Best Screenplay
[Indian Language]
First and foremost
being a writer, this means that this specific post is far more important
[except for the other two] then anything else I write.
Being a writer but
also an objective viewer of cinema and the industries around film means that
writing is far more important then anything else in the movie business.
Yet writers are
probably never given the kind of respect that directors command nor the
visibility that actors do. We're not as paid as much, we're not even sometimes
liked as much; just see the myriad of dredge Hindi cinema churns out every year
that disregards the one important thing;
The script.
So for those
disrespected and those beloved, here are these superstar writing nominees...
Karthik Subharaj for Iraivi
A feminist film
viewed from the lens of male gaze [not necessarily the bad kind], Iraivi's
strength is in its character and Subharaj's is understanding in weaving a noir
tale of morality and liberation with the added spice of a post-modern outlook.
After his meta
infused genre bending Jigarthanda, Subharaj ups the ante in a film that lets
its men be men and their consequences and action all pay dividends to the arcs
of the women, something that is most occasionally the other way round.
With a film focused
on the importance and passion of making cinema and the symbolism of woman as
goddess and man not as demon but just plain old fallible man, makes for a great
commentary on the importance of liberation through rains and why women first need
to accept themselves and understand their own strengths before trying to even
find the strength to accept a useless or useful mans responsibility.
On a bonus, with his
third act twist villain, Subharaj leaves a great commentary on the 'nice guy'
trope of Tamil cinema, finally signifying that he is a bonafide star writer and
director with an ear to the ground.
Naman Ramachandran for Brahman Naman
Though the film may
still retain the very distinct Q flavour, there is no denying Brahman Naman is
the writer's baby; it's all in the name after all, sorry Shakespeare.
The film an out and
out comedic train, riffs on the very sexual natures of teenagers and their
oblivious especially Brahman ignorance to their own self inflated egos that
don't even matter. The writing in this sense is sprinkled with intelligent
sparks of comedy offset by a building of questionable antics that allow the
slow puncture of the bubble of humour the film builds up to.
As soon as Ash's
humiliation hits, the writing has your guts tied up and yet it hints that our
heroes may gain a sense of redemption as is norm in the genre, yet the pay off
is brilliant without ever being alluded to because as oblivious our
protagonists as meandering the writing is in a damn good way, cause the fun
never ceases to stop neither does the idiocy of these geniuses.
Eregowda and Raam
Reddy for Thithi
The documentary
style of Thithi may surprise folks that the film is wholly scripted though very
much an astute observation of life in a small village. It's a testament to the
writing that the film never feels as such, but rather is so natural and organic;
the viewer settles into the belief that all that is happening is a part of life
in this world.
Eregowda channels
his experiences from his hometown along with the cinematic flourishes brought
forth by Raam Reddy to immerse you in an experience that feels and is
absolutely real, such world building is the mastery of the likes of the Coens
and Tarantino's. That is a huge compliment.
Yet the fact still
stands that the writing never feels inspired but wholly its own, that the
writers especially Eregowda can leave his own stamp on his work is another
testament to his fine skills.
Waryam Singh Sandhu and Gurvinder Singh for Chauthi Koot
Adapted from two
short stories by Waryam Singh Sandhu, as a director Gurvinder Singh might as
well have taken the profound tales of a restless Punjab post the Blue Star
Operation and turned them into a meditative art house piece, as he does so.
However that doesn't
entirely mean that he has stretched the film or for that matter flourished with
cinematic techniques to dazzle. Rather Singh's writing becomes a manipulation
of time, in order to create an intoxicating and simmering slow pace that just
chokes the viewer with a fearsome atmosphere of tension and absolute maddening
paranoia.
It's a poetic craft
that he employs in not only building a world but thus letting characters breath
in it to the point every ticking second is felt and every emotional attachment
means a lot especially towards the innocent pet dog Tommy.
Nagraj Manjule and Avinash Ghadge for Sairat
In Sairat, the
writers employ both a sense of convention and subversion as well as injecting a
dose of reality beyond the happy ending, to craft a film that reveres the genre
of romance and the application of mainstream appeal into a film with honest depth
and examination.
Sairat becomes an
indictment of the caste system long before we feel it but leaving us with its
horror long after we leave the cinema hall and this is kudos to writing that is
sharp, with wit, a genuine sense of time and place to ease the viewer in and finally
wrench them out of their comfortable seats.
Mainstream cinema is
a dreadful place for narrative, but such mainstream writing has never felt
fresher or respective to genre as this enjoyable masterpiece, in such a long
time.
And the Winner is...
Waryam Singh Sandhu and Gurvinder Singh for Chauthi Koot!!!
With Chauthi Koot securing a huge win and Visaranai nowhere in sight, is this the spoiler?
Up Next: The final push towards the big one, who will be the best director
'Nuff Said,
Aneesh Raikundalia
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