Blackout in Bollywood as workers go on strike

Stir by 1.5 lakh technicians, artistes to demand timely payment of wages; 40 film shoots hit

MUMBAI: The wheels of Mumbai’s film and television industry came to a grinding halt on Wednesday as nearly 1.5 lakh cine workers supported by leading stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan went on an indefinite strike from Wednesday. 

The agitation is in response to the call given by Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), which controls 22 unions covering various crafts associated with the film industry.

Filmcity, Mehboob, Filmistan and other studios in the city wore a deserted look as lightmen, spotboys, junior artistes, other technicians as well as many lead actors stayed away from the sets. About 40 film shoots were hit, besides a host of soaps.

Shooting at Balaji Telefilms, the largest content provider for television, did not take place. Spokespersons of entertainment channels Star Plus, Colours and Zee said shooting for their daily soaps today was cancelled .

Ironically, the strike is not to demand a hike in wages (cine workers get Rs600 a day and TV workers get Rs540 a day) but to ensure they get it on time.

“The workers get a minimal amount and if even that is not given on time, how do you expect them to survive in these times of inflation?  Only about 5% of producers pay workers on time. Others delay payments by three to four months. This is not a strike, it is a non cooperation movement,” said Dinesh Chaturvedi, head of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE).

This is the first time in the history of Indian cinema that cine workers have gone on a strike. In 1984, producers had stopped work for 21 days to protest taxes. The government had finally given in.

Veteran film-maker Subhash Ghai says it is high time workers demand their rights. “There is so much cash inflow with corporates getting into the industry, then why shouldn’t these workers be paid on time? I also think they should be paid more, because everyone else is getting phenomenal amounts,” he added.

Ghai doesn’t think the strike will affect the tempo of the industry, “We can manage without shooting for a while. But small budget films might suffer because of these demands,” he says.

TV producer Dheeraj Kumar says it’s a blow to producers. Kumar, who is currently producing five soaps, says there should be dialogue between producers, workers and broadcasters, because they too share the expenses. 

“In this era of daily soaps, no producer can afford a strike which goes on for an indefinite period.  A decision that serves everyone’s interests should be taken,” he added.

Meanwhile, the producers association is not taking kindly to the strike and has decided to allow producers to hire workers from outside.

Sangram Shirke, president of Western India Film Producers’ Association, says the strike is illegal as they were not served a strike notice as per the Trade Union Act. “The FWICE has repeatedly violated the MoU signed between them and us (cine workers and producers) and, hence, the executive committee has decided to allow its members to adopt the policy of free trade and employ cine workers from any trade organisation,” he said.

This might make things tough for the striking workers as it could lead to them being replaced by untrained workers.