The post-pandemic era has been tough for Bollywood. Films that would have done average business before, now struggling even to recover their budgets.
Many experts believe that one major reason for this downward curve is the ill-treatment of writers.
For years, Bollywood writers have been underpaid and undervalued.
When a film flops, writers often bear the brunt of the failure, despite being the backbone of storytelling.
No matter how big the stars or how massive the budget is, it is the writing that transforms a film from ordinary to extraordinary.
In a historic move, leading Bollywood producers and the Screenwriters Association (SWA) have come together to standardize writers’ contracts, ensuring fair compensation and proper credit.
Twelve major production houses, streamers, and TV channels, including Aamir Khan Productions, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment, Yash Raj Films, Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films, T-Series, Maddock Films, Excel Entertainment, Applause Entertainment, Viacom, Tiger Baby, Amazon Prime, and Sony Entertainment Television, met with SWA members last August.
They reached an agreement on key principles that will guide writers’ contracts moving forward.
The eight essential standard clauses agreed on address several long-standing issues faced by the writers like missing credits, irregular and unfair pay, moral rights to the script, indemnity, and stringent contracts.
With these industry-wide changes, can we expect a revival in Bollywood storytelling?
The film industry is a tricky space, but with strong foundational reforms, the hope is that better stories and films will emerge.
