The Bollywood is expected to lose Rs 100 crore because of the indefinite strike called by technicians and production workers from October 1. The strike has brought the production work of the film and television industry in Mumbai to a grinding halt, sources said.
According to an executive of a leading film production house, shooting of about 50 films has come to a standstill in Mumbai.
Several television serials and reality-shows, which were on the shooting floor, have been affected, sources say. Some of these shows were for channels like Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony, Colors, and Sahara, among others.
When contacted, a senior TV producer and member of one of the workers' unions in Mumbai said, "I can speak for the television industry and we have been told that the strike may be called off as early as Friday."
According to the television industry sources, most of the film-shooting equipment are hired by the producers. The bills are normally cleared in 45 days of the shooting. "But 90-odd TV production houses are on the defaulter list for non-payment of dues," an executive of one of the equipment rental companies said. These production houses have dues to the tune Rs 40-45 crore to clear, sources said.
Along with striking unions, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has also joined hands with the striking professionals. "Our fight is for the timely payment of wages," said a union member of FWICE.
More From This Section
About half of the estimated losses are represented by the television industry, sources said. These include the long-pending dues hiring shooting equipment and hardware, an industry source said.
"Several leading channels and TV production houses have been undertaking the shooting of their serials and shows on hired equipment, the bills for which have not been cleared for the past one year. So, several of these equipment suppliers joined hands with film and television workers' unions to call an indefinite strike," a senior executive working for a leading production house in Mumbai said.