Writers need to believe in themselves and their work

Writing can be -- and is -- a hobby for many people. It helps them de-stress and relax, connect with readers and writers and provides immense enjoyment.

Writing can be -- and is -- a profession for many others. It helps them earn a living. Screenplay writers, authors of best selling novels, content writers fall in this category. For them, writing is not only an enjoyable endeavour but it is a form of livelihood. I belong to this category.

In August, I found myself in the happy position of having my script COACHING CLASS placed as semi-finalist in the reputed Academy Nicholl Fellowship (2017). It was a major milestone in my writing journey. From a professional point of view, it meant that it was a kind of a stamp or certificate if you will, for filmmakers who are on the look out for professional screenwriters.

Sure enough, I began to get requests from talent management companies almost immediately and one of the top Indian production companies showed interest too. All very exciting, believe me.

A few weeks later the production company got back with feedback on the script. They were interested and would like to take it forward subject to some conditions.

Changes in one's work is inevitable--especially if you are writing for movies. Film-making is a collaborative business and it's necessary for different departments -- such as direction, cinematography, editing -- to work together to translate the writer's vision into a feature film. So, some things, while they work on the page might not work on the screen and a writer needs to (based on inputs from the film-making team) make changes to her/his script.

I realized that the production company's feedback and the changes that they sought in the script would be necessary to make the script morph into a movie. However, while I was willing to do that there was a bigger problem with the company's T&Cs.

Their bottomline: they wanted me to make the changes as per their brief without a contract and without being paid for my time and work. Moreover, if they didn't like the changes I made, they could wash their hands off it and I would be back to square one! They would sign a contract only if and when the whole team had approved the rewritten script and I would have to keep working on it till it was considered greenlight-worthy!

My bottomline: My work as a professional writer was being undermined.

You might wonder what's the big deal in rewriting a script for free when there is a chance of bringing it to life on the celluloid screen? Well, look at it this way... suppose you had a legal battle on your hands and you approached a lawyer to fight the case for you? You would be expected to pay the lawyer for his work and time whether or not he/she won the case for you. The lawyer is providing you with a professional service for which he/she needs to be compensated. The same rules should apply to creative professions as well. But unfortunately they don't.

Given that the story is the foundation on which a film is built, it is neither fair not right to undermine the writer's work by suggesting that she work for free and without a contract. Sadly, writers continue to undermine themselves and their rightful position in the industry by agreeing to write for free to get their projects developed into films.

I tussled with the decision but I decided to pass up on this so-called "opportunity". I believe that as a writer we need to respect ourselves and our own work before we demand respect and dignity from the industry.

Did I do the right thing? Would love to hear your thoughts....

Facing my fear - one Pitch at a time

Pitching makes me freeze up. In fact, the very thought of it makes me wanna run away. For a screenwriter that's simply bad news. Because no matter what, if you want to get your stories out of your computer and hit the big screens, then you need to get comfortable with selling your story to potential producers and studios. And the first step in that journey is pitching. My fear of pitching has prodded me to find different ways of overcoming the hurdle. So, for a few years I tried to work with agents in the hope that they would read my book and be able to handle the job of pitching. But soon I realized that agents were not into reading. So, I was just another name in their long list of clients. How that helps them grow their business is a different story, and one that I will perhaps share at a later point when I get around to solving that mystery! But the turning point (life does imitate screenplays!) came when I was called to pitch my book to a prominent OTT channel. This was...

Basu Chatterji's "Balcony Class" Films

Basu Chatterji's Rajnigandha was like a breath of fresh air in the 1970s film universe of Bombay. At a time when the Angry Young Man was beginning to dominate celluloid screens, Amol Palekar was as un-hero-like as you could get. He was the Common Man who traveled in buses, did not have hero-like mannerisms and did not breathe fire and brimstone at his opponents. Basu Chatterji's Middle of the Road Cinema burst on to the scene and surprised the movie-going audience with its everyday situations and storylines that had an undercurrent of humour. Chatterji catered to an audience that he liked to call the "Balcony Class". Anirudha Bhattacharjee, author of Basu Chatterji and Middle-of-the-Road Cinema writes an entertaining and heartwarming account of the life and work of Basu Chatterji, one of the most under-rated directors of Indian cinema. Recall of Chatterji's brand of feel-good, slice-of-life movies is perhaps highest for his Rajnigandha, Chotisi Baat, Baaton Baa...

The biggest Challenge is to Pitch your Story to Producers

I have been writing books and screenplays for a while and it's been a process of learning and re-learning. In this interview with Namrata of Kitaab.org , I share my experiences with regard to writing scripts, pitching and book to screen adaptations. Team Kitaab: Your career began as a business journalist before you transitioned to fiction writing. How has your background in journalism influenced your approach to writing screenplays and adapting books for the screen? Adite Banerjie: Journalism has shaped my career as a writer – both in non-fiction and fiction. First of all, by working on news stories, specially those with a human interest angle, I got the opportunity to observe first hand various situations and events and how they impact lives. It provided me with invaluable experience of the entire spectrum of issues that shape, impact and change people’s lives. At some subconscious level this stayed with me. So, when I started writing fiction, my journalism experie...

Preethi Venugopala1 October 2017 at 12:20
You did the right thing, Adite! It is time we writers fought for our rights. Enough of exploitation.
Adite1 October 2017 at 13:19
Yes, exactly. Thanks for reading, Preethi! :)
Ls3 October 2017 at 17:25
Right Adite. If you do not respect your own work, who will. There will be more opportunities if you are good at it.
Unknown28 November 2017 at 21:27
Helpful post.
Unknown18 February 2018 at 19:19
Wow, great post.

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