When the first promotional card for Anubhav Sinha’s new film Assi appeared, it raised more questions than excitement. No cast names, no director credit, just a title and a release date.

Another teaser followed with a stranger claim: the writer was the highest-paid person on the film. In Bollywood, that alone was enough to start chatter.

Only last week did the trailer reveal that Taapsee Pannu leads the courtroom drama, with Sinha directing. But by then, the spotlight had already shifted, not to stars, but to the script.

The claim struck a nerve in an industry where writers have long complained about being underpaid and overlooked. Yet the man at the centre of the conversation, writer Gaurav Solanki, didn’t even know about it.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, he said, “I only found out about this a few days ago.”

Solanki is careful not to frame it as a money story. “I was very happy not for the money but that a writer is getting their due,” he says. “A writer begins a film in a dark room, all by himself, when there is nobody else. The script is the most important thing in the film.”

He hopes the buzz around Assi can do more than sell tickets. “I am proud that this happened to me, and I hope it happens to more writers and more films,” he adds.

The film also stars Kani Kusruti, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Revathy, Naseeruddin Shah and others, and releases on 20 February.