In what is likely to be a game-changer for scriptwriting in India, actor Aamir Khan, director Raju Hirani and screen writers Juhi Chaturvedi and Anjum  Rajabali are on the jury for Cinestaan India’s Storytellers Script Contest.

Launched by Cinestaan Digital Pvt Ltd, Cinestaan India’s Storytellers will be India’s biggest Script Contest to date. The best script shall be awarded a prize of Rs 25 lakh. The total cash prizes for this contest will be Rs 50 lakh. Some of the best scripts shall be curated to be part of the Cinestaan Script Bank which studios and production houses can delve into and then directly liaise with the writers.

Says Rohit Khattar, chairman of Cinestaan Digital, “We started this initiative years ago with the Mumbai Mantra Sundance as well as the Mumbai Mantra CineRise Screenwriting initiatives. We are doing our utmost to bring Indian storytelling talent to the forefront and I am immensely grateful to our esteemed jury in helping us achieve this aim as well as to our two main sponsors Mumbai Mantra CineRise and the TI Group.”

To this Aamir Khan added, “I believe we have incredible talent in this country. However, that talent has been facing immense difficulty in reaching the industry. I feel that good writers don’t have enough opportunities and this is where Cinestaan India’s Storytellers’ Script contest will help tremendously.”

Sharing similar thoughts, Anjum Rajabali, chairperson of the jury, said, “This is precisely the kind of strong stimulus that we were looking for. It is now imperative that Indian screenwriting leaps to the next level, and blooms. Indian cinema desperately needs great scripts, and this wonderful contest should take us one step closer to that goal.”

The contest, which was launched on October 15, will remain open and accept entries till January 15, 2018. The scripts will be evaluated by the jury and the results will be announced next year.