New Delhi : Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar says he is happy that the copyright bill, of which he has been a strong advocate, has received the government's nod and hopes it will be passed by Parliament soon.
The 67-year-old Rajya Sabha member has been fighting for the bill's cause and insists it will help scriptwriters, lyricists and singers among others get what they deserve in terms of money.
“I am very happy that the copyright bill has been presented in the Parliament and I just hope that it passes. I have been fighting for it for two years. People in Parliament recognise the bill as Javed Akhtar bill now.
“If the film is used out of the cinema then it is legally the script writers. A lot of dialogues of our films have been used in ads and songs if there was a law then we would have got so much money,” he told reporters here.
Akhtar himself was involved in a copyright issue when Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Zanjeer” was planned to be remade.
He had then said that the film cannot be made without the permission of the script writers. But later, he was ready to solve the issue amicably with producer Amit Mehra. The renowned poet says he is a fan of the present crop of filmmakers.
“The younger generation is doing a lot of good work today... Watching today's films makes me feel whether I can do such good work now... I watch them with envy... And I am not saying this because it's a nice thing to say but today's filmmakers really make me feel small. I really liked ‘Kahaani', ‘Vicky Donor' and ‘Udaan',” he says.
On Indian cinema completing 100 years next year, he contends, “Indian cinema is the only industry that has been able to stand in front of the Hollywood.
Hollywood has ruined film industry of Europe, far East, Japan... But our cinema has not only survived but it is expanding. We should not change our structure of Hindi film, because it is very interesting.
“Telling a story with song and dance is an art and an age old tradition.
What I don't like about films today is that they are taking songs and dances out and following the West style of making. I don't like this we should be proud of culture and structure. We shouldn't change it for anyone.”
