Ode to “The Film Writer’s Association”

This was an important step in the direction of my dream. In order to get into the Hindi Film Industry (Bollywood), I had to connect with it in some way, and this seemed to me the best way at this stage. Being a part of a Film Writers Association (FWA) started giving me a feeling that I was in the industry already.

I have some story ideas (needless to say “Original”) and some rough scripts spanning across 30-40 pages. Through some reference, I got introduced to Mr. Pankaj Sharda, who’s a Script Evaluator in Sahara Motion Pictures.

He gave me some valuable tips on Script Writing and also some wisdom on protecting my work. I realized, once I become a member of FWA I will be able to register my work before I approach the productions houses. So becoming a member became indispensable.

Till yesterday, my idea about Indian Film Industry was that it decades away from being “tech-savvy”. So when I imagined the office of the association, all I could get was a picture of a typical Indian government office, where employees just came for the sake of attendance. I thought I will have a tough time running around people and getting them to take interest in my request.

However, it came as a pleasant surprise to know that the association was far far better than what I had imagined. The first thing that made me feel at home was the ambience. The moment I entered the office, something told me that – I belonged there.

The association seemed to be modestly grounded to its past glory days and yet eagerly inclined to take new roads in the future. As I saw pictures of the yesteryears legend writers, I also saw a poster of Sankalan (ScriptLab, sponsored by Mahindra) inviting new writers with fresh ideas.

And the people, of whom I was so afraid of, were more than just being approachable. For me to become the member, I required sponsorship of two existing members. I had no contacts in the industry so I simply asked them to help me out. They first told me that if I wait, someone or other would come by and I could approach them to be my introducer. But as if they were not happy with that help, they themselves started going around looking for writers. Finally, when I got the signatures from two “kind-hearted” writers, I saw a smile on their face and surprisingly it reflected the same joy that I was experiencing inside.

I am expecting my Membership card on Monday and with that the first little milestone will be reached.

Eagerly waiting to embark on to the next level of the journey.