The Screen Writers Association has laid down minimum rates for script writers in the film industry. It has recommended that if the production budget of a film is less than Rs. 5 crore, the story writer should be paid at least Rs. 3 lakh, screenplay writer at least Rs. 5 lakh, and dialogue writer at least Rs. 4 lakh. In other words, the remuneration for the script (story, screenplay and dialogues) would be a minimum of Rs. 12 lakh for a film with a production budget of less than Rs. 5 crore.
For a film with a production budget of Rs. 5-15 crore, the story writer should be paid a minimum of Rs. 6 lakh, screenplay writer Rs. 10 lakh, and dialogue writer Rs. 8 lakh. That is to say, the payment for the entire script would be Rs. 24 lakh.
The third category is of films with proÂduction budgets of more than Rs. 15 crore. In such cases, the recommended minimum fees are Rs. 9 lakh for story, Rs 15 lakh for screenplay, and Rs. 12 lakh for dialogues. In other words, the total fee for the whole script would have to be at least Rs. 36 lakh.
The SWA has also laid down guidelines for the contract between producers and writers so that the fees and credit for work done are secured.