Film industry unions in a tug of war over Copyright issue

Film industry unions in a tug of war over Copyright issue

MUMBAI: The Copyright Act issue has brought two of the film industry‘s big unions - the Film Federation of India (FFI) and the Film and TV Producers Guild - at loggerheads on who should officially speak for the industry.

In a letter to the Guild, FFI president TP Aggrawal has asked it to desist from speaking or making any commitment on behalf of the film industry. His contention: since the Guild is not a member of the FFI, it would not abide by their decisions.

"We don‘t agree on the Guild‘s contention that there should be an increase in royalty to lyricists and music directors. After them, there would be many others who would follow like the directors and so on. Since the FFI is an apex body, the Guild would have to follow our rules," asserts Aggrawal.

Mukesh Bhatt, vice-president of the Guild, however, disagrees. "Since we are not members of the FFI, there was no need to reply to the letter," he says.

Both Aggrawal and Bhatt, however, rule out a split in the production segment.