After the Tamil Film Producers’ Council refused to budge from its stand that it would not be forced to work exclusively with members of the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) union, an umbrella organisation of 23 film crafts, FEFSI called for an indefinite strike from September 1, after a meeting in Chennai on Thursday.
FEFSI president R.K. Selvamani said that the decision was taken after the Tamil Film Producers’ Council decided to put out an advertisement calling students studying visual communication and film-making in film schools across Tamil Nadu to apply for various positions for the roles of editors, cinematographers, make-up artistes, costumers and other positions.
‘Destroying the union’
“This is an attempt to destroy the union. All film shootings will be cancelled from tomorrow until they agree to our demands,” he said.
In early August, the shooting of big-budget films such as actor Vijay’s Mersal and actor Rajinikanth’s Kaala were temporarily suspended. At that time, Mr. Selvamani said they were giving up the strike after Mr. Rajinikanth urged them to find an amicable solution.
Mr. Selvamani further said that TFPC was trying to completely break the union despite FEFSI agreeing to several of the demands placed by TFPC. “I don’t know what the producers want – we get the feeling that they don’t want us to live. This move of theirs to call for more people will create another union and it will destroy the entire industry. I am angry that our efforts have not been appreciated.”
Producer S.R. Prabhu, treasurer, Tamil Film Producers Council, said that the council was attempting to create a pool of skilled technicians. “We need personnel. We have tied up with a few institutions so that there is a constant supply of skilled technicians in departments such as editing, camera assistants, etc. This is an effort to fill the gap. Several of them lack technical knowledge,” he said.
He further said that there was no question of agreeing to an arrangement where TFPC and FEFSI work exclusively with each other. “We only have one demand. Don’t force us to recruit only from FEFSI. We don’t want to be arm-twisted anymore. We will ensure that the big producers don’t get affected and their work will continue as planned,” he said.
Mr. Selvamani said that FEFSI would organise a protest against the Tamil Film Producers’ Council on September 5 at Valluvar Kottam.
