Once again, Tollywood is in turmoil as Bidula Bhattacharjee, a young independent filmmaker, has moved Calcutta High Court against the industry’s federation of film technicians to “put a check” on the alleged interference of the federation in the work of directors.
In the case, on April 3, Justice Amrita Sinha ordered the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India, headed by Swarup Biswas, against “interfering with the independent functioning of the petitioner in performing work… the fundamental right to life and livelihood, and the right to carry on business.” The matter will next be heard on April 19.
Bhattacharjee — the maker of Prem Amar 2 and Golper Mayajal — had initially filed the petition on her own, but it was later supported by filmmakers Sudeshna Roy and Subrata Sen (also the lead functionaries of the Directors’ Association of Eastern India), actor-directors Parambrata Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya, and ten others against the federation.
Swaroop Biswas told The Indian Express, “We are here to protect the rights and livelihoods of technicians and nothing else. The petitioners are saying we are hampering their rights. We have never done this. All the allegations which are being made are baseless.”
According to the petition, members of the Directors Association of Eastern India (DAEI) had allegedly been denied access to health insurance and “blacklisted” by other trade guilds under “pressure” from the federation.
During the hearing, the counsel for the federation had admitted before the single bench that the Code of Conduct that the federation had insisted on going by, which was adopted at a joint meeting of the Eastern India Motion Picture Association and the federation, was for a “particular period of time” and is not “effective” at present. The Code of Conduct warranted technicians/workers to carry a membership card issued by the several bodies affiliated to the federation, which was effective from May 1, 2012 to April 30 2015.
For years, the Directors Association of Eastern India has been criticising the functioning of the Federation which has been headed by Swarup Biswas since the Trinamool Congress came to power in the state in 2011. Biswas is the brother of Arup Biswas, who is the state’s Power Minister.
According to industry sources, the technicians’ federation had been successful in “bringing back” a section of the filmmakers from the Directors Association of Eastern India who had raised their voices against the federation. However, sources claimed that those directors had “certain projects” in the pipeline.
In July last year, director Rahool Mukherjee had been “blacklisted” by the federation. They issued a notice to Rahool, imposing a three-month ban on him for alleged “unlawful shooting”. Consequently, he had to step down as director from his Pujo project.
That same month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with actor Prasenjit Chatterjee, veteran director Goutam Ghose, TMC MP and actor Dev, and TMC MLA Aroop Biswas to put an end to the resulting stand-off. The senior industry members held a 35-minute meeting with the CM and decided to restart all shoots.
Petitioner Bidula Bhattacharjee told The Indian Express, “We were fighting against the rules which were imposed upon us and the matter was going nowhere. When Rahool Mukherjee was banned, we went on a strike but then the Chief Minister intervened. We gave time for a committee to be formed but nothing happened — it was just an eyewash. In January, some filmmakers were stopped, so we stood by them again. There were promises made but nothing kept. Thousands of technicians sit at home. We waited for a long time but nothing was being done so finally I moved the court . We face a lot of problems as we are independent directors. Producers sometimes do not want to invest as we might get banned. There was no freedom, and there are new rules everyday. Thankfully, the court heard us and supported us.”
Sudeshna Roy, filmmaker and secretary of the Directors Association of Eastern India, told The Indian Express, “Whatever the court has instructed, we will comply with it… We want a favourable atmosphere where we can work together as we used to earlier as friends and colleagues.”
Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee told The Indian Express, “The general technicians are people whom some of us have been working for more than the last two decades and we even know about problems with their families or when their children graduate. Our entire issue has been with the way the leadership of the federation has been working and the way they are trying to assume the role of the sole governing and law-making body of the industry which is clearly beyond their jurisdiction. It has taken a toll on the overall health and progressive work culture of the industry.”