There were lights, there was the camera but there was hardly any action.

The crew turned up at several Tollygunge studios on Friday but missing in action were the directors.

The directors’ guild, protesting the alleged high-handedness of the powerful technicians’ federation and the harassment of at least three directors in the recent past, decided on Thursday night that they would stop going to the floors until their demands were met.

On Friday evening, Bengal ministers Indranil Sen and Aroop Biswas, who is also the president of the West Bengal Telly Academy, met representatives of the industry to find a solution to the deadlock. The representatives of producers and technicians of two upcoming serials stalled because of the tussle, members of the directors’ guild and the technicians federation attended the meeting.

After the meeting, Sen tried to downplay the issue. “There was no strike today. There are 37 shooting floors in total. Only eight did not have any shooting at all,” he said. He added that normality will return within a few days.

Biswas said the industry was “like a joint family”.

Following the meeting at technicians studio, the directors’ guild started another meeting that continued till late.

On Friday afternoon, in the absence of directors, shooting stuttered to a stop across Tollygunge. At Dassani Studio, dozens of people were huddled at 1.30pm. The studio on Moore Avenue is the venue for the shoot of at least three serials. The set construction of one of them was stopped midway, allegedly by members of the federation, from Monday, prompting the director of the upcoming serial to lodge a protest and go live on Facebook.

The director, Srijit Roy, is accused of derogatory comments against the federation, a charge he has denied.

On Friday, crew members of two other serials were present at the studio when Metro visited.

“The cast and crew turned up at 10am, according to the call time that was given... But the director has not come and shooting is yet to begin. We are waiting for a direction from the production house,” said Dipankar Bhowmick, an assistant director for one of the serials.

Aditi Chatterjee and Ashmita Chakraborty, both part of the cast, waited for the shoot to start. “This affects everybody... For most of us, no work means no pay,” said Chatterjee.

It is no secret that daily soaps, not films, are the backbone of the Bengali entertainment industry. Around 28 mega-serials were being shot on the Tollygunge studio floors when the impasse began, said a member of the Welfare Association of Television Producers.

Compared to soaps, only a handful of films — mostly shot at real locations — were being shot, said industry sources.

“Shooting of serials was mostly stalled on Friday. Some work might have happened on some floors. But generally, things have come to a halt,” said a producer.

The Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India is headed by Swarup Biswas, brother of minister Aroop Biswas.

On Friday, Swarup visited the Tollygunge studios. At Indrapuri Studio, immediately after Swarup left, the director of photography of another serial told Metro: “Shooting had been stalled since morning. But it will now start soon. The assistant director will be in charge.”

Swarup told reporters: “The federation is not a selected body. We have elections. Anyone who thinks that the federation is not moving in the right direction is free to contest the polls. The winner can steer the federation in the right direction.”