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New Indian Express

This is time to work together, says screenwriter Deedi Damodaran

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: How effective do you think the film policy conclave has turned out to be? It was most awaited. From what I saw, I understood that most of the organisations did their homework to participate in this programme. I am curious to know how much of these suggestions put forward by the stakeholders will be in the policy. Apart from the organisation I am representing (WCC), I am keen to know if the High Court's mention of the policy having a feministic approach will make it to the document, though no remarks about it were heard in the conclave. On a personal note, I felt some people were offended when they heard WCC has also played a crucial role in the conclave becoming a reality, which I don't understand. WCC doesn't want to monopolise anything. This is the time to work together, and not to team up against each other. What are the key concerns you feel should be addressed in the policy? People may publicly say we have equal pay for jobs in Kerala. This could be true, but not in the case of cinema. People have said they cannot force political correctness in creative spaces, which is undemocratic. But structures have started shaking, and it is a good sign that changes are happening at the very place where it should start from. Many pointed out that writers are underpaid in the industry... The condition of writers has been like that for a long time. Writers in Malayalam cinema are paid much less than subtitlers in other industries. Some are of the opinion that screenplays are merely blueprints. However, there are places that work based on these blueprints, and hence, they need to be paid accordingly.