PremiumPramod Shetty: Scriptwriters should remain storytellers and not turn to filmmaking
Kantara actor Pramod Shetty voices his thoughts on what’s best for the Kannada film industry
Last Updated: 04.55 PM, Aug 14, 2023
Every now and then one gets to hear from people in the Kannada film industry about the acute lack of good story writers. The problem is compounded by the fact that the few who are worth their salt are not paid enough to warrant a steady flow of good stories, forcing them to diversify into other fields like direction, which is better paying. This, says Kannada actor Pramod Shetty, is an unfortunate turn of events.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event, Pramod said that the issue that he sees happening is that whenever a great storyteller comes along, within no time, he decides to turn filmmaker. While it’s not wrong to be ambitious and diversify, Pramod reckons that if a good scriptwriter sticks to writing stories, he can churn out at least 20 in a year. However, if this writer decides to write a story and then direct it, one can expect only one film a year. The question then, says Pramod, is whether the industry is ruining the potential of a good writer by turning him into a filmmaker, or by not allowing that and restricting him to script writing only. “Is he a script writer first or a director,” that’s the million-dollar question, according to the actor.
His personal opinion, adds Pramod, is to encourage writing. For films from the Kannada industry to routinely create waves across the nation or globe, for that matter, it is impossible for, say, one man to do it. Taking the example of his close pal Rishab Shetty, the actor says that a film is not one person’s creation or responsibility – it is about team effort and requires the best from every department involved. Pramod also said that no one in the industry is irreplaceable and, hence, should never be under the mistaken assumption that a film comes together because of one person, whether it is the hero, heroine, director, etc. “With new talent coming into the industry every other day, anyone can step in and do the same job,” he said.