Javed Akhtar had an interesting conversation with Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day on various aspects of his life and career. One of his biggest contributions was the passing of the Copyright Amendment Bill; it proved to be a boon for music composers and lyricists. Javed Akhtar explained in detail how the bill was passed.
Javed Akhtar takes a dig at ‘Messiah of the poor’ Mahesh Bhatt; reveals INSIDE story on how the Copyright Amendment Bill was passed: “It was passed because of three ladies – Sonia Gandhi, Sushma Swaraj, Meira Kumar. Arun Jaitley also helped us a lot”
He began by saying, “Every year, I used to get an invitation to an event of IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society). Some people would talk about copyright and they would hand me an envelope which consisted of a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh or Rs. 2 lakhs. Mujhe accha lagta tha ki humne koi gaana likha tha aur uske liye ghar baithe lakh-do lakh de dete hai. This is all I knew about it. Some of the contracts I signed used to mention ‘publishing rights’. I once asked the producers what it meant. I also asked, ‘Tomorrow, if I want to publish the songs in a book, will you not allow me?’. They assured me that it won’t be the case. I used to sign, not knowing what ‘publishing’ exactly meant there.”
He then said, “One day, some music directors came to my house and they informed me that they were badly exploited and that the makers made unfair contracts. They proposed that I should be the chairman of IPRS. Maine zindagi mein ek bhi election nahin lada tha. But they insisted and hence, I agreed. I won the election.”
Soon, Javed Akhtar realized the seriousness of the matter, “During my first meeting with IPRS, representatives of music companies had come to meet me. A legal notice was sent from Kolkata, alleging that the election was rigged. They got the court order, prohibiting my meeting with IPRS members. I wondered, ‘What is their problem? What are they trying to hide? And why don’t they want me on the board?’. Gradually, I understood that no music director alone can stand up against the music companies and producers as they would boycott him. The only situation would be to change the law of the country. With this idea, I went to Delhi. And look at my good luck. That was the time when I got nominated to the Rajya Sabha. This was a co-incidence. I now had unbelievable access.”
He added, “Amit Datta, an expert copyright lawyer, decided to help me. He fought my case pro bono for 4-5 years, though he’s a big lawyer. I met Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Arun Jaitley. Arun Jaitley was the leader of the opposition. He told me, ‘This is a gentleman’s promise that we would help you’. I showed Mrs Sonia Gandhi my contract to explain to her the situation. I saw her face turn red (when she read the unfair contract)! She assured me that she would talk to the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh). Ultimately, members of SP, BSP, CPI (M), etc, also agreed that our contracts were blatantly exploitative. They (the music companies and filmmakers) never imagined in their wildest dreams that these leaders would read our contracts. Fortunately, Mr Amit Khare was the joint secretary in the ministry who was drafting the bill. He is the same person who had exposed the Fodder Scam. He realized that ‘Yeh contracts toh gadbad hai. Ise toh theek karna hoga’. He made a very good bill.”
Javed Akhtar revealed, “There was also sabotage. Some very big stars and producers were also meeting people like Yash Chopra and Mahesh Bhatt. Mahesh Bhatt, who is the messiah of the poor, was on the other side because, I guess poor producers needed his help! I met him once at the airport lounge. Slightly embarrassed, he told me, ‘Hum aapke bill ke khilaaf aaye hai’. I told him, ‘You have all the right. It’s a democratic society’. I even told him, ‘If you find difficulty in getting an appointment, you can tell me. I’ll help you’!”
Javed Akhtar faced challenges but managed to get it passed in the Rajya Sabha and the next step was to pass it in the Lok Sabha. He continued, “I had become friends with the secretary of the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. He put our bill on number 1 and sent it to the secretariat. Sometimes, if your bill is on the bottom, then it might not be heard if the arguments of the other bills take a lot of time. I was relaxed as I knew that once it got passed in Rajya Sabha, passing in Lok Sabha wouldn’t be a problem. At 8:30 pm, Sushma Swaraj ji called and told me, ‘Aapka bill toh list mein nahin hai’. I was shocked. I called Sonia ji’s PA. He suggested that I draft a letter on this issue. He said that he’ll hand over my letter to her before she goes to the Parliament.”
The matter was concerning as Lok Sabha’s final session was to be held the next day. Javed exulted, “Meanwhile, parliamentary secretary Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, who was a very good man, assured me that he would accompany me to meet Meira Kumar ji, the then Lok Sabha speaker. She promised she would look into it. Girija Vyas, who used to work under Sonia ji, asked me who would speak about the bill from Congress’s side, as no one knew about its nitty-gritties. I suggested Shashi Tharoor’s name. Shashi Tharoor was leaving and I ran to apprise him of the situation. I also said that I had the whole gist of the bill published in bullet points for him to read. He asked me, ‘Who’s speaking from the opposition side’. I said, ‘Sushma ji’. He replied, ‘Ok. So, she would talk for 1 ½ or 2 hours. Let me go home and have lunch by then’!”
Javed Akhtar then stated, “Sushma ji gave a speech as if it was her bill. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha because of three ladies – Mrs Gandhi, Sushma ji and Meira Kumar. I am eternally thankful to them.”
He also added, “Arun Jaitley saab has a big contribution to this bill. He helped us a lot. Sadly, both he and Sushma Swaraj ji are no more today. And from Congress, Sonia Gandhi ji, Manmohan Singh ji and Kapil Sibal saab also helped. In fact, a big star asked to meet Mr Arun Jaitley (to oppose the bill). Mr Jaitley said, ‘He’s most welcome but if he wants to meet over the bill, then I want to make it clear that we have taken a final decision and I don’t want to embarrass him’. Hence, that star didn’t meet him!”
The host asked whether filmmakers came together to decide not to work with Javed Akhtar for passing the bill. The legendary writer replied, “Even today, that is happening. It doesn’t matter. It was too late. They should have banned me 20 years back! A meeting happened in the Sun N Sand Hotel. It comprised filmmakers for whom I have written super-hit films. They passed a resolution to boycott me. Within 2 days, somebody informed them that the resolution was illegal and that I could go to the court! This is when they stated that it was not a boycott and that it is suggested that filmmakers should not work with him unless the problem is solved.”
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