Script writers are in a bad state in Bollywood – Abhishek Chaubey

Being a script writer in Bollywood is not exactly a dream job. For one, neither will you be given ample credit for your work and nor will you be compensated well enough for the skills of your pen. A script writer is nothing but the penniless prince of Bollywood. Take a look at any film poster. You will find it littered with names of the producer, director, choreographer, and all those you can imagine but seldom will you find the name of a script writer present in the poster. We asked Abhishek Chaubey, the director who is helming Dedh Ishqiya on what he thought about the state of affairs of script writers in Bollywood. “Oh it’s terrible. It’s a really bad state of affairs for writers out there. Writers are paid close to nothing in this country,” said Abhishek who was himself started out as a writer before he donned the directorial hat for Ishqiya. Pointing to a life size poster of Dedh Ishqiya adorning Shemaroo’s massive office walls, Abhishek wistfully says, “There is no name of the writer in that poster too. They are given a raw deal here. I have only started earning now. Even film direction is not exactly the most lucrative profession in the world. If I had done an MBA, I would have definitely made much more money by now. I have been in this industry for 13 long years but I have only started making money very recently.” Now to see such a pitiable state of affairs exist in an industry which is today synonymous with 100 crore is extremely sad. When asked how one could remedy this menace and make script writing financially more viable, Abhishek said: “Bit by bit, fight hard for it.” Well, that is going to be one long fight for sure.