A group of filmmakers who were allegedly denied work for several months met Papia Adhikary, the BJP MLA from Tollygunge, on Thursday and discussed the unofficial embargo that had restricted them from working.

The filmmakers who were present at a meeting on Thursday are members of a directors’ guild that had a fallout with the erstwhile federation headed by Swarup Biswas, brother of Trinamool Congress leader and former sports minister Aroop Biswas.

“For many months, we had no work. Our plea today was that we should be reinstated to where we were. We should be able to work, and our guild should be recognised under the Eastern India Motion Picture Cultural Coordination (EIMPCC). She heard and responded to each one of us individually,” said filmmaker Kingshuk Dey.

Last week, Papia had announced the dissolution of the 26 guilds and the formation of an overarching “centrally registered” confederation.

She had said that instead of the 26 guilds, there would be three or four categories. According to early plans, the four new categories are: camera, director, production, and art and costume.

The meeting also discussed how the scope of the Bengali cine industry can be expanded.

“The directors had lost their status. There were directors whose films and shoots were stalled. People were banned,” said Dey, who faced a ban for almost a year and a half.

“We are now hopeful that things will improve from here. The director was the captain of the ship, but we were not consulted when they (the federation) had prepared a standard operating procedure,” said Dey.

A section of actors and directors had been out of work for many months after a feud with the technicians’ federation that allegedly functioned on the diktats of Swarup, now in police custody.

“There were some of us who held our ground, and it now proves that we were correct,” said a director.

The Directors’ Association of Eastern India (DAEI) includes some of the leading names in the industry. A few directors, however, were forced to backtrack.

“There has been a regime change, and there is no longer any embargo that stops us from working,” said filmmaker Subrata Sen.

There have been allegations that the number of films produced in the industry has reduced by almost 80% in the last few years.

“If directors don’t work, the biggest loss is borne by daily-wage workers. If fewer films are made, it would impact everyone in the industry,” said a director.