Writers divided over virtual script narrations

Filmmaker Nikkhil Advani’s tweet about a 6am virtual script narration meeting with actor Akshay Kumar and the team of the film Bell Bottom surprised many. But it’s a testimony to how this phase of the lockdown has altered professional interactions, and the experience is no different for scriptwriters, who are divided on the trend of narrating scripts virtually.

While scriptwriter Jyoti Kapoor’s social media post stating “script is not meant to be narrated” brought spotlight on the issue, writer Kanika Dhillon feels work must go on. “The process of working will have to alter with need of the time. If video calls are the way forward, then we better get on with it,” she says.

Veteran writer Anjum Rajabali doesn’t find video narrations “difficult at all”. Backing the concept, he says, “You can see the person faceto-face, see the impact and there is a visual engagement, so how is that different?” But he adds that narration gives writers the opportunity to “emote, feel, and perform, and that gives cues to the actors and the director.”

“Video calls lack the warmth and wining-dining associated with narrating a script in person. The bonhomie and joy of sharing meals, taking pause to reflect and correct a story, are all gone,” outlines writer

Prashant Pandey.

To this, scriptwriter Bhavani Iyer adds that she would be “horrified” to do such a narration. “A writer is not a stand-up comic or narrator. The very definition is one who writes,” she opines.

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PHOTO: TWITTER/NIKKHILADVANI Screenshot of a virtual narration session