Apurva Asrani BLAMES Hansal Mehta For Shahid’s Writing Credits Controversy

Apurva Asrani’s feud with his long-time collaborator Hansal Mehta has taken another ugly turn.

On Thursday, Jalpari writer Sameer Gautam labelled Apurva Asrani a hypocrite and claimed that he stole the writing credit of National Award winning film Shahid from him.

Gautam in a fiery Facebook post, attacked Apurva Asrani but sided with Hansal Mehta.

Now Apurva has responded to Gautam’s allegations in a Facebook post.  Apurva blamed Hansal for lending him the credits for Shahid without him making any demands and added that blaming him would be like “blaming the other woman in a marriage soured.”

As evidence he even shared four pictures where the credits for the story and screenplay were given to Sameer Gautam.


rajkummar rao in a still from shahid

Here is the full post of Apurva Asrani:

“I don't think there is anything wrong with a director awarding additional credits to his collaborators. Many a time, on the request of the director, a crew member goes beyond his/her call of duty and adds value to the film.

In the case of 'Shahid', where the film was shot in breaks, all I had in my hands were good scenes, but no semblance of a screenplay. The director has admitted to believing he had a confused script in several interviews like this one in India Today (2013):

‘We first wrote a complete linear draft of the script. I showed it to actors and stars and they found it too long, boring and simple. Another writer asked me to make it more convoluted so we then wrote a non-linear draft. We shot that draft but in sequence. Then I took it for edit to Apurva Asrani. He is an old collaborator. I got him back from a self-imposed exile in Bangalore. He took my material and said, 'Give me some time with it.' We initially tried to make a non-linear cut. Apurva was like, 'This is not working. Let me cut the film and line-up the story. Let's communicate it as simply as possible.' He shaped the narrative and that's why I have given him a screenplay credit too.'

The director insisted on me getting an 'additional screenplay' credit. I did not demand it, nor was the credit placed higher than Sameer's, the writer of the film. The credit slate was never shared, and please have a check, only his name appears as the films writer on the poster, the film, on DVD’s & on IMDb. Hansal chose to give himself an 'additional screenplay' credit too, because he believed that the screenplay didn’t exist till we jammed on the editing table. Nowhere have I belittled the contribution of the writer of 'Shahid'. Nowhere have I claimed to be its writer.

Similarly, I have no problem with Kangana Ranaut taking an 'additional writing' credit on 'Simran'. She has contributed to the film and I would be ashamed to take solo credit for someone else’s dialogues. Her getting an additional writing credit has never been the issue here.

The issue arises when in the credits, the ‘additional writer’ is given precedence over the writer, who actually put finger to keyboard and broke the stare of a blank page. It is also disconcerting when the additional writer, Ms Ranaut in this case, goes to town discrediting the original writer, and claims that she has actually written the film. That has always been my fight. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I would be naive to believe that additional writing credits can and should be totally done away with. There are several instances when the written word gets embellished by an objective intervention. If the director chooses to credit that intervention, he must first get his writers consent and then go ahead.

If five years later, the writer gets up and cries foul, then it means just one thing: that the director didn't really have his consent. Blaming the ‘additional writer’ now is like blaming the ‘other woman’ in a marriage soured.

The problem is with the husband, no?”

It all started with the launch of the poster of Simran where the actress was given a writing credit. That ticked off the film’s writer Apurva Asrani, who took to Facebook to lambast Kangana and Hansal.

Asrani had ended his Facebook rant  with the line: “I also wish that my dear friend Hansal shows some spine and either refutes or endorses my story.”

Image Source:  twitter/UTV , youtube/UTVMotionPictures & dallasvoice