Film industry beckons wannabe scriptwriters

Wit, sense of humour and a flair for language are the prerequisites.

With film directors and producers increasingly trying out off-beat subjects, scriptwriting as a career option is finding a growing number of takers from the student community.

According to Gautam Ghosh, who directed Yatra, scriptwriting is essentially a form of story-telling done through dialogues.

"It is very difficult to teach how to write witty dialogues. One has to develop an ear for the way people speak in different situations," he said.

The salaries for scriptwriters are not too bad, either.

A scriptwriter, once he/she gets the first break, can expect to earn between Rs 15,000 and Rs 1 lakh, depending on the scale of work and the medium (a stage drama or a commercial movie) it is meant for.

In most institutes in India, scriptwriting is taught under the mass communications and film studies vertical and costs between Rs 24,000 and Rs 1.70 lakh a year.

According to Fatima Shaw, an ex-student of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Calcutta, "Nobody ever asked me my qualification. I have been selling customised scripts over the Internet and earning close to Rs 25,000 per script. Film producers are keen to whether or not I have a sense of humour and if there is an uninterrupted flow in my scripts."

Agreed Shrikant Mohta, director of Venkatesh Films. "Though the film industry is completely dictated by the box-office and TRPs, what we essentially look for while hiring scriptwriters is the ability to get under the skin of various characters. A scriptwriter should also have an original, narrative style of writing and a sense of humour. The ability to add humour to a script is very important, as without it even an otherwise good script would sound dull," he said.

However, a flair for language is also important. The more languages a student is proficient in, the more opportunities he/she gets in the area of scriptwriting.

"There is no dearth of jobs for scriptwriters in the entertainment industry. However, freshers can consider registering with the Indian Film Writers' Association to avoid being duped or exploited," Ghosh said.

While both television and films offer big bucks, freshers can take up the former medium to get the hang of the job.

According to an official at the Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA), the only problem a fresher may face is of non-payment for his work in case the film does not get released.