Mumbai:
All is indeed Well. Aamir Khan has withdrawn his resignation from the committee that is looking into a new version of the Copyright Act. (
Read: Miffed Aamir quits copyright panel)
The actor told Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday that he was taking back the resignation as an "amendment to Copyright Act is an extremely important process."
A miffed Aamir had quit membership of the committee after reportedly getting into an argument with lyricist Javed Akhtar at a meeting called by Sibal on Monday. He wrote a passionate resignation letter explaining why he was taking such a step. (
Read: Aamirs' resignation letter)
On Thursday, Javed Akhtar met the minister and said he would be happy if Aamir came back to the committee. He, along with filmmaker and music director Vishal Bhardwaj, gave a letter to Sibal. Akhtar said, "I never doubted Aamir Khan's intentions, his objective is the same as us."
The "us" here are songwriters and other such artists who contribute to a film and the debate is on whether they should get a cut of the profits of a Bollywood film.
The committee is looking at the government's amendments to the Copyright Act - which provides, for the first time, for royalties to artists like music directors and composers. The Union Cabinet has approved the changes, and the new Act will be introduced in the next session of Parliament.
Producers say that's unfair. When a film doesn't work at the box office, they point out, nobody shares their losses, and therefore, profits too should be restricted to producers.
After his quarrel with Akhtar, Aamir Khan, who has produced some of India's most successful films, said in his resignation letter, "I feel I have a lot to contribute to the ongoing debate but I cannot make any meaningful contribution in this atmosphere. Aggression of this type leaves me feeling very disillusioned and sad and I am unable to function. Therefore I request you to accept my resignation from this committee and please appoint another person in my place. I believe that amendments to the Copyright Act are long overdue."
Khan pointed out that he is not opposed to giving writers more money. Sources say he reportedly agrees that scriptwriters, for example, should be paid more. However, when it comes to songwriters, he feels their contribution is not as strong in movies, because their lyrics are developed around situations created by the script.