Heeramandi songwriter accuses actors of ‘hogging the limelight’, not crediting technicians: ‘Who’s stopping you from writing yourself?’

Turaz demanded that the writers should be given respect and also insisted that the actors should not steal the limelight. “Until the actors stop hogging all the limelight, you can’t create good things,” he said. He also encouraged actors to highlight the contributions of the crew in their interviews. Using a casteist remark, he said, “Why did you work with them (directors, writers)? You write it yourself, who is telling you not to? You should credit them because not naming them is like snatching their credit away. And it is unfair.”

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In an earlier conversation with Galatta Plus, Bhansali also said that actors tend to “hijack” a project, and added that this was one of the biggest problems with Indian cinema. “A performance does not belong to an actor. A good performance belongs to a director, dialogue writer, cinematographer, art director, costume designer, choreographer, editor, the guy who has painted the wall behind you. You are saying ‘my performance’, but you are never saying that these people are responsible for my performance. Everything is suddenly hijacked by the actor, which is where the problem in Indian cinema is,” he said.