First of its kind ‘Screenwriting Workshop’ at Indore by Screenwriters Association, Mumbai.

The association of writers and lyricists of Indian films, television and Digital media known as Screenwriters Association (SWA) is completing 60 years of its incorporation in 2020. On this occasion many events and programs for the benefit of writers are being planned. One such initiative is screenwriting workshops in select cities of India.

So far the association has been supporting and partnering with workshops organised by few reputed organisations. Now, for the first time SWA is conducting such workshops on its own and in this series the first workshop will be held at Indore from 7^th to 9^th February 2020 at Kunti Mathur Sabhagrah inside the Anand Mohan Mathur Sabhagrah situated at M.R. 10 near Vijay Nagar.

The three day workshop will be focusing on the art of screenwriting for films and digital content. The participants will be able to understand the elements and structure of screenplay, character building, scene design, dialogue writing, presentation and copyright protection.  

The workshop at Indore will be mentored by renowned writers of the film industry Mr. Robin Bhatt, Mr. Abhijeet Deshpande and Mr. Niren Bhat and will be moderated by Mr. Sunil Salgia and Mr. Rajesh Dubey. Mr. Robin Bhatt is the current president of SWA and is one of the most successful screenwriters today having written blockbusters like Baazigar, Koi Mil Gaya, Aashiqui, Omkara and Krrish among about 80 films to his credit.

Mr. Abhijeet Deshpande, an executive committee member and FTII alumni is an actor, writer and director of Hindi and Marathi films. He is known for writing movies like Shaitan, Shootout at Wadala, Wazir, Table No. 21, Amazon series Breathe (Season 1) and the Marathi hit Natsamrat and Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy among others. His directorial debut film ‘Ani..Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar was a huge success at the box office.

Mr. Niren Bhatt, an Executive Committee member, who is a known for his recent releases Bala and Made in China besides All is well, Loveyatri, Gujarati film Ventilator and the famous TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah among others.

The moderators Mr. Sunil Salgia and Mr. Rajesh Dubey are among the few who have emerged from the theatre movement of the eighties in Indore. They have inspired many others from the city to follow their dreams. Mr. Sunil Salgia, the current General Secretary of the SWA and the former dean of PFTI Kolkata, is known as a director, editor & writer. He has been associated in different capacities with some of the path breaking shows on Indian television like Rajani, Dekh bhai Dekh, Aan, Sabse bada Rupaiya, Udaan and many others.

Mr. Rajesh Dubey, the Vice President of SWA has written successful TV shows like Balika Vadhu, Saat Phere, Sasural Simar Ka, Jyoti, Sarkar and many more.

The screenwriting workshop by SWA is designed with a no profit motive and is offered at a subsidised cost. The SWA members, Students and Journalists can avail a further discount of 15%. Aimed to empower and enrich the new entrants in the field with basic skill and craft of screenwriting, this workshop is a unique opportunity for the knowledge seekers who want to take a shot at writing for the entertainment industry which is growing every day. Since there are only limited seats available, those interested will have to register themselves in advance to avoid disappointment. They can log on to the SWA website www.swaindia.org or write a mail to event@swaindia.org or call Ms. Sonal Panchal 022 26733072/31086692 or the Indore coordinator Mr. Ravi Verma 9826060006

More about SWA

The Screenwriters Association Mumbai (SWA), formerly Film Writers' Association is a registered Trade Union of screenwriters and lyricists who work for Films, TV and Digital Media in India. Authors, novelists, playwrights, journalists who aspire for to diversify or join fulltime the mediums of films, TV or Digital entertainment, are also members of the SWA.

Though, the Association came in existence in 1954 with the efforts of great writers like Mr. Ramanand Sagar, Mr. Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, Mr. Shailendra, Mr. Sahir Ludhianwi, Mr. P.L. Santoshi, Mr. Kamal Amrohi, Mr. Shakeel Badayuni with initial strength of 80 members, it became a registered Trade Union in 1960. With its strong presence of 30000 members now, SWA, the largest association of screenwriters in India is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in 2020.

SWA is a body of the Writers, for the writers and by the Writers. It’s an autonomous organisation having the following aims and objectives:

To regulate the relationship of its members with producer bodies and other assignees through collective bargaining via Minimum Basic Contracts for film and TV and new media (digital).

To secure and safeguard the interests, rights, compensation and privileges of its members in all matters relating to their professional engagement and working conditions. Help the members in their dispute settlement and providing legal assistance and aid.

To work for welfare and support of members in need.

To secure representation of its members on delegations, commissions, committees etc. Set-up by the government or other bodies where issues concerning screenwriters or screenwriting are to be discussed.

To provide appropriate learning opportunities to members to upgrade their scriptwriting and lyric-writing skills by organizing seminars and workshops for writers at subsidized cost.