Chief Minister’s intervention resolves Tolly impasse, shooting to resume today

KOLKATA: A day after Bengali directors and the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India couldn’t reach a consensus, leading to a halt in Tollywood shooting, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came to the rescue to resolve the issue on Tuesday.

Shooting in Tollywood will resume on Wednesday. It was also decided that the Federation cannot impose ban or refuse cooperation with anyone in the future. The nine-day stalemate over the ‘ban’ on director Rahool, accused of ‘unlawful’ shooting for a Bangladeshi project, was resolved with the decision that Rahool will direct the Puja film starring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya.

In the past, whenever disagreements arose between directors, producers, and the Federation, they have all sought the intervention of the CM. This time was no different. On Tuesday afternoon, veteran filmmaker Goutam Ghose, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, and actor-producer Dev, who is also a TMC MP, met with Banerjee at Nabanna to discuss the ongoing dispute that had halted Tollywood shooting for two days, resulting in significant losses for all stakeholders.

Minister Aroop Biswas was also present at the meeting. After the meeting, the CM shared a photograph with the Tollywood celebrities and minister Biswas, expressing that she enjoyed meeting and talking with them.

“Prosenjit took the initiative to meet the CM. Initially, she asked us to resolve the issue ourselves, but when we couldn’t, she intervened. Going forward, the Federation cannot ban or refuse cooperation with anyone,” said Ghose on Tuesday night. He also mentioned that a review committee will be formed, chaired by him and including Prosenjit, Dev, and ministers Indranil Sen and Aroop Biswas as initial members, along with representatives from all guilds. The committee will scrutinize, revise, and amend all SOPs related to films, TV, OTT, diploma films, independent films, ad films, double payments, and minimum technician requirements. The revised changes need to be submitted by November 2024.

“We are not against anyone. The CM has resolved the issue. No one can be banned. The committee will ensure that no one has to deal with ‘gupi’ shooting anymore,” said Dev. The directors in unison thanked the CM and also said that the amended rules will be in favour of the Bengali film industry.