Minister Backs Workers, Producers Seek Chiranjeevi’s Intervention

 Hyderabad: Diving into the tussle between Telugu film workers and producers, cinematography minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Tuesday backed the demand of workers for a wage hike even as the producers sought the intervention of veteran actor Chiranjeevi.

“There is a need to increase wages. To survive in Hyderabad, workers must be paid more. After returning from my Delhi tour, I will meet with the workers personally,” said the minister.

“We have entrusted the matter to Dil Raju, who is holding discussions. While producers are making pan-India films and we are granting approvals to hike ticket prices, they must also consider the demands of workers,” he explained.

Welcoming the minister’s remarks, Telugu Film Industry Employees Federation’s Rajeshwar Reddy said, “We are very thankful to the minister for understanding our plight. His support will boost the morale of thousands of workers, many of whom depend on this 30 per cent wage hike to afford even two square meals a day.”

On the status of film shoots, Rajeswar Reddy added, "I don't want to take names but only two or three shootings are going on since they gave a letter to the federation assuring that they would pay the revised wages with 30 per cent hike. Most movies have stopped shooting.”

However, talks between the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce and the federation reached a deadlock. Prominent producers C. Kalyan, Allu Aravind, Suresh Babu, Mythri Ravi Shankar, and Supriya Yarlagadda met actor Chiranjeevi at his residence at 4 pm to seek his intervention. Chiranjeevi reportedly assured the delegation that he would look into the matter and attempt to resolve the ongoing crisis within two or three days.

Producer Kalyan said, “We met Chiranjeevi garu and explained the issue. He felt that abruptly halting shootings was inappropriate. He patiently listened to our concerns and assured us that he would also hear the workers' version of the issue. He told us, “I’ll observe for two to three days, and if the situation doesn’t improve, I will intervene.’”

The producers have avoided meeting the federation members for the first two days.

“They breached all union norms by declaring a strike overnight on Sunday,” said Mohan Vadlapatla, joint secretary of the chamber. “Typically, any union gives one or two months’ notice before halting work, but this abrupt decision has hurt several producers whose films are currently in production.”

“Their motives don’t seem professional — it feels more like blackmail. Wage hikes are usually implemented every three years through multiple rounds of negotiation. But this time, they acted unilaterally, without even giving us breathing space.”

Mohan defended the chamber’s decision to allow producers to directly hire workers across all 24 crafts — a move he called “long overdue.”

“A producer has every right to choose his crew and agree on wages mutually, rather than being bound by the Federation’s strict rules. They even object to the food served on sets, which is absolutely beyond their purview,” he lamented.

He also pointed out the availability of many talented newcomers seeking work in the industry. “We are offering membership to freshers for just `1,000. They can begin working immediately, instead of forcing producers to pay inflated wages to Federation members demanding a 30 per cent hike — something that could force many producers to walk away from film production altogether.”