The generational shift in screen writing is best understood in a comparative study of writer-director-actor Srinivasan and his son Vineeth. Srinivasan seems to think that script is something that you write on the go. Entire movie sets have waited with bated breath for Srinivasan to finish the script to be shot on next day. The new generation, however, follows a different route. Unni K .Warrier, Vinod Nair and N. Jayachandran visit the new-age writing blocks.
Malayalam cinema has seen a screen writer who worked for Rs 90. P.K. Sarangapani was a tailor and a revolutionary before he launched scripts that would go on to create huge hits. He wrote about the folk heroes of north Kerala from his base in Alappuzha. His screenplays helped Malayalam cinema to rebase to Alappuzha from faraway Chennai.
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When Kunjacko Boban commissioned Sarangapani to write the dialogues for Umma in 1960, that was the birth of arguably the first “applied writer” in Malayalam cinema. He was a master of writing for screen.
That was also the age of Thoppil Bhasi and S.L. Puram Sadanandan who dabbled in theatre and cinema. Vaikom Muhammed Bashir, Kakkanadan, Malayattur Ramakrishnan and Surasu built bridges between literature and cinema. Malayalam cinema left the confines of the studios with M.T. Vasudevan Nair’s movies and soared to the heights of fantasy with P. Padmarajan.
Then came Lohithadas’s earthy and emotional tales. Sreenivasan turned himself into a comical mirror to satirise Malayali sensibilities. The script turned a pricy commodity during the heyday of Ranjith and Ranji Panicker. The script in itself was a star. The script writer continued to be the master of writing.
Ramjirao Speaking and other epic comedies marked the beginning of partnerships in writing. Siddique-Lal, Rafi-Mecartin and Sibi-Udayan pairs brought a Midas touch to Malayalam movies. Years of comedy followed and actors like Dileep rode the wave. The wave eventually died out.
The flagging fortunes of Malayalam cinema were reversed. But the trend of collective writing caught on. Bobby-Sanjay’s Traffic and Shyam-Pushkaran’s Salt n’ Pepper were trendsetters five years ago. Then a deluge of movies, branded “new-gen”, marked a shift in traditional views about audience preferences. There were lone writers too. Anoop Menon wrote Beautiful, underscoring the strength of the new breed of movies. These were not big budget movies piggybacking on a star cast.
Unabashedly bald, Fahadh Faasil became the emblem of the new cinema. He turned a darling of the masses, triggering a scramble for scripts that suited his persona.
Even Prithviraj, stung by his choice of mediocre screenplays, staged a return through meaningful movies.
Vineeth Sreenivasan too made his debut as a writer. His Malarvadi Arts Club was a launch pad for future hero Nivin Pauly and much sought-after Aju Varghese. The collective continues to mint money on the established recipes.
Collaboration, the new mantra
Hundreds of writers have tested their luck in the recent years. Many newcomers could make a mark where established writers had lost out. Most of the hits in the last five years were written by newcomers. More importantly, most of these movies were written collectively. The trend is catching up.
The scriptwriter is no longer a lone wolf. He is an integral part in the shooting location along with the director. He is available to counsel the actors. He has a responsibility to see to it that what he has written is fulfilled on screen. A scriptwriter has to spend a year at least to finish a project, starting with the conception and writing and going all the way up to shooting and editing.
As many as 140 films were released in Malayalam last year. This implies that the industry demands as many screen writers.
Many of the collectives comprise script doctors who can feel the pulse of the script and give a prognosis of victory. There are people with ideas and there are people who are good at dialogues.
Everyone concurs at one point. Malayalam cinema owes its change to the new-age script, and the many ways of its evolution.
‘I write on my own’
Hit maker Alphonse Puthren acknowledges the collective effort that goes into a good movie but he feels the collaboration has to give way to individual decision-making at a point.
“Malayalam cinema has very few writers. That’s the reason I struggle to write stories and screenplays for my movies. I think that works best for me.
“A single person handling the writing, screenwriting and directing may not always work out smoothly. I write with difficulty. I was a reluctant writer, writing and rewriting and learning on the way.
“I do consult my colleagues in cinema while writing a screenplay. I am open to their suggestions. But I write only what I want to. I do not allow any interference in writing. I have not felt the need for it so far,” the ‘Premam’ director said.
‘Shooting is enjoyable, writing stressful’
Vineeth Sreenivasan says he emulates his father Sreenivasan in many ways but makes it a point not to follow him on certain others.
“I was impressed by the sincerity and discipline my father shows towards cinema. But I can’t digest his practice of writing at the eleventh hour. The strain he undergoes, the chain smoking to lessen it…. He gets up early in the morning to write and then shoots it until dusk. Then again writes through the night. And smokes a lot in the process. He is not doing it on purpose. Even he likes to finish the writing early. But he cannot do that because of his hectic schedule.
“Seeing him struggle at the last minute has made me take a decision. I will never start shooting my film before completing the script and correcting it wherever needed. I like going through various stages of a film’s evolution, from waiting for a story, writing a screenplay and seeing the background score emerge.
“I enjoy shooting a film. But writing a film is a strain on me. That is a period when I become most insecure and unable to face others.”