Who are the creative writing forces in the industry? Satyajit Ray wrote most of his own screenplays, did adapt some with rigorous adhering to giving due credit. Nowhere was this more visible than in his adaptation of Munshi Premchand's Shatranj ke Khiladi! A short story about two decadent nawabs, in an era of decadence in Oudh, who will do anything to have yet another chess game while the entire kingdom is in jeopardy. Around this fascinatingly simple tale that formed about 10% of the story, Ray built an elaborate structure of court intrigue, the Nawab of Oudh and his fascination for singing and dancing, the rapacious company authorities, the sensitive Persian speaking sympathetic "White Moghul" type, and yet none of this rich tapestry would have happened without the warp and weft made by the two chess players! So Munshi Premchand got pride of place in the story credits!
Then we have Gulzar, a master class in writing - be is scripts or lyrics. Most of his original work is scholarly, unique and exquisitely nuanced. But when he was inspired by the Bard's A Comedy of Errors to write a unique and very Indian tale in Angoor, Shakespeare featured prominently in the opening credits of the film. A worthy successor can be found in Vishal Bharadwaj - he has twice adapted Shakespeare and both times due credit was given by the team to the original storyline. Did this diminish the contribution of Abbas Tyrewala to the writing of Maqbool, or Vishal to the writing of Omkara? More recently was have had adaptations of Saratchandra novels in Parineeta and two versions of Devds, and event the "Devdas on crack" version in DevD told us who was the original teller of the tale. Was Anurag Kashyap's DevD a carbon copy of Devdas? He could have easily claimed only a very mild derivation, and a serious departure in the turning of the protagonist from a man bent on self-destruction to one who finds some value in his life after all!
So how does one understand this situation that has exploded with the 3 Idiots controversy? Vidhu Vinod Chopra bought the rights of the story for Five Point Someone from Chetan Bhagat, and Bhagat was paid 1+ 10 lakhs for it. He was told his name would show up in the rolling credits as "based on the novel Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat". Despite screaming at media, Vinod Chopra has made the contract public for all to see. And there seems to be no breach as far as one can tell. So what is the controversy all about?
Issue 1 - is 3 Idiots basically a retelling of FPS with some changes and embellishments?
"We never denied Bhagat the credit. I am confused as to why is he saying all these things after the film's release. We have not stolen the story, we have purchased the rights of the book and can modify or change it as per our requirements. There is nothing illegal in it. Chetan is lying," Hirani said.
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/02/three-idiots-row-hottens-up.htm
But Bhagat is NOT upset about any changes that made the story different!
Issue 2 - HOW MUCH of FPS is retained in 3 Idiots?
"The book is not more than five per cent in the film," he said, adding that Bhagat had been paid his dues by Chopra even before the release of the film.
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/02/three-idiots-row-hottens-up.htm
This seems to be the major point of departure! Those who have read the book, and the author himself claim that there is no 3 Idiots without FPS! And here the Shatranj ke Khiladi example becomes particularly germane. Even a kernel of a story that inspires the whole structure, is an important piece and diminishing it by assigning numbers like 5% is foolish!
Issue 3 - What exactly is Chetan Bhagat upset about? He signed a contract, he got money and he even got his name in the rolling credits!
"I also want to address the so called contract and spell out the issue, which they are either unable to articulate or are hiding. Yes, there is a contract, which you ethically abused. But how can you give ANOTHER credit for story, not including me, without my consent, right upfront and hide mine totally? Isn’t that negating my already buried credit? Who will people see. Who will go and collect the story (not screenplay, which is separate) awards? The screenplay is not an issue here. The people who have done that have adapted my story – not written a new one. Maybe they can be co-credited for story, but how can they exclude me? Add to that them constantly calling their story original, discrediting me in the media for over an year – does that not show an actual pattern of shutting me out? That is the issue. "
http://www.chetanbhagat.com/blog/general/i-did-try-and-reach-them-first
Chetan has it right here. If there is an earlier story credit in the main credits then what exactly does the rolling credit to FPS mean? How can one claim credit to and original story and also claim it was based upon something else?
Issue 4 - The 3 Idiots team is very hung up on claiming ORIGAL screenplay credit and story credit.
Here is what Hirani says in a TOI interview:
"I am sure it's defamation because lots of people I know are wondering (due to Bhagat's allegation)� in lots of Tweeter and Facebook sites we have been abused saying, 'we won't watch Hirani's film or Abhijat's film'. This kind of muck is flying all over the place. I think Vinod Chopra is looking into it, I guess he will follow the legal path," he added.
Hirani clarified that once Bhagat had given the rights to make a film on his book, there shouldn't be any "percentage issue".
Hirani maintained that the basic plot of the film is completely different from the book.
"In the book, there is no bet between the two friends, the journey
to find their friend is not there, the child delivery scene, the 'Balatkar' scene, the two weddings where they crashed these key scenes are not in the book. There are certain similarities, which I am not denying, but we had bought the rights for that.
"We can use 100 percent of it. What does he (Bhagat) mean by 70 percent? Are we supposed to pay more money for using 70 percent? Are we supposed to give different credit for 70 percent? I do not understand this percentage controversy," said Hirani.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/3-Idiots-may-sue-Chetan-Bhagat/articleshow/5407592.cms
But if you use 70% or 100% of material from another, even if duly paid for, can you claim that you wrote the story or screenplay?
ISSUE 5 - Finally we come to the originality in the screenplay itself!! Chetan is denied credit for the story because it was already paid for. But who was paid for the astronauts using pencils in space joke that is old as the hills, the scene about turning in exams by mixing them in that was copied from an ad film, Kareena giving birthing advice on a phone that is so much like a recent phone ad featuring Deepika Padukone?
Here is what Raju Hirani has to say about scriptwriting:
"This came as a shock to me that suddenly he is trying to hog the limelight; suddenly he is trying to take away the credit from the screenwriters who slogged for three years to modify the script. He doesn't understand the difference between book writing and writing for a film. If he continues doing these things, I would rather not associate with him."
No wonder there is dearth of good writing, if I were Mr. Bhagat I would stick to writing his books that seem to capture the fancy of the masses and sell millions of copies. Let the screenplay xeroxers - oops adapters - do the more literary copying job, and just keep on writing!
To end - here is a class act by Bharadwaj regarding Omkara!
Good write up there, Pardesi.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone can deny that morally VVC should have credited CB upfront, but not legally bound to, not unless 75 or may be 80% of the original content is retained. I don't know how they calculate percentages, but thats how it is, I guess.
A hilarious take on the Chetan Bhagat and 3 Idiots tale:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263653
The Secret Diary Of Aamir Khan
Surprise! Surprise! The other day I got a call from the great Woody Allen. And, guess what? He wants me to star in his next film (working title: 3.5 Idiots).
AJITH PILLAI
Surprise! Surprise! The other day I got a call from the great Woody Allen. And, guess what? He wants me to star in his next film (working title: 3.5 Idiots). The decimal half here will be played by author Chetan Bhagat. My other two co-stars will be a Manhattan streetlight which has found its way to Mumbai and switches on only when you say “Joey, light up” and a cellphone in Cuffe Parade which claims it was used by Marilyn Monroe to call the White House. Now the casting sounded fine, but I ventured to point out that the mobile was a bit out of sync. “Well, Mr Allen,” I said in my best Bollywood voice, “wasn’t the cell invented decades after Ms Monroe’s death?” The response across long distance was high pitched and agitated. “For starters, call me Woody. Mr Allen reminds me of a nightmare in which Spinoza dances with a skimpily clad Rakhi Sawant to a remixed version of Moonlight Sonata (claimed to be an original by both Anu Malik and Shantanu Moitra). That apart, coming to your query on the mobile, anything is possible in a film. Aaaamir, a big Bollywood star like you should know better.”
Well, I admit, the strangest things do happen in our movies. But leave that for a later twitter. Right then I was curious to know the storyline of the film. And, more importantly, my role in it. “Aaaamir,” said the voice at the other end, “you play a filmmaker and Chetan is a struggling young writer putting together his first novel. But he does this unwittingly under the peering gaze of Joey. So, as and when he completes a chapter, you call the streetlight using the mobile and it tells you the story thus far and you start filming. It’s fairly simple.” I was quick to acknowledge that it undoubtedly was a very original idea but what on earth would the storyline of the film within the film be? Well, Woody cleared his throat and said that it would be about three idiots (this time wannabe teenage filmmaker, scriptwriter, producer) played by yours truly, Amitabh (Paa) Bachchan and Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The trio join an institute which teaches them the art of generating controversy by publicly accusing each other of plagiarism. The high point of the film is when all three claim ownership of a Bollywood version of Kafka’s The Castle and even the copyright to the recipe of steamed rice which figures in one scene. Thankfully, after much name calling, they finally declare a truce, which is where the film ends.
“Interesting! A happy ending is always nice,” I said, but then it came to me, “...but Woody, where is the spicy stuff?” Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked because he had already factored the masala in. “My dear Aaaamir, I have signed on that ex-guv of Andhra, Tiwari N.D., and two Mumbai police officers. Every now and then, they will dance with a group of item girls,” Woody said with some professional pride. But I had one last query: who was producing the film? Woody’s answer stumped me: “Why? Chetan and Vidhu....”
(As imagined by Ajith Pillai)