During the 2020 lockdown, actor and director Boman Irani began Spiral Bound, an initiative that trained aspiring screenwriters. Six years on, it has grown into a nurturing hub for writers. The actor, who had announced a writing competition after conducting 870 sessions, is set to felicitate the winners at a special gala in Bandra on April 30.

Irani told mid-day that the idea of the competition was to instill confidence in the writers. He explained, “Many of them are afraid to share their work. They are unsure whether the writing is good or bad. So, I told them to just write, send it ahead, and come for the gala.”

Noted writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar will felicitate the winners. Other attendees include Aamir Khan, Anil Kapoor, Karan Johar, Sooraj Barjatya, and Anupam Kher.

Irani added, “I told the students that so many people are turning up to support writers. If we don’t support writers, we can’t complain that we are not getting [good] stories.” We got to support the writers, pay them well and give them a place on that stage. They set the ball rolling, and if you don't respect and encourage that, we have no right to complain,” he said

Top 10 among the applicants will be announced at the event, while the best three will be rewarded with a trip to Moscow.

Irani shared. “The Russian Film Confederation is sponsoring them a trip to Moscow. The trip will take place in June. And it’s not just about the trip, what matters is that they can turn around and say that their writing got them there, something that everyone say has no money and gratification. But there is a prize, a victory and gratification. And that’s what I'm proud of, because what it's doing is waking up people. Finally you get messages from people, saying, ‘I'm so glad you did this. Finally I'm not afraid to put pen on paper’,” he said, adding that Spiral Bound precisely aims to make writers more confident about their skills. 

“No one is ever scolded or reprimanded in the class, even if they ask stupid questions. Ask the questions. Clarify your doubts. There's so much of learning. It's not just a community. It's not a support group. It's where serious, hardcore, high-level learning happens. I've been trained by Oscar-winning writer Alexander Dinelaris Jr, whose next is with Tom Cruise. He teaches me, I share. It’s as simple as that,” Irani said.

Apart from teaching, Irani also makes sure he helps students earn opportunities by recommending them to the right people in the industry.

“It has to be done, right? Otherwise what’s the point of all of this? We had a girl in our class in 2020. I have her a prompt to write a scene. She wrote the scene and it had four-five lines in it. But I told her to apply what we teach. Today, she is writing multiple web series. I'm not trying to be ‘Mr Nice Guy’. I have a great love for cinema and I'm looking forward to good movies. So, this is out of a very selfish reason.”