Pandemic hits daily wagers in film industry

The cinema industry has been left in tatters ever since the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe. In K’Town, numerous film productions and movie releases have been stalled. Naturally, this has left many from the sector worried.

Film producer and founder-dean of BOFTA Film Institute G Dhananjayan said, “Movie productions across India are shut down. This won’t affect highly paid artistes who make money in lakhs. But the daily wagers earn only when they go for film shoots. The industry is looking at how to help them out but so far nothing concrete has been done.” He added, “I feel that it is the responsibility of producers to safeguard the interest of people involved.”

Echoing his thoughts is production executive V Bhagyaraj, who said, “With no movie productions or TV shoots happening anywhere, several crew members are facing extreme troubles. In a few days, school admissions will start and many people from the movie fraternity I know are worried about how they will pay their children’s school fees.”

Bhagyaraj also noted that while top-level production managers can manage as they are in a financially better situation, the daily wagers, on the other hand, have to face the brunt. City-based stunt artiste Srinivasan expressed his fears, saying, “I get paid about Rs 800 to Rs 3000 for a movie. With no productions around, I don’t know how I will be managing to this month.”

The Producers Guild of India has taken a stand to address the issues faced by daily wage workers by setting up a relief fund for such professionals.

In a statement, the president of Producers Guild of India Siddharth Roy Kapur, said, “The Producers Guild has decided to set up a relief fund to help support those most affected by the shutdown. We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the fund, to ensure that we can do all we can to minimise the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult time.”