Bengali directors end strike, Tollywood resumes work

Shooting of Bengali television serials of the Bengal entertainment industry resumed in and around Kolkata on Wednesday after the indefinite cease work by directors ended following the intervention of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The buzz is back at studio floors after two days as directors, actors and technicians turned up for shoots.

A spokesperson of the West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists Forum told PTI that shooting of all TV serials in different studios began.

“Shooting of films and web series will also resume in a day or two. The two-day disruption caused a break in shooting schedules," he said.

Federation of Cine Technicians' Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) President Swarup Biswas said the technicians will be present at shooting floors from Wednesday.

“We are thankful to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for taking the initiative to resolve the issue. As suggested by her, a high-powered committee will be formed consisting of (director) Goutam Ghosh, (actor) Prosenjit Chatterjee, minister Arup Biswas and others. The panel will address all the outstanding issues in a time-bound manner,” he added.

The directors were on cease work of directors since Monday after the technicians said they would not work under a filmmaker who was debarred from working for three months by the federation earlier this month for allegedly violating certain norms.

Biswas said Rahool Mukherjee, the filmmaker who was debarred, will be associated with the project of SVF as director after a week “and we will sort out all differences.

Young director Abhrajit Sen, whose OTT film shoot is slated to begin next week, said, “After a break, it generally takes a few days to resume film shooting due to problems and date issues.

“All stakeholders - from directors to light boys and sound recordists and hairdressers and spot boys - will act in cohesion as part of an orchestra," veteran director Goutam Ghosh told a press meet on Tuesday night.

A series of discussions among directors and technicians lobby was held on Tuesday evening, after industry representatives met the chief minister.

Bengali superstar Prasenjit Chatterjee, actor-turned-TMC MP Dev and director Gautam Ghosh, along with minister Arup Biswas met Banerjee at the secretariat and held talks for nearly 35 minutes.