MUMBAI MIRROR (March 24, 2020)

Thousands of casual workers who build sets for Bollywood films, or fight and dance behind established stars, have been left jobless after all shoots were suspended in a bid to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Following the shutdown, that started on March 19 and is on till March 31, the Film & TV Producers Guild of India announced a relief fund for those on daily wages.

Pointing out that ‘this is the first time producers have shown interest’, Ashok Dubey, general secretary of FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) said, “A production house gave us 4,000 packets of food provisions to distribute among workers.” The Federation, whose members include 30 film trade unions, has long demanded timely payment of wages and better working conditions for those hired on a day-to-day basis, he added.

Sadly, long-term solutions for the timely payment of wages or for providing benefits such as medical insurance, are not on the agenda for now, film industry chiefs said.

“We’re looking at addressing the problem on hand and that is a big problem,” Kulmeet Makkar, head of the Producers Guild of India, said about the pause in production and its impact on casual workers.