India’s budding film script writers now have a great platform not only to showcase their talent, but also to see their stories get converted into full length feature films if they prove their mettle.

Indian film industry has for decades been accused of plagiarism as filmmakers and script writers rip off stories from previously made films or simply remake a Hollywood film. Unlike Hollywood, which has script laboratories like in the Cannes Film Festival or the Sundance festival, India has not had any until now.

India’s first ever ‘Ideas to Screen’ workshop titled ‘Sankalan’ is inviting contestants to send in their concepts for feature films (live action or animation) from which 24 best entries will be selected for one to one pitching sessions with our panel comprising Mahindra, Baiscope Entertainment – a NGO conceived two years ago with a vision of creating a platform whereby knowledge can be shared on all aspects of cinema, writers and directors.

‘Sankalan’ has brought three of the veteran script writers of the industry – Anurag Kashyap,  Anjum Rajaballi and Sriram Raghavan – to select and mentor these fresh ideas into film scripts over a period of nine months.

“We keep saying that there is a tremendous lack of good scripts in our industry. Hopefully, this initiative will help attract new ideas and writers. There must be so many people all over the country who have stories to tell but perhaps don’t know how exactly to go about it. Thelma and Louise, Rocky, Blood Simple, Salaam
Bombay and Juno were scripts written by first time writers. So I’m very optimistic,” says Sriram Raghavan, writer and filmmaker. 

Anurag adds: “This is the first time that a script lab structure is being set up in India. Baiscope Entertainment has also factored in stipends for the finalists so that they can concentrate only on developing their scripts and their expenses are taken care of.”

Scripting a success story
Sankalan, the initiative, has brought three of the veteran script writers of the industry – Anurag Kashyap, Anjum Rajaballi and Sriram Raghavan – to select and mentor these fresh ideas into feature film scripts over a period of nine months.

Some of the renowned script writing labs that work in tandem with filmmakers:

Sundance film festival holds script labs for budding writers.
Cannes film festival.
Rhode Island Film Festival.
PAC Script Lab in Australia.
Stuttgart Film Festival.