Why Writing Makes Or Breaks A Film?

At the Mahurat Of 'Golmaal 3' recently, director Rohit Shetty said that if writers Salim-Javed (Sholay, Kaala Paththar, Deewar, Zanjeer and many more hits) had followed copyright laws, they would have been raking up crores today. Well, Salim-Javed were the highest paid writers during their time, decided the actors who'd be part of their movies (it's a universal fact that they are one of the biggest reason behind the success of Amitabh Bachchan) and enjoyed all the perks that were enjoyed by the biggest of stars.

Salim-Javed are an isolated case. Fact is that writers are an underpaid lot, are treated shabbily and many a times their credits are siphoned off as well. Except for maybe Abhijat Joshi who was compensated handsomely for '3 Idiots' for writing the script-screenplay, the fate of the writers is in shambles. Anyway, that is something that the writer's association has to look into.

I love commercial potboilers. I love being a hungry spectator waiting to gobble up entertainment. For me it is paramount that the screenplay writing, the dialogues and the timing of the actors while delivering those dialogues has to be spot on. 'All The Best' worked for me primarily because of Sajid-Farhad's witty writing that was consistently funny and obviously the film didn't take itself too seriously and didn't take the stupid sentimental path. One can't say the same about 'Golmaal Returns' (written by the same writers) that relied more on physical comedy and insipid gags more than funny one liners.

A film like '3 Idiots' works because its dialogues are very funny and executed to perfection by the actors. And it's a Big reason for the repeat value of the film. The 'Balaatkaar' sequence, coinage of words like 'Virus' are a few examples that were lapped up by masses in a big way. Niranjan Iyengar and Shibani Bhatija churned out some memorable moments and wonderful lines in 'My Name Is Khan'. The humour, the pathos, the poignance...its all there. Obviously dialogues and the way they've been woven in the screenplay is a mercurial tool in the hands of a director while he carves out a good, watchable film that can withstand the test of time.

Each time I watch 'Jab We Met', the dialogues tickle me...'Akeli ladki ek khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai jise koi bhi chra sakta hai' or the Decent Hotel interaction between Shahid and the receptionist. There are many such gems. And when you come across 'Ab tumhe ek hi lady bacha sakti hai aur woh hai lady in blue' from the classic blunder 'Blue' one literally cringes.

Writing of a film makes or break it. There are a few filmmakers who lay a lot of importance on what they do with the writers while a few others rely more on lifting scenes from Hollywood films and hyping it up. Both end up giving the expected results. As your means, so your results...