I have story for Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s next directorial venture : Abhijat Joshi

Writer Abhijat Joshi says there is “something” in the pipeline for Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s next directorial project but he needs to convince the filmmaker to start working on it.

Chopra’s last Hindi film as a director was 2007 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Eklavya: The Royal Guard”, which was written by Joshi.

When asked about plans of directing a film, Chopra quipped, “I will direct whenever he (Joshi) writes something,” to which the screenwriter added, “There is something… I just have to convince him for that.”

Having collaborated on eight films including blockbusters like “PK”, “3 Idiots” and “Munna Bhai MBBS”, the pair has formed a special bond.

To a question that will the filmmaker only work with Joshi, while the writer had a quick “No” to answer, Chopra said, “I hope that’s how it is going to be but it does not mean it restricts him or me or Raju (Rajkumar Hirani). We can work with anybody. We have no agreements. It is an emotional bond and that’s why we are together.”

Talking about their latest project “Wazir”, Joshi said the uniqueness of the film is on a par with that of “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”.

“Of all the films that I have written, I find ‘Wazir’ and “Lage Raho Munna Bhai’ the most unique. In terms of how novel the idea is, how original the story is… I feel ‘Wazir’ is on par with ‘Lagey Raho Munna Bhai’.”

Seldom do writers get prominence in movies’ promotions except in a few cases like Vidhu Vinod Chopra films.

Joshi said the production house respects writers and give credit them.

“They have always valued writers. Otherwise, how would it have been an association of 21 years? I have always received affection and respect from them.”

He might not relate to the general feeling of movie scribes that they are not credited enough but Joshi said he has heard “stories”.

The writer, however, feels that the film industry is finally realising the importance of scripts and he sees better times ahead for scriptwriters in Bollywood.

“I have always felt rewarded… But I also feel the..

industry is clearly understanding this now that scripts are the most imp thing.

“The time for formula films is changing. The writer is already getting more importance. I think if they show a little more patience and keep delivering good stuff, things will happen.”

Inputs by PTI