100 CRORE LOSS FOR K-TOWN!

100 CRORE LOSS FOR K-TOWN!

The standoff between producers and workers has taken a toll on the Tamil film industry

M Suganth

It was on January 23 that Kollywoo d came to a standstill due to the wage issue between the Tamil Film Producers' Council and the Federation of Film Employees' Federation of South India (FEFSI). Exactly a month later, talks are still going on between producers and FEFSI with both sides claiming that resolution is in sight. TFPC president S A Chandrasekhar informs that discussions between the two sides are going on smoothly in the presence of the representatives of the state labour commission. "They are dealing with things neutrally and are ensuring that the opinions of both sides are given equal consideration. I'm confident that everything will be sorted out in the next two days," he says, adding that it wouldn't be fair to reveal the terms of the discussion at this point.
He also clarifies that that the industry has not totally come to a standstill. "Shooting has been going on in the case of some films in which the workers have accepted to go by the producer's terms and conditions," he says. Some filmmakers, who had planned their films as bilinguals
or trilinguals, like Kamal Haasan and his Viswaroopam, are shooting the other versions of their films in the meantime.
Meanwhile, this 'month of no shoots' also means losses, monetary and manpower-wise, for the industry. Shoot or no shoot, the producers will have to pay interests for the money borrowed for their films. So, big film producers will face considerable losses. Moreover, thanks to this 'unofficial strike', call sheets of artists and technicians will have to be reworked and this rescheduling is bound to be a nightmare for production units. And, finally, release plans of most films that are under production will go for a toss and the delayed release might only mean additional losses for the producers.
SAC admits that the issue has resulted in losses for the industry but adds, "We have to lose something to gain something. This issue is going to regulate the industry and that is a positive in the long run."
NO SHOWS TODAY!
The Tamil film industry, responding to the call for a one-day strike by the Film Federation of India (FFI), will be shutting down today protesting the Central Government's proposal to levy service tax. "For the first time, the entire Indian film industry will be on strike. No film production will take place and there will be no shows in theatres across the state on Thursday," representative of various film bodies announced at a joint press meet.

A still from Saguni