With the on-ground event of screenwriters' contest cancelled, Aamir Khan to announce the winners of Rs 50 lakh cash prize on social media, advises young guns to remain inspired during the lockdown
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 9, 2020)

What started as a passion project for Aamir Khan in 2017, has grown into an initiative that is changing the landscape for budding writers in the Indian film industry. The second edition of Cinestaan India's Storytellers Script Contest, a nationwide hunt for scripts where the five winners take home a total cash prize of Rs 50 lakh, was launched this February. Over the past three months, the four-member jury — consisting of Khan, Anjum Rajabali, Juhi Chaturvedi and Rajkumar Hirani — sifted through numerous entries to choose five compelling stories that can be taken to the screen. While the on-ground event to announce the winners has been cancelled due to the current Coronavirus scenario, the superstar will unveil the new talent on social media today.

Excited to be part of an endeavour that celebrates screenwriting — an aspect he considers the backbone of every successful film — Khan urges budding writers to not let the prevailing situation dampen their creativity. "Budding scriptwriters should continue writing with more enthusiasm, especially during these times. Every filmmaker needs a good script," says the actor.

California-based NRI Sejal Pachisia has bagged the top prize of a whopping Rs 25 lakh for her story, On The Boundary. The second and third prizes have been won by Digant Patil and Soumil Shukla for Guilt and Laakh Maavla respectively. The prize is financed by Cinestaan Digital, an internet media firm focussed on building cinema-related products for Indian audiences. The chosen scripts will become part of its story incubator programme.

Rajabali, jury chairperson, says the contest was designed to provide a platform to new talent, thus helping deserving outsiders to gain a toehold in the industry.

"It's important that we raise the standard of our scriptwriting so that the quality of our cinema improves," he states.


Screenwriters Anjum Rajabali and Juhi Chaturvedi