The Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) and the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) have announced the postponement of the strike scheduled to begin on September 1, following an assurance from the Tamil Nadu government to address the ongoing issues in the Tamil film industry.
The update comes days after the two bodies put out a joint statement saying that there will not be any new film releases in the language starting September 1 and that every ongoing film shooting and post-production work will have to be stopped from the aforementioned date. The decision was taken as part of the ongoing conflict between the producers and the exhibitors and distributors in the state regarding the OTT release window.
Representatives of the two producers’ associations met Tamil Nadu Minister for Film Technology and Cinematograph Act in Tamil Nadu A Rajmohan at the State Secretariat in Chennai on August 26 and submitted a memorandum outlining the problems currently affecting the film industry.
According to the associations, the minister, after considering their demands, advised the Federation of Film Distributors’ Associations and the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association to continue following the existing procedures for film releases in the state.
The minister also reportedly assured the producers that, after the ongoing Assembly session concludes, the Tamil Nadu government will convene a tripartite meeting involving producers, distributors and theatre owners to find a solution to the issues.
The associations further stated that the matter would be brought to the attention of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, and that the tripartite discussions would be held under the Chief Minister’s guidance with the aim of finding a permanent solution. Further, he advised them not to go on strike at this time.
In view of these assurances, the producers’ associations have decided to postpone the strike announced from September 1.