Some Quick Screenwriting Tips

Cinema is hailed as the most expensive art-form in the world. It is also amongst few of the youngest industries, with its roots going back to early 20th century. Over the years, cinema has evolved extensively. Many auteurs came who redefined the language of films. From popcorn entertainment to intellectual documentaries, from heart-wrenching dramas to mind-bending science fiction, cinema has seen a lot. Because it is still young, I feel that a lot of the grammar is yet to be written.

Films are a collaborative effort. Hundreds of people work tirelessly day and night for months to constitute an experience of two hours. Screenwriting, as a filmmaking department, plays a crucial role. I will just jot down some quick screenwriting tips that might help you to write better.

Read. Read. Read. Everything from journals, magazines, novels, scripts to columns. The more you expand your horizon of knowledge, the better ideas will emerge.
Watch the greats. Kurosawa, Fellini, Godard, Ray, Tarantino.
It’s a visual medium. Show, don’t tell.
Learn the basic structures of storytelling.
Let the creative juices flow. Screenwriting is as much art, as it is craft.
Never mention camera angles in your script. Let the DOP handle his/her expertise. Focus on your strengths — story, characters, themes, structure, arcs, dialogues.
Consider the screenwriting process as that of architecture. Without a proper floor plan and design, there won’t be any building. It is the genesis, origin and the spiritual department of films.
Use a good screenwriting software. My advice would be The Final Draft.
Don’t bother about the first draft of your screenplay. Keep redrafting and rewriting.
If two people agree with each other in any of the scenes, delete those scenes. Conflict is the skin of every story.

Lastly, don’t quit. Writing for films is a worthy endeavour.

Deaths Are Becoming Data While Narendra Modi Continues To Dismantle India

I am anguished to see the state of India while it chokes from the deadly second wave of COVID-19. When you log-on to any of your socials, all you see is thousands of people in need of oxygen cylinders, hospital beds and necessary medications. People aren’t getting space at the crematoriums to fulfil the final rituals for the deceased. Ill-planned lockdowns in various states are also creating havoc in businesses, daily-wage industry, etc. I see misery and hopelessness in the nation which proclaimed early victory over the virus as early as January 2021. Borders of other countries are being closed for us. Patients are dying on the streets waiting for proper medical facilities. India is gasping for oxygen. But the power-hungry narcissist, Narendra Modi, is probably more worried about his monuments than the burning pyres in the crematorium. He’s mocking thousands of deaths by still continuing with US$2.8 billion Central Vista project while also marking it as essential work.

My Experiments With The Social Dilemma

It was a cloudy Sunday. I was working on a long-pending script all day long. The screen time; mobile and laptop, had just increased exponentially over the past few weeks. I don’t know if that was a pandemic thing, or work-load, or just the enticing nature of screens. Not that I was scrolling mindlessly on Instagram or revolting against the establishment over Twitter. I had already uninstalled most of the social media apps from my phone before lockdown. But still, my eyes felt the heat of constantly being on the screen and my mind averred that something is going insanely wrong. It was time for one of many experiments I have had with the use of technology; especially the socials. So, I decided not to use any form of technology for the next four hours. I sat down on the sofa with my legs crossed and started looking at the movement of cars on the road, with a small but plush garden in the front. The movement was less, the horns were slow and the breeze was immense, as we were in the early phases of the unlock process. It is not too hard for me to sit in silence; contrary to the usual millennial narrative. I’ve had friends who used to tell me about how much they love the buzz of a city — the cars, the noise and the human ambience. Thoughts, in all their streams, were flowing as I started to observe from a distance. The stream got a little distracted because of a doorbell. My younger brother’s friend had arrived to meet him. He greeted me and noticed that I didn’t have any gadget in my hands nor do I have my laptop lying around. He paused for a while and asked me a relevant question — is everything okay? I guess we have normalised being constantly engaged with some sort of gratification. The zen is lost on the tracks.

Coronavirus: The Plot Twist Which Narendra Modi Never Anticipated

Back in 2014, when the BJP got into power with record-breaking numbers, a beginning of saffron-sympathised diaspora was immediately formed. The general discourse was already against Congress because of various reasons. This rejection for the then ruling party helped BJP to build an image of a hardline Hindu Nationalist party, helmed by a controversial politician who had played a contentious role in Gujarat riots against the Muslims in 2002. Narendra Modi, with his eccentric personality, has formed a following of millions who wholeheartedly worship him. Some have even forgotten his past. Moreover, they keep on forgetting his ministerial insufficiencies and incompetence. Even if we exclude his economic failures (Infamous demonetisation, GST, Petrol prices, Decline in GDP etc.), the rise in socio-political issues in the country have only gone high. In his term as the Prime Minister; hate crimes, riots on the grounds of religious differences, heavy weakening of institutions, controversial mob-lynchings, mindless violence and repressing freedom of speech are some of many other areas where the ruling party has proven to be a defaulter. He came back into power, despite all of these issues already pertaining in his first term. His second term, mostly driven by his wing-man and another controversial politician, Amit Shah, got the debatable Article 370 abolished from the constitution. They further went a step ahead with the highly objectionable citizenship law. The later met with serious dissent from all parts of the society (excluding bhakts). The country saw a minor revolution in the form of student protests across the country, demanding to abolish the law which is religiously biased and democratically disturbing. All in all, the script was well tight, the actors acted well (According to Modi’s Wikipedia, he did stage plays in school) and everyone was ready for the next move. But, there happened a big plot twist which Narendra Modi never anticipated. The Coronavirus.

Why Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya Is More Relevant Than Ever

The day I watched Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya for the first time; back at film school, I went back home with a heavy heart and a sense of historic illumination. As far as I remember, it was 2 years ago and it was raining heavily in Mumbai. I just sat in my room for an hour; thinking about the minimalism that was followed back in the time by some writers and filmmakers and also about the hard hitting portrayal of a police officer, Anant Welankar, who is drenched by his past and is unable to deal with the corrupt political nexus in the present; played by the late Om Puri. I also couldn’t help but think about the other part of the world where police brutality is celebrated, revered and is never questioned. Ardh Satya, written by celebrated playwright Vijay Tendulkar, not only dives into the systemic viciousness that has engulfed the nation through years, but it also brings about the idea of isolation, addiction and poetic catastrophe which surrounds the modern man. George Floyd in America and Jayaraj & Bennix in India have surely started the debate around police brutality. But, Ardh Satya was talking about it in 1983.

Representation of Identity in Cinema

It is a matter of fact now, that movies, TV shows, literature and pop culture, create a sense of living amongst audiences and readers. Gone are the days when people used to consume entertainment for the sake of entertainment. Movie Gods and Rockstars have become cultural phenomenon and affect us at many levels. Now if a movie has a rape scene which adds no value to the plot (used to happen in the Bollywood of 80’s and 90’s), a viewer stating “why do you care so much? It is just a film”, will quite be an understatement. The fact is, entertainment shapes us. It shapes us in the way we behave, interact and react. Especially in the world of social media where memes can actually shift perspective of the masses. Representation of certain classes and genders will have an effect on the minds of the people who are consuming content. So, it becomes important for us to seek where we are getting wrong and where we are actually using tactics to get away from making a larger statement.

Some Quick Screenwriting Tips

Raj Ajay Pandya

1 Follower

0 Following

Deaths Are Becoming Data While Narendra Modi Continues To Dismantle India

Raj Ajay Pandya

The Tyranny That Is Lockdown

Raj Ajay Pandya

Let’s Talk About Love, Jihad and Love-Jihad

Raj Ajay Pandya

My Experiments With The Social Dilemma

Raj Ajay Pandya

Coronavirus: The Plot Twist Which Narendra Modi Never Anticipated

Raj Ajay Pandya

Why Govind Nihalani’s Ardh Satya Is More Relevant Than Ever

Raj Ajay Pandya

Representation of Identity in Cinema

Raj Ajay Pandya