First we read that there are four writers who have been credited for Kaminey. Vishal Bhardwaj, Supratik Sen, Sabrina Dhawan and Abhishek Chaubey. And now there is one more addition.
In an interview to Mumbai Miror, Vishal has clarified that the story started with a fifth person. To quote Vishal
Four years ago, Mira Nair assembled writers from America, India and Canada to mentor ten students from Asia and Africa. This scriptwriting workshop was held in Kampala, Yuganda.
A young writer from Nairobi showed me a script which was a story about twin brothers and what happens in their life in a span of 24 hours. It was like parallel cutting and I really liked that approach. Mira and I spoke about it at length and both of us felt that it was a typical Bollywood masala movie.
I was in touch with that writer for the next six months. He also sent me another draft. Then two-three years later I asked him to sell me the idea. He was in need of money so I sent him some 4000 dollars and bought the script to make any time.
I picked up that idea and added Bollywood masala and my dark and serious side to it. So now, one brother stammers and the other has a lisp. I thought that it would be exciting to make. But it wasn’t that easy. It was very tough and I had to work really hard. I would never like to make such a film again.
We wonder if the person is credited in the film. Because in publicity material there is no mention of any fifth person. But then, do you credit someone for story idea ? May be, or is it more than an idea. Unlike others, who makes sure to hide every source of inspiration, even if its remake, it feels good to read that Vishal is giving credit to the person who deserves it. Wish he had given out the writer’s name too.
You can read the full interview here.