The ongoing strike by the Film Employees Federation of South India has affected the shooting of around 30 films, reported The Times of India.
The Film Employees Federation of South India, which has about 25,000 members, is an organisation of film technicians. It called a strike on August 31 after the Tamil Film Producers Council issued an advertisement seeking to hire film school graduates from across Tamil Nadu. But the federation of South India wants the producers council to work exclusively with technicians from the federation.
The federation has organised a protest in Chennai on September 5 to press for its demands.
“I don’t know what the producers want – we get the feeling that they don’t want us to live,” RK Selvamani, the federation’s president had told The Hindu on the first day of the strike. “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.”
However, representatives from Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council said that there was no question of them working exclusively with the Film Employees Federation of South India. The Hindu quoted SR Prabhu, the treasurer of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers Council in its report. “We need personnel,” he said. “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.”
In early August, the Film Employees Federation of South India had gone on a similar strike against the producers council but it was called off after actor Rajinikanth urged the two bodies to find an amicable solution. Among the films that have been affected by the current strike is the Rajinikanth-starrer Kaala, directed by Pa Ranjith.