‘Salim-Javed could sell films, why can’t we?’
Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane, also the writer of his films Udaan (2010) and Lootera (2013), wants better recognition for the writer community in the film industry. Motwane, who codirected the web series Sacred Games with Anurag Kashyap, says that the team of writers on the show did not get the kind of appreciation that they deserve.
“I think they (the writers) should be getting more appreciation. People keep congratulating Anurag and me about Sacred Games, but there was a team of writers who wrote that fantastic draft. They did it for one-and-a-half years, before we even started off on anything,” he says.
Even though accolades have been dropping in for writer of the web series, Varun Grover, Motwane is not satisfied. “So, Varun has been getting some kind of recognition. But I think the entire team deserves more credit and recognition than they are getting now,” he says.
Recalling the ’70s and the ’80s, where makers of mainstream cinema would sell a film solely with the writer and not really the star cast, the 41-year-old filmmaker says, “Look, you had Salim-Javed selling movies, because they had written a script. So, it has been happening in India, and writers used to get the recognition they deserved.”
The Bhavesh Joshi Superhero director adds, “If it could happen some 40 years ago, I don’t understand why we can’t do that now. If SalimJaved could sell movies in their name then, I am sure we can sell a film saying that it has been written by a Varun Grover or a Juhi Chaturvedi (writer of the films Piku, Vicky Donor and October).”
Motwane, who co-wrote the 2007 film Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, hopes that good writing has been earning glowing reviews of late, will encourage producers to back more upcoming writers. “You get encouraged to do more content like this. [But] you want to be on your toes, and you don’t want to be complacent,” he says.