Cast & crew of Hamari Bahu Silk stage protest outside producer’s home for dues
Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 8, 2020)

It’s been over nine months since Hamari Bahu Silk (HBS) went off air. On Saturday, some of its actors and technicians, who’re yet to be paid their dues, held a dharna outside the residence of Jyoti Gupta, who produced the Zee TV show along with Devyani Rele and Sudhanshu Tripathi.

Lead actor, Zaan Khan, who led the protest, which included director Ashish Khurana and DoP Indranil Singha among others, says that Jyoti was not home, but his wife and son came out to meet them. “We had to call the cops only after which we got Jyoti on the phone. He told the cops that he will return on September 16 and meet us after that,” he informs.

The actor, who is staying in a rented apartment in Andheri, shares that he had to sell his car to pay the rent. “It’s not as if the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown brought the show to a halt. It ended in November 2019, so I don’t understand why they have yet to settle our dues,” he says, unable to understand why he has to run pillar to post for his remuneration after working 18 hours a day for seven-eight months for the show.

Zaan rues that the authorities haven’t been of much help apart from one warning letter from Union I&B Minister, Prakash Javadekar. “There’s no resolution in sight even though CINTAA (Cine & Television Artistes Association) and IFTPC (Indian Film & Television Producers Council) have been following up on this for months now. J D Majethia, chairman of the TV division of IFTPC, told us that they’re on it, but we’re yet to get a definite response. The police refused to register an FIR saying it’s a civil matter. We maintain it’s a criminal offence since the cheques issued to us have bounced,” says an aggrieved Zaan.

Jyoti responded by arguing why the team didn’t protest outside the Zee office because the channel hasn’t cleared payment since November, last year. “They know that the matter is now being handled by the producers’ association, IFTPC, in consultation with channel authorities. The Federation (FWICE—Federation of Western India Cine Employees) is also aware and J D Majethia is personally looking into it. A dharna is unethical given that these bodies are looking to resolve the issue,” he averred.

Aparna Bhosle, Business Head, Zee TV, said, “It is deeply unfortunate that the cast and crew have’t received their due remuneration. Zee TV is more than willing to release the payment. The crux of the matter lies in an ongoing dispute amongst the co-producers of the show and their financers, which has not been amicably resolved, nor have they come back to us with a proposal for us to be able to release the payments. We’re evaluating all options including engaging with trade associations to come to a resolution of the matter expeditiously.” 

Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 23, 2020)

Six months after it went off air, the cast and crew of TV show Hamari Bahu Silk are yet to be paid their dues, with the producers saying that they have not received money from the channel. The team complained to their respective associations, CINTAA (Cine and Television Artistes Association) and FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees), who were assured by broadcaster Zee TV that all dues will be cleared.

Reeva Chaudhary, who played the parallel lead in the show, informs that before the shoot started last April, they had a month of workshops, prep and look-tests, for which she paid from her own pocket. “After four months, we got one installment. When the show went off air, we were told to settle for 30-40 per cent of our dues. This was my first show. Now, I’m wary of doing another one,” she admits.

Her co-star, Zaan Khan, adds that even the junior artistes were not paid and when they made calls to the producers, their numbers were blocked. “We have been shuttling between the three producers—Jyoti Gupta, Devyani Rale and Sudhanshu Tripathi. First, Devyani told us to take 40 per cent of our dues. Then, Jyoti said we should be happy if we get even 10 per cent after making us work 18 hours a day,” he points out.

Jyoti says he entered the show only a few days before the launch at Devyani’s behest. Before him, Sohaib Hassan was the line producer.

“Devyani told me that Zee would either terminate the show or give it to someone else otherwise. She asked me to arrange finance and run the show with the promise that they will be there to help me recover losses and that the show will run for a long time as they had worked with the channel earlier,” he shares, saying that he had agreed to do it for emotional reasons. “Today, people are blaming me, mocking me for non-payment despite me giving them all I could in the position I am. I’m also a victim here and I pray that Zee will release payment at the earliest.”

Amit Behl, senior joint secretary and chairperson of CINTAA, informed that the channel has said that they will clear the dues of the complainants first, before dealing with the producers. “The money will be transferred to the account of either the Federation or CINTAA to be dispersed among members. I hope the issue is resolved soon,” he stated, saying that the core committee of the producers council will share a list of perennial defaulters with the broadcasters to avoid a repeat.

Mirror reached out to Zee but they didn’t respond till the time this paper went to press.