What’s your take dear? I confidently say an actor is superior to a writer, therefore, I vote for Aamir. Now, don’t sit there frowning at me for being ‘so called’ unjust to my profession and writers at large. Who is a writer? Just a paltry creature begging to be acknowledged even though super-duper-hit films like ‘3 Idiots’ get made on his script.
Uncle Javed, being a veteran should have known that if the choice were between him and ‘the’ Aamir Khan, people (especially girls) would go for the latter, of course. The comparison just doesn’t exist because the difference is too great. Just look at Aamir Khan! He is a star, surrounded by name, fame, beauty, riches and glory. Who is Javed Akhtar?
Mostly, script-writers revel in one second of fame, when their names flash on the silver screen as people settle down in their respective seats in the theatres. My dear friend, have you ever bothered to read the names of the script-writer or the lyricist after reading the names of lead actors? At least, the average movie-goer never does! And the superiority of an actor is established right there.
Although, the actor is the figment of the writer’s imagination, but he remarkably overshadows his creator. He looks, talks and behaves according to the writer and in fact, what people see on the silver screen is
a creation not the creator. Just like man and God. But obviously, who cares for God when the unreal looks so grand!
Now, you tell me honestly, do you remember the face or even the name of the writer of the last film you saw? But what about the lead actors in the film? You know everything about them, right from their birth to their last film to their whereabouts. Evidently, this debate is hugely lop-sided - just like a see-saw which has a handsome, chubby boy on one side and a thin, ugly rag picker on the other.
Actors usually make grand entries and exits in their profession as well as in real life. I know you call them parasites mouthing the words of some insignificant men, dancing on songs written by forgotten poets or living the story weaved by a few irrelevant persons, but shouldn’t they be applauded for growing bigger than everyone around. If the world is bowing at their feet, is it their fault? My friend, so blinding is the aura surrounding the actor that the contribution of the other sorry figures who contribute to the making of the film go unnoticed.
While the writer stands somewhere in the dark background stretching his hand out to catch just a bit of glory, the actor stands supreme under the arc lights, surrounded by admirers and basking in thunderous applause.
Perhaps you are still living in the days of Shakespeare, when a play was known by the writer rather than the actor. But in the new age, the end product sells not the procedure and effort.
If you go to the interiors of India, there is no trace of Javed Akhtar, but Aamir Khan is all over – in chai stalls, saloons and shops. Who can challenge the superiority of Aamir?
Poor Chetan Bhagat had to yell at the top of his voice, but he remained unheard. Every other day, you will see a writer crying foul and accusing filmmakers of plagiarism, does anyone really care. The public, media…everyone is disinterested in the strange looking writers. Lyricists, script-writers, dialogue writers live and die in oblivion. They are used to being kicked around.
These days, it is reported that there is dearth of good script-writers that’s why filmmakers are so much into remakes. But sweetheart, who will take up this doomed profession. It’s better to be an ordinary clerk in a government office rather than be a script-writer in the shadows.
Writers should be content with our sympathies, which we can give them in abundance but when it comes to credit and acclaim, it comes with actors’ stamp. I know you will repeat your favourite filmy line, ‘system hi kharab hai’ (the entire system is flawed). But you will agree that Uncle Javed doesn’t stand a chance! Won’t you, dear?
