Virtual script narrations: Writers weight in on pros, cons amid lockdown – bollywood

Did filmmaker Nikkhil Advani’s tweet about a 6 a.m. virtual meeting with superstar Akshay Kumar and other team members of the film Bell Bottom, for a final script narration, ring a bell? As the lockdown driven by the Covid-19 pandemic has altered professional interactions, making them more dependent on technology, we’re reminded of another social media post by scriptwriter Jyoti Kapoor who steered one’s attention towards how “writers are being asked to narrate scripts over video conferences” in these times. 

Writers are now being asked to narrate scripts to actors over video conferences. Can you imagine the stress of narrating virtually? Thodi toh mehnat kar lo yaar. A script is NOT meant to be narrated. It’s meant to be read. Now is a good time to sharpen your reading skills.

— Jyoti Kapoor (@KapoorJo) April 23, 2020

Manmarziyaan (2018) and Judgementall Hai Kya (2019) writer Kanika Dhillon is of the opinion, “Work has to go on. With time on hand, people are trying to focus on writing and finishing scripts — although these are not ideal conditions — and there’s a lot of chaos in the world outside — I’m sure all of us are trying our best to channel our creativity productively”. 

While she has personally not given any online video narrations yet, she finds it a ”good alternative to work from home”. She adds, “The process of working will have to alter keeping in mind the need of the time. And currently if video calls are the way forward, then we better get on with it.”

Veteran writer Anjum Rajabali doesn’t find it “difficult at all”. He explains, “You can see the other person face-to-face, see the impact you’re having on him, there is a visual engagement between you two, so how is that so different from being in a room together? Aren’t we getting used to video calls as a regular substitute to meeting people physically?” 

But writer Prashant Pandey finds a difference. “A video call is more likely to be structured than meeting in person. It lacks the warmth and wining-dining that is associated with narrating a script in person. The bonhomie and joy of sharing meals and taking a pause to reflect, and of course correct a story, the cigarette breaks, are all gone,” he reflects.

Besides, Pandey feels, a writer not only tells a story, but also pitches his own presence and aura with a live narration. Having said that, he adds, “I am 100% sure we will all adapt to technology even earlier than we thought.”

Ask Raazi (2018) co-writer Bhavani Iyer about it, and she says, “It’s ridiculous! I would be horrified if anyone asked me for a narration over a video app”. Iyer, who believes a script is written because it is meant to be read, and that all actors should read, adds, “It makes the interpretation of the script, their character analysis and understanding unique and personal. A writer is not a stand-up comic or a narrator. The very definition is ‘one who writes’,” she asserts.

Rajabali points out two benefits from narration.

“One, it gives the writer the opportunity to emote, feel, and perform, and that gives cues to the actors and the director. Two, one gets to see where one is losing the listeners’ attention, and that is invaluable feedback,” he says, going back in time to cite how actors would imbue nuances from narrations by the likes of the indomitable Salim-Javed duo and filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi.