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The shoot of several telly shows came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday, following a strike at Filmcity, Mumbai's shooting hub. The Allied Mazdoor Union, comprising lightmen and spotboys, went on strike after the union members were allegedly manhandled by the staff of a leading production house, and it was later in the day that the issue was resolved and shooting resumed. However, by then, the damage had already been done, as many producers had incurred monetary losses.
A producer, on condition of anonymity, told us, "The FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) had banned the Allied Mazdoor Union members for corruption and other irregularities. For the past one month, the union members have been creating a ruckus and demanding money from producers. They would threaten to stall shoots and demand hafta. The producers, who didn't want the show schedules to be affected, have been giving in to their whims and fancies and paying them money. The union, led by Gangeshwarlal Shrivastava, has been making unreasonable demands - like they say that if a worker shoots even for half-an-hour extra, he should be paid for one-and-a-half shifts. This, despite them being paid overtime when the shoot hours go up. A worker easily makes '26,000 per month plus overtime. Now, with stricter rules, nobody shoots for more than 12 hours a day. However, on Monday, they visited the studio where a Balaji show was being shot, accused them of making junior artistes work for more than 12 hours, and fought with them. Angered by Monday's incident, they stalled the shoot of all the shows being shot at Filmcity. They have no authority to do so because they are not even part of the Federation. By the evening, the matter was temporarily resolved and we resumed shooting, but the Indian Film and TV Producers' Council (IFTPC) is looking to find a permanent solution to the problem. The IFTPC has already approached a lawyer, and is planning to send a show-cause notice to the Allied Mazdoor Union. Meanwhile, a meeting between IFTPC and Allied Mazdoor Union has also been scheduled for May 20."
Another producer, requesting anonymity, said, "The members of the Allied Mazdoor Union pelted stones on the sets of Comedy Nights With Kapil, since the crew was shooting at Filmcity on Tuesday morning. The police was called and these people even pelted stones at the police van."
Loss of crores: producersRajan Shahi, whose show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, was to be shot at Filmcity, told us, "Almost all the artistes were on the sets, as we were planning to shoot an elaborate sequence. However, we couldn't shoot because the members of the Allied Mazdoor Union created a ruckus on the sets. I lost close to '8 lakh. This was totally uncalled for. In every field, there are platforms where such issues are addressed. The industry provides for various platforms where things can be resolved in an amicable manner. Holding the fraternity to ransom and causing a breakdown is not the solution to problems." Another producer told us, "With most TV shows, the situation is such that the episode is shot today and telecast tomorrow. In case the telecast of a show is affected, for any reason, it's the producer who has to bear the losses. He ends up losing around '4-5 lakh per day if the shoot doesn't happen, and the channel also imposes penalty on the producer, so she/he stands to lose close to '12-15 lakh if the episode is not submitted to the channel on time. The total loss owing to this strike must be running into crores."
No intimationProducer Sudhir Sharma said, "We didn't receive any intimation from the union that they were planning to go on strike. Even the shoot of a Ramesh Taurani film being shot in Filmcity was affected."
What the actors have to sayNakuul Mehta of Pyaar Ka Dard Hai... said, "I was to go a little late on Tuesday, but my co-actors, who were there for the 9am shift, weren't allowed to enter the sets. The shooting was cancelled for the day. It must have resulted in a huge loss for the producers." Karan Sharma, the male lead of Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, said, "We'd given only a few shots when we were told to stop everything."
Adhvik Mahajan, one of the male leads of Bani - Ishq Da Kalma, said, "We had a night shift, and we finished shooting at 8am on Tuesday. We had to report on the sets at 7pm on Tuesday, hence our schedule wasn't affected. However, there are many shows like Tumhari Paakhi and Uttaran that are shot here, and they must have been affected."
What the union has to sayGangeshwarlal Shrivastava aka Sanju, head of the Allied Mazdoor Union, said, "The workers were being made to work for over 12 hours by Balaji, and we protested against that. The MoU, signed between CINTAA and IFTPC, says that the workers should not be made to work beyond 12 hours, but the TV producers have not been following the MoU. Our workers were hit by the Balaji members and were injured. On Tuesday, we were peacefully protesting and the other members of the union voluntarily came and supported us. We have laid a few demands before the producers, which are in accordance with the MoU. We have made demands like four off days in a month for workers, and no involvement of middlemen while making payments to the workers. There will be a meeting on May 20 to address the issue, and if our demands are not met, we will go on an indefinite strike from June 5."
A producer, on condition of anonymity, told us, "The FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) had banned the Allied Mazdoor Union members for corruption and other irregularities. For the past one month, the union members have been creating a ruckus and demanding money from producers. They would threaten to stall shoots and demand hafta. The producers, who didn't want the show schedules to be affected, have been giving in to their whims and fancies and paying them money. The union, led by Gangeshwarlal Shrivastava, has been making unreasonable demands - like they say that if a worker shoots even for half-an-hour extra, he should be paid for one-and-a-half shifts. This, despite them being paid overtime when the shoot hours go up. A worker easily makes '26,000 per month plus overtime. Now, with stricter rules, nobody shoots for more than 12 hours a day. However, on Monday, they visited the studio where a Balaji show was being shot, accused them of making junior artistes work for more than 12 hours, and fought with them. Angered by Monday's incident, they stalled the shoot of all the shows being shot at Filmcity. They have no authority to do so because they are not even part of the Federation. By the evening, the matter was temporarily resolved and we resumed shooting, but the Indian Film and TV Producers' Council (IFTPC) is looking to find a permanent solution to the problem. The IFTPC has already approached a lawyer, and is planning to send a show-cause notice to the Allied Mazdoor Union. Meanwhile, a meeting between IFTPC and Allied Mazdoor Union has also been scheduled for May 20."
Another producer, requesting anonymity, said, "The members of the Allied Mazdoor Union pelted stones on the sets of Comedy Nights With Kapil, since the crew was shooting at Filmcity on Tuesday morning. The police was called and these people even pelted stones at the police van."
Loss of crores: producersRajan Shahi, whose show Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, was to be shot at Filmcity, told us, "Almost all the artistes were on the sets, as we were planning to shoot an elaborate sequence. However, we couldn't shoot because the members of the Allied Mazdoor Union created a ruckus on the sets. I lost close to '8 lakh. This was totally uncalled for. In every field, there are platforms where such issues are addressed. The industry provides for various platforms where things can be resolved in an amicable manner. Holding the fraternity to ransom and causing a breakdown is not the solution to problems." Another producer told us, "With most TV shows, the situation is such that the episode is shot today and telecast tomorrow. In case the telecast of a show is affected, for any reason, it's the producer who has to bear the losses. He ends up losing around '4-5 lakh per day if the shoot doesn't happen, and the channel also imposes penalty on the producer, so she/he stands to lose close to '12-15 lakh if the episode is not submitted to the channel on time. The total loss owing to this strike must be running into crores."
No intimationProducer Sudhir Sharma said, "We didn't receive any intimation from the union that they were planning to go on strike. Even the shoot of a Ramesh Taurani film being shot in Filmcity was affected."
What the actors have to sayNakuul Mehta of Pyaar Ka Dard Hai... said, "I was to go a little late on Tuesday, but my co-actors, who were there for the 9am shift, weren't allowed to enter the sets. The shooting was cancelled for the day. It must have resulted in a huge loss for the producers." Karan Sharma, the male lead of Ekk Nayi Pehchaan, said, "We'd given only a few shots when we were told to stop everything."
Adhvik Mahajan, one of the male leads of Bani - Ishq Da Kalma, said, "We had a night shift, and we finished shooting at 8am on Tuesday. We had to report on the sets at 7pm on Tuesday, hence our schedule wasn't affected. However, there are many shows like Tumhari Paakhi and Uttaran that are shot here, and they must have been affected."
What the union has to sayGangeshwarlal Shrivastava aka Sanju, head of the Allied Mazdoor Union, said, "The workers were being made to work for over 12 hours by Balaji, and we protested against that. The MoU, signed between CINTAA and IFTPC, says that the workers should not be made to work beyond 12 hours, but the TV producers have not been following the MoU. Our workers were hit by the Balaji members and were injured. On Tuesday, we were peacefully protesting and the other members of the union voluntarily came and supported us. We have laid a few demands before the producers, which are in accordance with the MoU. We have made demands like four off days in a month for workers, and no involvement of middlemen while making payments to the workers. There will be a meeting on May 20 to address the issue, and if our demands are not met, we will go on an indefinite strike from June 5."
