FWICE's strike turns out to be a cropper, film shoots continue without hassles

The indefinite strike called out by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has turned out to be a cropper.

Turns out, both big and small shoots for films and television serials are continuing in the presence of security without any hindrance. As shooting continues, protestors are not allowed beyond the gates of several film studios, notably the Film City that hosts a majority of shoots in Bollywood and the television industry.

“Many people including directors were not even taken into confidence before these people went on strike. And hence the directors, art directors, actors, make-up and hair dressers crew apart from the writers and the camera department are not even supporting the strike,” says filmmaker Ashoke Pandit.

Adding to that, some unions are also not supporting the strike upon the realisation that they will have to go hungry if work isn’t completed.

Interestingly, two producers’ organisations, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association and the Indian Film and Television Producers’ Council (IFTPC), have gone to the Session and the High Court respectively, and won cases against the strike.

For those who tuned in late, the FWICE had asked for an indefinite strike starting August 15, despite some films including the Salman Khan starrer Tiger Zinda Hai being shot in the UAE. However, Anand L. Rai’s film with SRK and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati are going on smoothly.

There have been reports of some mild skirmishes outside the Film City gate with the protestors trying to unsuccessfully prevent cars from entering the gates.