The event was Ficci-Frames, the media and entertainment industry’s annual jamboree in Mumbai in 2013. The image of the kneeling writer bothered Mr Patell. He grumbled to the late Leena Jaisani, deputy secretary general for media and entertainment at Ficci (the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry). All the talk about empowering writers meant nothing if they could not be given basic dignity. Jaisani offered Ficci’s backing and told Mr Patell to do something about it.
He did. In 2015 came Frame Your Idea or FYI. It ran parallel with Ficci-Frames. Sixteen producers met 115 writers. This first version of a physical platform where anyone, literally anyone, can come and pitch a story, screenplay or script to, say, a Disney or Excel saw 650 meetings over three days. Last week, FYI saw over 500 writers meet 75 producers across film, TV, and streaming in more than 3,500 meetings spread over two days. “That’s an average of seven meetings per writer — over 35,000 minutes of creative exchange, packed into 15 hours. Frame Your Idea is the biggest writer-producer meet in the world,” said a delighted Mr Patell in a late-night video. He also doubles as creative director, Ficci FYI.
The process is simple. If you have a developed story, screenplay or an idea, put it on paper with a logline and synopsis. Then register for FYI and pay ₹2,000 per meeting — a sore point for Mr Patell but reflective of the oversupply. In the run-up to FYI come a host of free online workshops on writing and pitching by Boman Irani, Roshan Abbas and others, on legalities, protecting your idea, and paperwork. The FYI team mails you well in advance on what is needed before you walk in and a WhatsApp group keeps you updated.
Your columnist attended Ficci Frames on both days, September 29 and 30, at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The FYI venue, though within the hotel, was far away from the main event, with its own reception, seating and a tea/coffee counter throughout the day. Lunch and free access to Ficci-Frames were part of the deal. There were three cavernous rooms housing representatives from Yash Raj Films, Dharma Productions, Maddock, and Platoon One Films, among others, in little pods. Each pitch was exactly 10 minutes — at eight minutes, a volunteer would pop in to tell them they had only two minutes left. The team of volunteers drawn from event management and media schools was extremely supportive. If a meeting was cancelled or a producer didn’t show up, they had substitute meetings planned. There were storytellers from Hyderabad, Kashmir, Mumbai, Pune and even foreigners, there were published authors, complete novices, and people from the fringes of the entertainment business.
In a country that aspires to be a creative soft power, this is the grunge work needed before we see an abundance of writing that translates into shows and movies at scale. Good writing and lots of it is where much of the value for any media and entertainment ecosystem originates. Hollywood studios have had writers on their rolls for years. The United Kingdom has a rich tradition of theatre at school, university, great drama, film schools and clubs that have created an army of writers, actors, and supporting cast.
Indian film studios had writers on their rolls in the early 1950s. Then they went bust and took away a lifeline for writers, who need time and therefore a regular income before the writing fructifies. There were exceptions like Salim-Javed but otherwise writing became one of the least paid and most ignored parts of the filmmaking process. The discipline of a bound story, script, and screenplay came back partially after the turn of the millennium with corporatisation, multiplexes and organised financing. It accelerated with the entry of global streamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. They were commissioning long-form, premium shows at scale and producers had to step up. The whole idea of writers’ rooms was born.
No major film studio in India has writers on its rolls. Some of them run writers’ labs or offer script fellowships. There is the National Film Development Corporation’s annual event in Goa, FYI and a couple of other forums that handhold writers. The Screen Writers Association helps with legal guidance and support. Otherwise for anyone wanting to write — a book, film or show — it is a long, lonely journey.
How many filmmakers or film writers have come out of this process over seven editions, the sceptics ask.
Mr Patell reckons that FYI has to be measured in terms of how many of these writers get a second and third meeting. It has been between 5 and 7 per cent. It is in line with the numbers in producers’ offices too — for every 100 meetings, five are called back. The difference is this happens over six months instead of two days. The efficiencies FYI brings to sieving through stories and talent explains why the number of producers jumped from about 50 pre-Covid to 75 currently.
The long-term effect of FYI, however, is more intangible — it brings muscle to the process of creating content at a stage when there is no investment or scale — while writing. Hang on then for the happy ending to this story
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