Actor-writer Hussain Dalal believes that while the conversation around writers’ importance in the entertainment industry continues to evolve, Bollywood has always valued its writers – unlike the OTT space, which he feels has become overly corporatised. In an exclusive interaction with The Free Press Journal, Dalal was asked whether writers today enjoy greater creative authority in Bollywood compared to a decade ago. He responded by drawing a clear distinction between films and streaming platforms.
“In Bollywood, writer’s value is very high. The problem is that the value of the writer has gone down in OTT. Films have always respected the writer. My first film came out 15 years ago and I got a name on the poster, got full credit, got money and respect. In OTT, because of corporatisation, any senior writer can get any kind of feedback. And there are no creative people who give feedback. So the respect is the same in cinema. In fact, it’s always been there,” he said.
Dalal stated that, in his experience, cinema has consistently acknowledged writers by giving them due credit and recognition.
The conversation also turned to artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing role in creative industries. Addressing concerns about AI posing a threat to writers, Dalal dismissed the fear, calling it more of a practical tool than a creative replacement. According to him, storytelling ultimately depends on human imagination and talent.
Her said, “It’s a very big advantage if you want to do clerical work, like cleaning up the grammar of a document or doing some research. But for creative work, if you’re a duffer yourself, then what will AI make? You need to have the intelligence to think up a story. If AI can help you type a story, that is brilliant, all the best to you, man. I don’t think that’s a threat. It’s your talent. But AI cannot think up a story. I can’t tell AI to write me a blockbuster film and that film becomes a blockbuster. That’s stupid.”
Dalal was recently seen in Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri’s O’Romeo. In the film, he played the role of Shahid’s character Hussain Ustara’s friend. The film, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, released in theatres on February 13.
