In an interview with Jist, Varun shed light on the industry’s exploitative practices, recalling how a writer friend was taken advantage of by a so-called ‘messiah director.’ He chose not to name names but emphasized the widespread nature of this issue in Bollywood.
Varun recounted a situation involving a prominent filmmaker known for his non-commercial, middle-of-the-road cinema and long-standing influence in the industry. Despite being revered as a ‘messiah’ by fans, this filmmaker asked Varun’s friend to handle both the dialogues and screenplay, a significant and unfair demand.
He revealed that his friend, a well-known comedian, was initially paid Rs 50,000, which was later increased to Rs 3 lakh after negotiations. He emphasized that this payment is below the Screenwriters’ Association’s legal minimums, which mandate at least Rs 12 lakh for dialogues alone and approximately Rs 20 lakh for both dialogues and screenplay.
Varun pointed out that this exploitation extends to well-known directors who, despite their occasional releases, overlook the contributions of writers. He criticized the practice of omitting writers’ names from film posters, highlighting that even prominent lyricists like
Irshad Kamil and Gulzar face such neglect. He noted that Irshad Kamil’s name was missing from Rockstar’s CD, and Gulzar’s work is similarly uncredited on popular music channels.
Varun Grover gained prominence for his screenplay work on Masaan (2015), featuring Richa Chadha, Vicky Kaushal, and Shweta Tripathi, and marking Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial debut. He also contributed to the web show Sacred Games and the songs for the two-part Gangs of Wasseypur. Recently, Varun made his directorial debut with All India Rank.
