Vivek Agnihotri supports writers’ strike in Hollywood, Gulshan Devaiah asks him about his ‘excellent research team’

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has extended his support to the writers’ strike in Hollywood, over a week after the protests began in the US. Taking to Twitter on Saturday, Vivek posted a bunch of pictures of several people protesting with banners. Vivek also penned a note comparing writers in Bollywood and Hollywood. (Also Read | Vivek Agnihotri asks Mamata Banerjee for withdrawal of her comments on The Kashmir Files, sends legal notice)

Vivek wrote, “In Hollywood writers are on a strike. Have you ever seen any filmmaker or a Star of Bollywood ever even mention their writer’s name? Do you even know who are the writers of biggest hits like Pathan or Bhool Bhulaiya or any other hit for that matter? That’s the sad story of Bollywood. But real.”

Reacting to the post, actor Gulshan Devaiah wrote, “Dear good sir, don’t remember see you touring with your writers or your excellent research team, while campaigning for your releases. Start the change at home and then society shall follow.” He also added, “I certainly don’t hate him, but I’m an idiot .. always been one.”

A person on Twitter wrote, “Who are the writers of your movies?” Another Twitter user asked, “Does anyone know Saurabh Pandey? Does the poster of Kashmir Files have his name?” A tweet read, “Writers are the most underpaid talent in the industry! And taken for granted the most.” “I agree with you. Writers are the backbone of any film industry and they deserve more recognition and respect. Bollywood should learn from Hollywood and value their writers more,” said a fan.

More than 11,000 members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began the strike last week, claiming they aren’t paid fairly in the streaming era.”Though we negotiated intent on making a fair deal … the studios’ responses to our proposals have been wholly insufficient, given the existential crisis writers are facing. They have closed the door on their labour force and opened the door to writing as an entirely freelance profession. No such deal could ever be contemplated by this membership,” a part of the statement read as cited by news agency ANI.

The Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP), which is negotiating on behalf of studio management, responded by saying it was willing to improve on its offer but was not willing to meet some of the union’s demands.

Fans will see Vivek’s next directorial The Vaccine War later this year. It revolves around India’s contributions to the race to produce a Covid-19 vaccine during the pandemic. Helmed by Vivek, The Vaccine War is all set to hit the theatres on Independence Day 2023 in 11 languages. The film stars Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar, Sapthami Gowda and Pallavi Joshi among others.