Ten feature films made the cut from 167 entries accessed by SWA Awards Committee

Screenwriters Association (SWA), the Indian guild of screenwriters and lyricists, announced today the nominees for the Feature Films category of SWA Awards 2020. A jury comprising of eminent screenwriters selected five feature films under each of the sub-categories: Best Story, Best Screenplay, Best Dialogue and Best Debut Writer. Together, the nominations are divided among 10 Hindi language feature films released in 2019.

Nominees for Best Story are ​Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki for Article 15, Devanshu Singh and Satyanshu Singh for Chintu Ka Birthday, ​Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar for Gully Boy, Abhishek Chaubey and Sudip Sharma for Sonchiriya, Ivan Ayr for Soni

Nominees for Best Screenplay are Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki for Article 15, Niren Bhatt for Bal, ​Devanshu Singh and Satyanshu Singh for Chintu Ka Birthday , Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar for Gully Boy , ​Vasan Bala for Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota

Nominees for Best Dialogue are Anubhav Sinha and Gaurav Solanki for Article 15, Niren Bhatt for Bala, Vijay Maurya for Gully Boy, Ravinder Randhawa and Sumit Saxena for Hamid, Sudip Sharma for Sonchiriya

Nominees for Best Debut Writer are Devanshu Singh and Satyanshu Singh for Chintu Ka Birthday, Sandeep Pandey for Chousar Firangi, Ravinder Randhawa for Hamid, Aadish Keluskar for Jaoon Kahan Bata Ae Dil, Ivan Ayr and Kislay for Soni

Congratulating the nominees, Sunil Salgia, General Secretary, SWA,said, “Filmmakers always say, ‘Without script there is no film’ or ‘the Script is King’. They are right. It is time to recognise the persons who lay the foundations of these kingdoms. Let them be centre-stage. They will cherish this award more than anything as it comes from their colleagues, their competitors, their critics and those who envy them yet love them. Writing a movie’s script is the most challenging craft, and the best deserves honours, irrespective of its commercial outcome.”

For the purpose of selection of nominees, the SWA Awards Committee accessed 167 of 223 Hindi language feature films released in theatres and on OTT platforms in 2019. A jury comprising of screenwriters such as Ashok Mishra, Atul Tiwari, Juhi Chaturvedi, Saket  Chaudhary, UrmiJuvekar, Vijay Krishna Acharya and Vinay Shukla watched films shortlisted by SWA’s Film Selection Committee and selected the nominees under each sub-category. The final winners will be announced in an online awards ceremony on September 27, 2020.

Anjum Rajabali, senior screenwriter, teacher and Spokesperson, SWA Film Awards, said, “Victor Hugo’s oft-quoted line says it perfectly: ‘There’s nothing as powerful as an idea whose time has come.’ The time to celebrate the primacy of the script has arrived. The time to honour the writer is here. And what better way than for a writers’ association to do it.There’s no greater pride for a writer than to have her work endorsed by peers who understand writing. SWA is fulfilling its aim to bring the writer centre-stage. Kudos to the SWA Awards Committee led by Sridhar Rangayan, Richa Singh Gautam, Jagriti Thakur and their team for the impeccable transparency of the judging process. Way to go, SWA!”

SWA is holding the first ever SWA Awards on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee year in 2020. Since they are judged by knowledgeable screenwriters and lyricists, these awards promise to become the most coveted validation for writers in India, much like the awards of other prestigious international writers’ guilds and literary organisations.