Beginning of a battle for Javed Akhtar?

What first started off on the negotiation table is now threatening to turn into a full-fledged fight. Post the decision by Film Federation of India (FFI) to ban lyricist-writerJaved Akhtar from Bollywood, sources say that a few members from the rival organisations are apparently opposing the decision.

Five apex and powerful bodies in Bollywood — the singers, the writers, the technicians, the music composers — have all teamed up against the producers’ body and fired a salvo at the producers.

“It was shocking to learn that FFI had decided to ban Javed Akhtar for crusading for the cause of copyrights of creators and artists. Initially, we (the five associations) didn’t consider it worth responding to. Now, at the persuasion of the press & media, we attach herewith, the scanned copy of the press note duly signed by all of us. We hope this will help clarify our stance on the matter,” said a joint statement from the five organizations.

According to sources, the organisations have had a series of meetings over the last week and are prepared to take a more aggressive stance against the filmmakers.

“It’s totally irresponsible of the producers’ body to do such a thing. It would mean that if one wants to fight for his rights, he will be boycotted and left with no work!” says Alka Yagnik, the president of Singers’ Association of India. The biggest support for the organisation comes from Dharmesh Tiwari, the president of the Western India Cine Employees Association which has considerable clout over the technicians.

The Bollywood and television industry had come to a standstill when the technician associations went off work  early this  year.