“They made me an offer I couldn’t resist (quoting The Godfather),” quips acclaimed creative writing instructor Robert Mckee, on why he chose Hyderabad for his first-ever visit to the country. McKee is the creator of Story Seminar, a four-day, 32-hour intensive class to sold-out audiences around the world. He is here to conduct the India Story Seminar at Ramoji Academy of Film and Television.

His former students include 36 Academy Award winners, 164 Emmy Award winners among others. His award-winning book Story, translated into over 20 languages, has been called the “Bible for Screenwriting”.

When asked about the Indian film Industry known as Bollywood, the screenwriter cuts short. “I hate the term Bollywood. It’s just demeaning. The very name represents that it’s an imitation and imitation is what I disapprove of. If people wanted to name it the Mumbai Film Industry, they should have done that instead,” he says. He does, however, have a list of his favourite Indian films which includes Lagaan, Magadheera, Munnabhai, Mother India, Master, Wife and Servant (Saheb Biwi aur Ghulam).

Mckee believes the greatest myth is that writing is innate and needn’t be learnt. “Satyajit Ray used to study movies. He taught himself how to be a screenwriter. Learning how to write a script is an art, just like music it has to be taught,” he points out. So, will the four-day workshop be enough? “Not at all. But it’s a starting point.”

So, what according to him, is the perfect screenplay? “Why would you want to know the perfect screenplay? So that you could copy it? I may have mentioned in my earlier interviews that Casablanca has the perfect script. But in reality, it’s a perfect example. There are six different stories in it, and you can’t imitate something like that,” he signs off.