In a significant development, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee intervened to resolve the ongoing director-technician conflict in Tollywood, bringing relief to the film industry after days of uncertainty. On Tuesday, a delegation of prominent filmmakers, including Prosenjit Chatterjee, Dev Adhikari, and Gautam Ghosh, met the Chief Minister to seek her intervention in resolving the issue.
Following the meeting, the Chief Minister took to social media to express her optimism, writing, “Seen, talked, liked.” Dev Adhikari also posted an update on his social media handle, stating that the issue would be resolved soon and shooting would resume on Wednesday.
As per the agreement reached during the meeting, shooting for films, television shows, and web series will commence on Wednesday. However, director Rahool Mukherjee will start shooting after a week. A review committee, headed by Minister Arup Biswas, will be formed to revise the federation’s rules. The new rules will be submitted to the review committee within three months.
The conflict between directors and technicians had brought the film industry to a standstill, with both parties refusing to budge from their demands. The directors held a meeting at Prosenjit Chatterjee’s residence on Monday, followed by a press conference by the federation and a counter-meeting by the Directors Guild.
Prominent directors like Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly Anjan Dutta, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Arindam Sil, and Raj Chakraborty were present at the meeting, emphasizing the need for a resolution to the ongoing crisis.
With the Chief Minister’s intervention, Tollywood can now breathe a sigh of relief as shooting resumes and the industry gets back to work. Forming a review committee to revise the federation rules is also a significant step toward finding a long-term solution to the conflicts that have plagued the industry.
The industry stakeholders have expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for her timely intervention, which has averted a prolonged crisis. The resolution of the conflict is expected to boost the morale of industry professionals and pave the way for new projects and collaborations.
