From correspondents in Delhi, India, 09:01 AM IST

Would you like to script a film? Do you have engaging stories to tell? If yes, then the Mirchi Movies story hunt could help you make it big in Bollywood.

A nationwide hunt for writers kicks off April 1 and entries - in English or Hindi - will be accepted until April 30. The top three stories will be converted into screenplays.

While the country has a lot of original writing talent, filmdom certainly doesn't get to see much of it. And that's where Mirchi Movies, a production company which is a subsidiary of Times Infotainment Media, is stepping in.

Kamlesh Pandey, who scripted the Aamir Khan starrer 'Rang De Basanti' and will be on the judges panel, says: 'We can't go on waiting for a good writer to land up, and the industry will benefit from this talent hunt initiative.

'We need a lot of writers. We are making more than 1,000 movies every year. Writers are the first need to make a movie. Everything begins with them,' Pandey told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

Ask him the important elements he would look for in a story and he says: 'The story should be good. By good I mean that it should have a beginning and an end. It should have well defined characters. There should be a conflict between the main characters because without conflict there is no good story. These are the basic minimum requirements.

'Also, it has to be refreshing. For instance, an old story can be presented with a new touch. A good writer can hail from the remotest part of the country. A small town writer can provide interesting stories as they are living in an environment where stories are emerging every day.'

Well-known filmmaker Aziz Mirza too will be on the judges panel along with eminent actors and directors.

The pan-India story hunt will cover 20 cities and towns - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Pune, Jaipur, Surat, Baroda, Kanpur, Indore, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Visakhapatnam, Raipur and Thiruvananthapuram. Each story has to be between 1,000 and 3,000 words.

Munish Purii, chief operating officer, Mirchi Movies, said: 'We are excited on the Mirchi Movies Story Hunt initiative. Three top story ideas will be converted into screenplays and might be made into feature films.'

Apart from being converted into films, the three winners will get a cash reward respectively of Rs.1 million, Rs.500,000 and Rs.300,000.

To participate, one simply has to log on to mirchimovies.com, print the form and post the story to any of the 20 Mirchi offices across the country. Forms will be available from March 15.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)