Telugu cinema has been in chaos for the last one week with the workers' union going on strike demanding a 30 per cent wage hike, whereas the Producers Council has been working towards hiring film workforce without union rules. Amidst this intense standoff, the younger and fairly new producers gathered and interacted with media on Monday
Having backed a blockbuster like Baby and being involved in multiple projects, producer SKN stated, “Everyone is talking about rights, we are talking about our collective responsibilities.” And he further asked the union to take whatever percent they want as hike but then he questioned who would guarantee closing. “Workers are asking for a 30 per cent rise, why stop at 30, take 50 but then who will take responsibility for our no-theatrical closing? Who will take care of bringing audiences to theatres? I would like ask that,” he questioned.
Rajesh Danda who is currently producing Kiran Abbavaram’s K-Ramp highlighted the issues they face with payment delays. He said, “None of us producers are happy today. Nobody is paying on time, if we buy a dubbing film rights and if that’s at a loss, they are cutting down hefty amount. OTTs mention one month payment term but pay in four months. We are constantly waiting for payments and meanwhile, having to pay on time everyday to workers has been a challenge.”
Vamsi Nandipati who acquired theatrical rights for content-driven films like Committee Kurrollu, KA and BrahmaAnandam, yearned about having no proper authority to represent the producers’ issues, “A producer is also a worker, probably the primary worker. Everybody when they have a problem, they have somewhere to go and complain but we have no where. A film that should cost one or two crores to make, is right now costing 14 crores easily. If you come into our shoes and think, that’s when you will understand our troubles, I am saying this to the workers.”
Further producers like Madhura Sridhar, Chaitanya and Chai Bisket Sharath also mentioned that this is a complex issue that needs proper mediation and discussions between both parties. They urge the workers union to consider their troubles and arrive at a common ground. Meanwhile, the Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation has been going with their strike and senior producers met AP cinematography minister Kandula Durgesh to offer mediation. The minister took to social media to state that he would take the matter with the AP CM and deputy CM to talk about government intervention.
