MUMBAI: The Bengali TV Industry, one of the major hubs of India’s entertainment ecosystem, was in the middle of a major crisis since Saturday. The tussle between the production house guild and artist forum had stalled the shooting of almost 30 mega serials aired on major GECs in the state. With no new episodes in the bank, broadcasters were compelled to air repeat telecasts of shows. With the two warring parties refusing to budge, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee intervened, calling on a meeting involving both factions in the presence of three major broadcasters – Zee Bangla, Star Jalsha and Colors Bangla.
The decision to set up a joint conciliation committee was taken at the meeting, which was also attended by renowned actors like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, representatives of Welfare Association of Television Producers. After the meeting, Banerjee told the media that problems concerning all the parties were discussed and the shooting would now resume.
“The shoot of the mega serials will be resumed tomorrow morning. Our telly industry holds a very respectable place in our state. There will be a Joint Conciliation Committee that will look over all the issues,” she said after breaking the deadlock between the two groups.
Representatives from production houses, channels, artists, technicians will be a part of the committee, which will be headed by minister Arup Biswas. The committee is expected to meet every month to resolve any conflict and ensure the smooth functioning of the industry.
With shooting set to resume today, the entire ecosystem can now breathe a sigh of relief.
This, however, wasn’t the first time the artist forum and production houses were involved in a stand-off. But the scale of the conflict this time around certainly had the Bengali TV industry worried and the audience frustrated.
The demands of the artist forum were two-fold – one was about timely payments, the second was with regards to shoot timings. The artists wanted to receive their payment by the 15th of every month. A source close to the development told Indiantelevision.com that there were several artists whose payments have been due for long. The source added that the delay in payments hasn’t necessarily hampered lead actors, but the supporting casts.
As per the directive of the forum, actors, some of whom had put their make up on, refused to continue shooting till their dues were cleared. The artist forum also called for overtime payment after ten hours of work.
The television division head of a leading production house we spoke to blamed some artists for not being present on the floor at the scheduled call time, countering the demand for overtime payment. According to him, some actors did not shoot for more than six hours as they juggled between two projects at the same time. This inflicted monetary losses on the production houses, which pay a monthly rent for floors, he added.
Many people involved in the issue feared that it could hurt viewers’ interest and that they would gravitate towards Hindi GECs. For the younger audience, there’s already an option of digital content.
On Star Jalsha, Colors Bangla, Zee Bangla popular shows like Fagun Bou, Ke Apon Ke Por, Debi Choudhurani, Kusum Dola, Om Namah Shibay, Krishnokoli, Joyee, Andarmahal, Rani Rasmoni, Reshom Jhanpi, Subho Drishti, Aloy Bhubon Bhora did not have fresh episodes. Only two new serials Bajlo Tomar Alor Benu and Bhumikonya on Star Jalsha, along with a few reality shows on Zee Bangla and Colors Bangla were aired properly. However, Bengali GEC Akaash Aath survived the crisis without any disruption in telecasting new episodes.
Had the deadlock not been broken, the entire local entertainment industry in the state could have suffered a great deal of financial damage. With so many people across the state employed in the industry, a prolonged problem between the two parties could have severely crippled the family economy of several households.
It now remains to be seen how the newly formed committee functions in a bid to ensure there is no repeat of such a situation.
