashr Kashmiri, proved to be the most influential in shaping the Indian film. His comic sub-plots, and the use of rhetoric became so popular that they, too, became mandatory for the Indian film.

By the time of Indian Independence, the essential features of our cinematic form (song and dance, rhetoric and melodrama, comic subplots) had been firmly entrenched and were considered obligatory for the box-office success of a film. Hindi filmmakers like Raj Kapoor, Mehboob Khan, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, and K. Asif, to name a few, integrated all or most of these features into their stories and gave Bombay cinema an indigenous identity.

Following this, the journey of Indian cinema has been rapid and reflective of developments in Indian society, economy and politics. The content and form of films have transformed, but without discarding entirely its earlier and original facets. Newer kinds of cinema have emerged during this almost 100-year journey with films from the ‘parallel cinema movement’ that strove for an almost opposite expression to the more ‘mainstream’ cinemas. We stand today, the largest and most dynamic film industry in the world with films being regularly produced in up to 13 languages, with a wide global reach. We make a variety of films that are diverse in every way and reflect a far wider range of influences than ever before.

It is at this juncture, on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the Film and Television Institute of India Pune that FTII and the Film Writers Association Mumbai (FWA) are organising a seminar. This conference is an attempt to revisit our legacy, reflect over our current conditions and gauge the future of the Indian film.

The film script is the foundation of any cinematic presentation, and this includes not only the story, screenplay and dialogue but music, song-n-dance, emotional impulses and likely mis-en-scene as well. In short the term script is used in its broadest sense to include all aspects of film form and content.

Conceived as a series of talks and panel discussions with scholars, academics and practitioners, the conference will broadly make the journey of Indian film from its genesis to its current phase. The seminar like the previous years promises to examine the early form of Indian cinema and its major influences. It will analyze current trends (1995-2010), explore what the future holds for the Indian film script and examine the contribution of significant individuals who have made indelible marks on the Indian script. The seminar is set to focus on two distinctive features of Indian cinema- Music and Melodrama.

More when I get back from Pune.

Bhawana Somaaya
blog.bhawanasomaaya.com

Film Writers’ Association had been sending emails to member’s weeks in advance and to ensure that nobody missed the date the words became stronger as the date drew closer. ‘If the Progressive Group doesn’t continue in office, Film Writers’ Association will once again become powerless. If you don’t want that come and cast your vote for a strong and vigilant body.’

The writers turned up in large groups blocking the entire road and causing a traffic jam on Sunday, August 1 at Andheri. The venue Time & Again was packed with new and old members both inside and outside the restaurant. The new members patiently stood in long queues to obtain their membership cards. It was a buzzing atmosphere vibrating with like minded people. The senior writers mingled with the juniors as they puffed cigarettes with endless cups of tea discussing the future of writing in cinema.

It appeared as if everybody had devoted the day to FWA. Daily serial writers on television who never get a holiday made the most of it by hanging out with colleagues dragging their feet from breakfast to lunch to evening snacks. The procedure for the election had begun at 10 in the morning and the restaurant staff expected a quieter day post lunch but come evening and the crowd had not dispersed because nobody apparently wanted to go home that day.

The good news came the following morning. Progressive Writers’ Group had won the elections. It was not just an unprecedented victory but the beginning of the changing times to come. For the first time the writers had come together in full force and their spirit has to be saluted.

In support of their crusade I post their Progress Report for 2008-10 on my blog. I do this for the benefit of all my writer friends who are struggling with their first script and unaware of their rights.

Promise of 2008: Protecting the Rights of Writers: The Executive Committee’s most imperative task will be to draft a model contract which will include essential clauses on minimum payment by slabs, credit and copyright protection, and royalties. Competent legal help has been sought to draft an agreement sound in law. The aim is to initiate negotiations with the Federation and the Producers’ Guild with a view to getting it accepted by all parties so that it can be uniformly implemented. The Film writers’ Association is actually a writers’ union. We’d like it to begin functioning like one.
Report:

1. Model Contract for film writers: The Model Contract Consultative Group was formed in May 2008 with 26 leading writers and a Model Contract for film writers was drafted by them with the help of a leading IP lawyer. This was shown to and discussed with 600 writers at the Indian Screenwriters Conference in December 2008 and then presented to the Core Committee of FWICE in June 2009 and approved by them immediately. It went to the producers’ bodies with whom negotiations were to begin in January 2010. However, just about then the Copyright Amendment bill came up in parliament. The producers indicated that they were happy to agree to the Model Contract, provided we withdrew our claim for royalties in the Copyright Amendment Bill. However, FW (represented by Javed Akhtar, Prasoon Joshi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Saket Chaudhury and Anjum Rajabali) refused to back down and negotiations were suspended until the copyright issue was resolved. However, we have just made a determined representation to FWICE insisting that meetings on the Model Contract begin soon. We have been assured by them that that will happen. We shall keep you informed.

2. The Model Contract for TV writers: With FWA’s initiative, about 100 TV writers put their minds to drafting this, with the of another eminent IP lawyer. Apart from defining minimum fees for writers, this model contract addresses all the issues that have plagued TV writers. For instance, it includes a per-episode creator’s fee which will continue to be paid to the writer who created the characters and the original storyline, as long as the show is aired, minimum fees for rewrites, a minimum fee to be paid to a writer when a show is scrapped, payments of spillovers, credit periods linked to delivery and not to telecast, etc. We’re proposing royalties to writers for re-runs. Quite simply, the contract eradicates the notion that a writer is a daily worker. When a producer and a broadcaster make money eternally from the writer’s creation, why shouldn’t the writer? This contract is being forwarded to FWICE for their approval, before we initiate negotiations with producers’ bodies, of which even channels are members.

3. Copyright Amendment Bill: When FWA heard that the Copyright Act 1957 was being amended; we sought an immediate appointment with the HRD Minister, Mr. Kapil Sibal and met him in November 2009 to represent the case for screenwriters. The meeting proved fruitful as the amendment bill included protection for writers by making their rights non-assignable thereby guaranteeing those royalties from further exploitation of their work. However, we want the wording of those clauses to be made sharper and totally unambiguous, clearly referring to screenwriters. And we want TV writers’ royalties to be protected when their work is exploited beyond geographical boundaries. To this effect we have made a representation to the parliamentary Standing Committee.

4. The IPRS vs. Broadcasting companies case: FWA has intervened via a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court in this case to ensure that royalties from the work of lyricists and music composers come to IPRS so that writers can continue to be entitled to receive them.

5. Legal help for writers: Most writers do not understand legal clauses and contractual technicalities. As a result, they end up signing away their rights and then regretting it. In times of a conflict with producers, they feel lost about how to deal with it. Plus there are a whole host of situations where they need legal guidance. FWA has just finalized a retainer arrangement with a very reputed and competent IP law firm, K. Law headed by Nikhil Krishnamurthy. For FWA members, they have agreed to offer subsidized services. An e-mail is being sent out to members to inform them of this service.

Promise of 2008: Events to promote the work of writers: The Association ought to be able to offer help to screenwriters (especially new ones) in their creative as well as professional endeavors. Towards that, we have some ideas – to organise an Annual Screenwriters’ Conference, Screenwriting Expos and Bazaars, a Quarterly Magazine on screenwriting, Pitching Workshops for new writers, organise interfaces with producers looking for scripts, boost media projection of screenwriters, and stock up a good library of books and DVDs. Such events can offer aspiring and established screenwriters a platform to meet and interact, and enhance their professional opportunities.
Report:

1. Screenwriting Workshop: More than 100 aspiring writers attended this workshop held at Whistling Woods by FWA in February 2009. The feedback from the participants was extremely encouraging and we are hopeful that they will go on to write wonderful scripts. Another one will be held this year.

2. TV Writing Workshop: Around 40 TV writers attended this and once again the response was really invigorating. Two more such workshops will be held this year.

3. Seminar on Adaptation: A seminar entitled ‘Cinema and Literature’ was organised by FWA in collaboration with FTII at Pune in April 2009. This was extremely well attended by screenwriters and litterateurs alike, and the proceedings were very insightful and invigorating. It also helped build a bridge between screenwriters and writers of fiction and non-fiction in many Indian languages.

4. The Indian Screenwriters Conference 2008: This was of course FWA’s big event attended by about 600 members. The two-day conference saw intensive and lively discussions on a variety of topics – creative and professional. Response from members was very positive and we have promised to hold one every two years. Await the next one in December 2010, where FWA will present plans for further initiatives.

5. Seminar on the Indian Script: Another seminar entitled, ‘The Uniqueness of the Indian Script’ will be held by FWA in collaboration with FTII on August 28-29 this year. Several well known screenwriters and film scholars will be speaking, and we expect the attendance and participation to be vigorous. (An e-mail will soon reach FWA members with details of the programme)

Promise of 2008: Modernising FWA: FWA is meant to serve members and encourage all screenwriting aspirants to join it. For this we need to upgrade our services technologically by improving the FWA website, offer a lively virtual interface and forum for members to interact, facilitate online membership, copyright registration, etc.
Report:

1. The Website: We must admit that this has taken longer than it should have. We understand the inconvenience it must have caused to you for being without a website for more than a year now, but certain technical hurdles and glitches beyond our control have delayed the process. However, everything has been put together for it and it should be up and running in the next week – by end-July latest. It will allow you to register your work online without having to physically send your scripts to the FWA office, it will offer useful information on writing which will grow as time goes on, and a host of other facilities. However, on examining the technological and legal implications involved, FWA has decided against accepting membership applications online for now.

2. Additional office space: It has been obvious for a long time now that FWA needs more space for several activities which we can’t undertake without it. Lady luck smiled and the adjacent office went up for sale two months ago. We have snapped it up at a competitive price and plans are already afoot to design and restructure the whole combined space. You can now look forward to things being more comfortable, with space for additional activities like legal consultation, simultaneous meetings, a better equipped library of choice books, screenplays plus DVDs, in-house gatherings for discussions, and larger meetings and other organizational work.

Progressive Writers Group-Manifesto-2010-12
Contracts and Copyright

1. The Model Contracts for film writers and for TV writers is yet to be signed by producers’ bodies. It is imperative that this process be completed, otherwise all these efforts will go in vain and screenwriters will continue to be left helpless and at the whims of producers. Hence we need to make sure there is no let up in our drive and efforts.

2. The Copyright Amendment Bill ought to be passed by parliament later this year. And yet there are concerns about it as the producers too are lobbying hard to defeat it. We have to be vigilant and do our best to intervene as and when we can to aid its approval.

Educational and developmental activities for writers

1. Workshops, Seminars, Symposiums, Conferences, et al will continue regularly, undoubtedly. We have several already planned for the next one year.

2. The additional office space will enable us to hold many more interactive smaller more compact activities and sessions for members. With this new space, we shall also now freely expand the library to include precious texts on screenwriting, prefaced screenplays, and of course DVDs of important as well as rare films.

3. Affiliation with international guilds: We have begun correspondence with important writers guilds from other countries to initiate a relationship with them, even a formal mutual affiliation, where possible. On the cards for now are Writers Guild of Britain, Federation of Screenwriters of Europe, and the Writers Guild of America. This will help us in our future struggles dealing with copyrights and royalties, as well as in cross-border disputes, now that foreign production houses have begun setting up shop in India in a big way, and vice versa.

4. Closer interaction with members: At several times we have asked for and encouraged feedback, critiques, suggestions and new ideas from members on how FWA can function better and also take up newer activities. At the Conference of 2008, we did have the last session devoted to just that. It is also now important that members also come forward to offer their voluntary participation in those new ideas. For the next two years, we intend to invite and facilitate that through the new website as well as on a face-to-face basis at the office as well as at different platforms that we shall create.

Let us hope all filmmakers are reading this and making note.

Bhawana Somaaya
blog.bhawanasomaaya.com