Shooting for Bengali filmmaker Srijit Roy’s project was stalled over comments he had allegedly made against the Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India in the past, he said on Tuesday, denying the allegations and raising concern over the “unfair treatment” meted out to movie directors in Bengal.
This is the second film to run into rough weather in Kolkata due to a rift between the technicians and filmmakers since January.
Expressing concern over the incident in a Facebook live, Roy, who is known for directing daily soaps like Bhootu and Tobu Mone Rekho, said the shoot for his film was stalled as no technicians showed up on the sets.
“I have been accused of making anti-Federation remarks, which has led to the halt of shooting for my project. However, I have not received any official notice regarding these allegations,” Roy said.
According to Roy, no written directive has been provided to him, the Art Directors' Guild, or the Directors’ Guild, of which he is a member. The allegations, he claimed, are based solely on verbal communication.
Roy claimed that the alleged comments that created discontent among the technicians were attributed to him during a previous dispute between the directors’ forum and the federation in 2024. However, he denied making those remarks.
“I began my professional journey as a line producer and have spent 25 years in this industry, maintaining strong professional relationships. Never before have such allegations been leveled against me,” he iterated.
Roy also called for solidarity from his colleagues in the industry, and asked them to assemble at Dassani 1 Film Studio to unite against what he perceives as “unfair treatment”. Sudeshna Roy, secretary of Directors’ Association of Eastern India, extended her support to him in the comments. Filmmaker Subrata Sen also said he would join the gathering at Dassani Studio.
Calls made to the Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India went unanswered.
Last month, the shooting for Kaushik Ganguly’s upcoming film also ran into rough weather because of differences with the federation. However, the issues were ironed out amicably, the filmmaker announced on social media.
In July 2024, filmmaker Rahool Mukherjee faced the ire of the federation as no technicians showed up for the shooting of his film. Mukherjee was accused of violating norms by visiting Bangladesh for shooting patch shots of another film without intimation to the federation and taking the help of the technicians in Dhaka.
Srijit Roy has served as creative director for television shows like Neem Phooler Madhu and Kori Khela. In the OTT space, Srijit has helmed Bouma Detective. Bishohori, his latest web series for Hoichoi starring Solanki Roy, set to release later this month.