There is a terrorist in each one of us!!!

This is the thought that has inspired my next film. Racism against Muslims is not a secret anymore. There have been many films, social gatherings, events, protests, etc in support of Muslims around the globe but still the time that immigration officials take to check them is more. May be in a dinner party, to sound good, you will say that this is not good and every life must be treated with love and respect but will you ever stop in middle of no where to help a wounded Muslim man?

I am reading this award-winning book for screenwriting named 'STORY'. I have now realized that writing for the screen is one of the toughest tasks in the world!! Till now I was casually believing that I have watched so many films so I have some knowledge on writing a good screenplay! I was so horribly wrong!!!

There are so many levels that a good writer thinks before he finalizes a scene. There is a huge difference between seeing a character as you want to see it and making the audience to believe in the character you have written! The latter one is the correct way to do it. If a writer does not become the character he is writing, there is no way he can bring honesty to it and if there is no honesty in his actions then there is absolutely no way an audience will relate or empathize!

A good script writer must first write the inner thoughts of the character and only then he should write the actual dialog! This can take 500 pages of writing and then remove the inner thoughts and extra dialog to compress the script to 100 odd pages (this is for a 2 hour screen time). If there are no re-writings involved then almost 99% - it is a waste screenplay!!

A simple example would be -- Let's say a kid is asking for chocolate to his mother and she refuses him! On a movie screen may be this can be expressed in 2 simple dialogs. But while writing the scene, the writer must know the exact reasons of the kid asking and mom refusing. There has to be a sense of realism and honesty for both son and mom to make it look real on the screen. Their inner thoughts must be known to the writer in complete detail!

This has certainly scared me in writing my next movie. Honestly, now, when I look back at the 10 pages of completed script, I can clearly see, what changes I should make to write it in a more interesting manner!

Anyways few days back, while doing some research on state of Muslims in USA, I came across a website www.cair.com and this certainly changed my perception and made me more inclined to make this road-movie. I just hope that even if a couple of people after reading this feel to do something about any cause, it will be awesome!

Just by saying we cannot make any difference!!!!

www.cair.com

Thank you for reading,
Akshay