In a chat with Mid-day's Sit With Hitlist, Javed Akhtar recalls boycott calls from Bollywood producers after passing the Copyright Amendment Act 2012, fighting for lyricist royalties
Javed Akhtar
Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar played a pivotal role in getting the Copyright Amendment Act 2012 passed in the parliament. Before the 2012 amendment, music composers and lyricists often signed away their rights for a one-time payment for their work. As a Rajya Sabha member, Javed Akhtar gave a powerful speech in support of the bill and got the support of the ruling and opposition party to get the bill passed.
Javed Akhtar recalls boycott calls by producers
Akhtar emphasized the exploitation of creators and highlighted how lyricists and composers, despite their central creative contributions, were excluded from revenue sharing. However, this move didn't sit well with many music companies and producers, and took out their anger towards the lyricist by passing a resolution to boycott him.
A resolution was passed to boycott Javed Akhtar. Talking about the same on Mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist, the veteran artist said, “Yes, that's true. But it doesn't matter. It was too late. They should have done it 20 years ago. What's the problem now?”
I lost many productions: Javed
“I had a meeting in Sun and Sand (hotel in Mumbai’s Juhu area) with some of our producers, with whom I have worked before and written super-hit films for. They were there and passed a resolution to boycott me,” he recalled adding, “Because they are not very educated people, within two days, somebody told them, it's illegal to boycott someone. He can go to court against it. So they said no to boycotting. They then decided that until this problem is solved, they won’t work with me. And yes, I lost many productions. Even today, they are not working with me.”
‘I came to Bombay with Rs 27’
Later, Akhtar met one of the people who passed the resolution to boycott him and told him why they can cause him no harm. “So I met one of them, who had participated in this resolution. I told him that on 4th of October, 1964, I had stepped down on the Bombay Central platform with 27 naya paisa in my pocket. Somebody had come to receive me. But I had 27 naya paisa when I entered Bombay. I had food on the way. It was a 2.5-day journey from Bhopal. So I told them that from where I had come, you won't be able to take me there.”
“I had come with 27 naya paisa. It doesn't matter anymore. So what happened? Nothing. You don't want me to give writing work, don't. You should have done this earlier. I was fine by then,” he concluded.
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