Toughening its stand following a halt in shoot of a TV serial and film due to non-participation of technicians, the Directors Association of Eastern India decided to stay away from studio floors from Friday, which evoked a partial response.

Shootings of many TV serials produced by leading channels and at least one feature film went on as per schedule in over 10 studios across the city and its neighbourhood, while some shooting floors wore a deserted look, industry sources said.

The Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India president Swarup Biswas told PTI that 90 per cent of the scheduled shootings went on during the day, while shoots of three production houses did not take place.

"From serials, OTTs to films - shooting went on as scheduled in most cases. This includes Srijit Mukherjee's new project. Only three production houses, including those of Raj Chakraborty and Arka Ganguly among others, stopped their shooting activities. The action of a section of directors and their association is unfortunate," Biswas said.

"The DAEI members who kept away from shooting must spare a thought for the hundreds of technicians whose livelihood depends on daily wages," he said.

Biswas said the federation is always ready for a dialogue and has full faith in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had formed a high-powered committee in July 2024 to resolve contentious issues.

"We understand that minister Aroop Biswas and other committee members are working overtime to arrive at an amicable solution," he said.

In July last year, the directors had announced an indefinite ‘ceasework’ following the refusal of the technicians’ body to work under a particular director. The impasse ended after three days following the intervention of the CM.

The latest disruption in the Kolkata entertainment industry followed a complaint by director Srijit Roy about a halt in pre-shoot set design work of his TV serial since February 2. Directors Kaushik Ganguly and Joydip Mukherjee also had to shelve their plans to start shooting last month.

Biswas, however, said the issue with Kaushik Ganguly regarding appointment of technicians has been resolved.

The affected directors – all members of the DAEI - had claimed they were faced with the crisis for criticising certain 'diktats' of the federation.

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