On Monday, the Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union (FSSAMU) publicly accused Excel Entertainment’s Ritesh Sidhwani of non-payment of dues to 300 daily-wage workers who served in the production design team of 'Mirzapur 3'. The FSSAMU claimed that the production house has outstanding dues of Rs 20-25 lakh as it has not paid the daily wagers from May 2022, while continuing to employ their services as the web series was shot across several studios in Mumbai, and Benares.

The letter, which was released to the media, states that the workers are additionally made to work “for extended hours that go beyond the permissible limits as per the provision in the labour law.” It also alleged that they are not provided with quality food or adequate seating provisions on the set. Gangeshwar Srivastav, general secretary, FSSAMU, claims that the association had shot off three letters to Excel Entertainment, the first on May 30, bringing to light their grievances.

Shrivastav adds, “Over 300 daily wagers have been working on the Mirzapur 3 sets since May. It has been over three months since they have been paid. We didn’t get any response [to our letters] from the production house. After we released the letter to the media, Excel contacted us and promised to settle the dues in 48 hours, but we want that in writing.”

Non-payment of dues appears to be a frequent issue in the film industry. Rakesh Maurya, treasurer, FSSAMU, claims that Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment too has outstanding fees, but it recently settled Rs 30 lakh of the dues. “We are in talks with Pooja Entertainment, but Excel didn’t respond to our letters. If the payments are not made soon, we can request the workers to start a non-cooperation movement.”

When mid-day reached out to Excel Entertainment, it issued a statement, which read: “This is the first time we are being made aware about such a complaint raised by the union. We would like to further [state] that the FSSAMU has not reached out to Excel through letters, e-mails or phone calls. Excel currently has seven to eight projects under production, and none of these projects have any non-payment-related issues. For the past 22 years of us being in the business, we have never come across any non-payment complaints. Excel has a strict payment compliance policy whereby we directly make payments to daily-wage workers and not to any union. We will investigate this matter from our end. We would like to mention that Excel enjoys a stellar reputation in the industry for treating all collaborators with equal respect and dignity.”