Move puts a cumulative Rs 480-crore business at stake.
The row over revising wage hikes of film employees is snowballing into a major crisis as the industry in the country's south — comprising Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada — has decided not to start new projects from tomorrow. The ban is expected to take a toll on around 25 major endeavours that are slated for Sankranti release, leaving at state a cumulative Rs 480-crore business.
The joint decision comes after three days of talks in Chennai between producers from the four film industries and the Film Employees' Federation of South India (FEFSI) failed to reach a conclusion. The employees' federation is demanding a hike of 80 per cent to 100 per cent in their salaries across all crafts. The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) says it is not economically viable.
"After prolonged discussions," says C Kalyan, president of SIFCC "we have resolved to stop new film shoots." As for the movies that are in progress, all of them will be completed by October 31. "We will crack a whip on those producers who decide to start new projects and shoot, post the deadline," he told Busines Standard.
Also, the chamber has decided to leave it to the producer to choose and employ a worker —be it in any department and whatever magnitude. "The FEFSI cannot dictate the number of persons a producer should employ," he added.
Usually, the south Indian film industry hikes employees' salaries once in every three years. The process starts with the Tamil industry, followed by Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. In April this year, the Telugu Film Producers' Council had agreed to give a 32 per cent hike. It was accepted by the employees from 17 crafts, but not from the departments like lighting, technicians and costumes.
Reason? Says FEFSI secretary G Siva: "While we are asking for an increase of 80-100 per cent in daily wages, the producers are willing to give a hike of only 25-30 per cent. We will negotiate further. We will not disturb any film shooting and will cooperate with the producers."
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Sankranti, which falls on January 14, sets the cash registers ringing for the industry down south, which together churn out close to 400 straight movies a year. "The ban on new film shootings is likely to spell doom on the prospects of the industry," says a trade pundit. "It is lining up around 25 major films, involving a business of Rs 480 crore."
Tollywood (as the Telugu film industry is known these days), which alone garnered Rs 150 crore in business this Sankranti, is lining up mega-budget movies like Dabbang's Telugu remake Gabbar Singh starring Pawan Kalyan, and Mahesh Babu's The Businessman being directed by Puri Jagannath (Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap fame) for the harvest festival in 2012.
Kalyan, however, is hopeful that the ban would only help film producers streamline their schedules and thereby save costs. "We don't expect the stalemate to continue till Sankranti. We are putting all efforts to end this much before this Diwali," he says.