This is a blind item about something that happened a while ago, about 3 years ago. It’s probably now the filmmaker resolved the matter hence the blind item.

But isn’t this strange how these people were paid and everything but they didn’t have a contract that stated they are supposed to work on this project? Usually when you are paid to do something, you should have already allocate time to do the project but it seems in this director’s case, his writer didn’t really allocate time.

It is kind of strange considering how they got paid for it but then didn’t find the time to do it. Why take it on in the first place? Or is it the writer lost interest in this project but couldn’t tell the director? Seems to be the latter!

Check out the blind item from Rajeev Masand below.

Bollywood Blind Item

Writer Tantrums

This respected advertising and feature filmmaker who was among the first Indians to be signed up by a leading international streaming platform to create an original series may have parted ways with them after he pulled the plug on his ambitious (and expensive) show he’d been developing for some years. The filmmaker had landed what some described as a “very sweet deal” to create a mythological action series, for which he partnered with one of Bollywood’s most well-known writer-lyricists.

The show kept getting postponed because the writer was busy with other commitments: primarily a prestigious position he landed on account of his closeness to the current Government. The filmmaker waited nearly three years for the writer to deliver the script—the clock after all was ticking since he’d already collected the cheque from the platform—but it never arrived because of the writer’s chock-a-block schedule.

According to sources, it led to a huge falling-out between the filmmaker and the writer since considerable money had been spent on international reccees and casting. The filmmaker had to ultimately bear the costs incurred even as he had to return the sizeable advance he’d received. The filmmaker and the writer don’t speak anymore; there were no repercussions for the writer’s unprofessionalism. The filmmaker just wanted to move on; the platform did not want to take on the writer who has become extremely powerful and popular with the establishment.

OSOP Guesses

Filmmaker: Ram Madhvani

Writer: Prasoon Joshi

OTT: Amazon

After Kabir Khan, now Neerja director Ram Madhvani is to direct a web series instead of a movie. Buzz is, the director is directing a web series titled Bodhi Dharma with adman-lyricist Prasoon Joshi writing the screenplay. The web series is said to very expensive. It is expected to be India’s version of the Hollywood television series Game of Thrones. Madhvani’s project is being produced by Amazon.