THE other day well-known Bollywood writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar lamented that although the Indian film industry had developed in several respects, it was still to develop in terms of screenplay.

Akhtar’s observation only reminds us of the frequent lamentation of actors that they were asked to work on films which had no script. Things have improved a little bit in the recent years: producers appreciate "bound scripts" from writers for consideration. Yet binding is not the only problem. The quality is also a major concern. Original screenplays will take time to come in Bollywood. For the time being, bound copies of adapted stolen scripts would do.