Kolkata: The unprecedented three-month prohibition on a film-maker from shooting by the Federation of Cine Technicians’ Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) has polarised Tollywood. While many, like Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Indraadip Dasgupta and Aritra Dutta Banik, are vocal against the cancel culture, another section claimed the federation was being made a scapegoat for following norms.There is yet another section that believes this is a battle of power between heavyweights with followers of stakeholders expressing their solidarity on social media to ensure they are on the “correct side”.
FCTWEI president Swarup Biswas said, “A person is suspended when the guild member doesn’t follow norms. This is the first time a director has been banned.”
The issue started in Nov 2023 over remuneration when director Rahool Mukherjee, on whom the prohibition order has been slapped, started shooting a series, ‘Lohu’, for Bangladesh’s OTT platform, Chorki, in Kolkata. Since Chorki is a Bangladesh company, FCTWEI had demanded that technicians be compensated double their rates as is the convention with foreign units. The shooting of the film could not be completed in Kolkata and some pending portions were executed in Dhaka in April and May. The recent trouble started when Rahool received the offer to direct SVF’s production, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya and Priyanka Sarkar and Aparajita Adhya, set for a puja release.
President of Directors’ Association of Eastern India (DAEI) Sudeshna Roy and secretary Subrata Sen had mailed Rahool, asking him about his Dhaka trip. The director said, “When I first received the mail, I had mentioned I was on a recce, meeting people, and trying to restart the series. I’m not sure why my private space is being questioned. As a director, I have the flexibility to work globally. I’m puzzled why I’m being asked about the number of technicians involved in a project abroad. I then received a suspension letter.” He pointed out he received the letter from Roy and Sen right after the muhurat of his film, indicating a three-month ban starting from July 20. “To avoid complications, I sent an apology letter to DAEI, though I still don’t understand where I went wrong. To help smooth things, I was made the creative producer of this film and Soumik Halder the director. Now, DAEI is not allowing me to work even as a creative producer. If FCTWEI is concerned about a technician’s livelihood, I am confused why I’m being treated this way,” Rahool added.
Biswas said, “I wonder if the fiasco is because of personal vendetta or colour. Director Rahool Mukherjee, along with cinematographer Modhura Palit, both guild members, went to Dhaka and shot a series without taking our technicians. It was decided at our last annual general meeting we wouldn’t allow unauthorised shooting. As Rahool didn’t follow norms, Roy and Sen sent him the ban letter. Why am I being made a villain now?”
Sen told TOI: “I wish Rahool had come clean right in the beginning, Then, we wouldn’t have escalated the matter to this proportion. After all, we do not want the shooting of a puja release to get stalled.”