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I was comparing between the formats of scripts from both Hollywood and Bollywood. Following is the first page of the script of Pulp Fiction.

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And following is the first page of a Bollywood film, Jab We Met.

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Recently, I have read chapter 13, Screenplay Form, from Screenplay by Syd Field. Apparently, the script of Pulp Fiction is more aligned with Syd Field's format.

Can anyone help me to figure out why the format of a Bollywood film is so different?

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  • Looks like Bollywood follows the format of classic theatre scripts closer. Compare both to, say, Shakespeare.
    – SF.
    May 5, 2021 at 10:37

2 Answers 2

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It's not always so different. There are just a set of rules in hollywood, there isn't really in bollywood. So in bollywood you write as you please and so sometimes it looks more like the hollywood-style, one minute per page format, and other times like a stage-play-script. Sometimes in bollywood there is no dialogue but just a treatment and then someone else is brought in to write the dialogue, sometimes on the spot. But if you for example read the script of "ek main aur ekk tu" you'll see it's quite alike. In bollywood there is also a tradition of narrating the script to producers and actors so as long as the writer/director understands it it's often enough. While in hollywood sometimes a lot of writers work on the same script, due to the studio-system, so there is a greater need for every script to be formated the same. In hollywood it is also more common to have a writer and a separate director, who don't work together at all. Hope it answered your question :)

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Why should the format of movie scripts from different movie making traditions be the same?!?

Here is a typical Italian two column movie script: http://www.cinetecadibologna.it/imageserver/lightboxenlarge/files/biblioteca/sceneggiature/donati/photogallery/la%20grande%20caccia.jpg

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