SRAI gets approval to operate as copyright society, writers to get royalties for their work

Image used for representational purposes only. pic/istock

In a move that may be seen as among the most defining ones for film writers in India, the Screenwriters Rights Association of India (SRAI) has received the approval to operate as a copyright society under the 1957 Copyright Act. The move that has come in favour of the SRAI follows a 15-year effort by the association to procure the required permissions that will now enable it to collect royalties for dramatic and literary works associated with film productions.

Hitesh Kewalya and Zaman Habib

The development improves the opportunities offered to storywriters, scriptwriters, and dialogue writers in television, OTT, and film. Writers can now anticipate fair compensation for their creative contributions through royalties, says Hitesh Kewalya, member of the Screenwriters Association (SWA). "This is a gift that has not come easy," Kewalya says, adding, "I have been associated with the SWA for the past five years and have seen their fight up close and personal. The senior screenwriters of India have just given the younger generation the most precious gift. I am glad this has happened in our lifetime, because, in Hollywood, the fight for a similar right went on for more than 50 years."

With an authorised body in place to track the commercial use of a writer's work, and ensure that they are rightly paid, Kewalya says the development has provided a structure to a set of rules that were, until now, loosely implemented. "Much of my work since 2005-06 has been on TV, and has been dubbed in other languages. But I did not benefit from it. With this move, writers will be the direct beneficiaries of the commercialisation of their work."

Having commenced work in 2010, the SRAI had initially submitted its registration request to the Registrar of Copyrights on November 4, 2020. The organisation, led by Chairman Anjum Rajabali and CEO Vinod Ranganathan, has prominent names like Saket Chaudhary, Kamlesh Pandey, Rajesh Dubey, Vipul Shah, Mohammed Badiuzzaman (Zaman Habib), Javed Akhtar, and Juhi Asheesh Malhotra forming its governing body.

Discussing the next course of action, Habib says, "The SRAI will negotiate royalty rates with OTT platforms, broadcasters, and producers. So far, the broadcasters would say reaching out to individual writers and asking them to take their dues was not possible. But now, there is a solution to that. We will collect the royalties and disperse them to those they belong to. We still have to figure out our arrears. This is a much-needed, long-awaited correction."