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MUMBAI:
Television and film production schedules have been hit with
around 200,000 workers affiliated with the Federation of Western
India Cine Employees (FWICE) going on an indefinite strike
from 1 October.
Speaking
to Indiantelevision.com FWICE president Dharmesh Tiwari says that this
is a non-co-operation move. The strike affects all 22 crafts including actors,
technicians, and musicians.
"Last
year we had signed an MoU with the four film producer associations.
Despite that there are difficulties," he pointed out.
He
notes that television producers shoot for as much as 30 hours at a stretch. This
is despite the fact the fact that the limit is eight to 10 hours. Then there is
the fact that payments come in after 120 days. "In the interim we pay money
for conveyance from our own pocket. There are also agents involved when we have
told producers that workers should be paid directly."
Another
grouse is that often workers not affiliated with the FWICE are employed by producers.
These workers are paid less than what is stipulated in the MoU. The
key question is how have television producers been affected? Producer Rajan Shahi
who has the number one show Bidaai on Star Plus admits that he is badly
affected by the strike. "I had to shoot this very important scene and had
erected a very costly set. Now with the cine employees going for a strike I will
have to bear a major financial loss." He
adds that some of his actors are going out of Mumbai for a week tomorrow evening
about which they had informed him beforehand. "Now with the shooting coming
to an idefinite halt I don’t know how I will shoot the sequence. Had I been
in the loop I could have extended the shooting. I have not been informed officially
about it. "What
does a producer like me do who abides by all the laid down rules? I have strictly
asked my people to hire only those who are the members of the association be it
art director, associate director or anyone for that matter. Also I have no outstanding
payments and I have often been commended for this. To top it all I have not got
the correct picture of the whole thing." He
says that the stakeholders need to work in an organised way. One must look at
every aspect other than the payment and hours of working. The association and
the federation need to sit across and solve the issues amicably. "But
one has to understand that the solutions and rules have to be practical and not
hypothetical. Something that looks good on paper might not be practical and logical.
One has to consider and take into the account the current view of the market and
how it functions. What would happen to those who run their houses on daily wages
or need money for an emergency?
"Had
they told me about such an outcome I would have worked pro-actively
and made a proper account. Generally, I have four episodes
in the bank but with the shooting coming to a halt for two
days it would definitely affect the telecast. In case of Bidaai,
either my script will be altered or the episodes will have
to be changed."
Associate
producer of BR Films Surinder Malhotra who has a daily show Sujata currently
on air says, “We have only tomorrow’s episode and no further bank. I
feel that this strike is a fight against the channel.”
Creative Eye Producer Dheeraj Kumar who has five shows on air (Betiyaan, Veeranwali,
Maayka, Jai Maa Vaishnodevi, Waqt) says, “We have a bank of 3-4 episodes
for all our shows but it is not a relief. With the help of the television federation,
we should ensure that the matter gets resolved. It is a loss to the production
house as well as to the workers.”
Shakuntalam
Telefilms' Shyam Bhattacharya says that the production house has a bank of two
days for its shows such as Dulhann (Zee), Bandhan (Colors) and Santan
(Star Plus). "However, thereafter it will be trouble for us. No channel is
keen to show a repeat telecast. We spent Rs 5 lakh to create a set in Kamalistan
studio for Dulhann. The shoot was to commence today but there is nothing
we can do now." He
adds that a meeting between the channels, production houses and FWICE is likely
to take place on 4 October 2008. On his part Tiwari says that if a meeting is
called between the different parties then the FWICE would be willing to come to
the table.
(With inputs from Mayur Lookhar, Anjum Farookhi, Neha Maheshwri) | 
