पटकथा

पटकथा किसी फ़िल्म या दूरदर्शन कार्यक्रम के लिए पटकथा लेखक द्वारा लिखा गया कच्चा चिट्ठा होता है। यह मूल रूप से भी लिखा जा सकता है और किसी उपन्यास या कहानी के लिए भी तैयार किया जा सकता है। इसमें संवाद और संवादों के बीच होने वाली घटनाओं व दृश्यों का विस्तृत ब्योरा होता है। इसे अंग्रेजी में स्र्कीनप्ले कहा जाता है। जबतक साहित्य कहानी के विधा में होती है तब तक पटकथा की जरूरत नहीं होती क्योंकि तब वह केवल पठनीय मात्र होती है । किंतु उसे जैसे ही पर्दे पर लाने की कोशिश की जाती है तब इस कहानी में दर्र्श्यात्मक तथ्यों को वास्तविक रूप में दिखाने के लिए पटकथा की जरूरत पडती है। < A screenplay or script is a blueprint, written by a screenwriter, for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works such as novels. A screenplay differs from a script in that it is more specifically targeted at the visual, narrative arts, such as film and television, whereas a script can involve a blueprint of "what happens" in a comic, an advertisement, a theatrical play and other "blueprinted" creations.

The major components of a screenplay are action and dialogue, with the "action" being "what we see happening" and "dialogue" being "what the characters say". The characters, when first introduced in the screenplay, may also be described visually. Screenplays differ from traditional literature conventions in ways described below; however, screenplays may not involve emotion-related descriptions and other aspects of the story that are, in fact, visual within the end-product.

For more details on the contents of screenplays, see Screenwriting.

In the United States, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has final control on who may be awarded screenwriting credit for a screenplay in a union production. The WGA is one of several organizations in the U.S. and worldwide which recognize screenplays with awards.

A script for television is sometimes called a teleplay.-->