Scripting Bollywood : Candid Conversations with Women Who Write Hindi Cinema

by Anubha Yadav

A historical perspective on the craft of film writing. A record of how women screenwriters have enriched Hindi cinema with their unique point of view

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jayashree Chakravarti · Rating 5 out of 5]

SCRIPTING BOLLYWOOD - Has to be amongst the best books on Indian cinema to have come out in recent times. Written as a series of interviews with 14 leading cinema writers of hindi films covering a timespan of over 5 decades, plus an additional foundational chapter on the pioneer female writers of Hindi cinema, Anubha Yadav does a wonderful job to bring in a delectable mix of writers who have written films from hardcore commercial to the new wave, romcoms to psychological thrillers, internationally acclaimed projects to some other interesting films that sank without a trace. The conversations are candid, authentic and fearless. The writers talk about how some of their personal experiences shape some of their films, get candid about autobiographical characters on screen, speak openly about their relationship with their directors both good and bad, raise questions on writing credits, pay parity, the culture of writing for the stars instead of the stories, the stereotypes and the vulnerabilities they needed to face throughout their careers, their writing habits and a whole world of other things. Each chapter has one snapshot from either a hand written script page of the writer in focus or a typed copy of their draft of an important scene. There are deep dives about writing experiences of specific films, from absolute classics to fairly forgettable films, and infact some of the recall on the later category of films makes interesting read to understand what was the writer's motivation to write them and how do they recall that phase today. The best thing is that since every chapter is an independent space of focus for a given writer, one can leisurely indulge in their mind spaces, one chapter at a time, one experience internalized. In fact that's the best way to read and savor this book in my opinion. I personally have read this 300 page book over 2 months, while within this time I have binge read several others in one or two sittings. The only thing that could have possibly made this experience complete would be a few more chapters - on Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti and Gauri Shinde and Ashwini Iyer Tiwari. But who knows, may be all of that is parked for a part 2, which would be a great addition to this book. A highly recommended read nevertheless.

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