Rallying For Cine-workers During Covid

The impact of바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트pandemic on India라이브 바카라 film industry바카라 웹사이트brought바카라 웹사이트attention to the바카라 웹사이트below-the-line labour force that바카라 웹사이트forms its invisible backbone.바카라 웹사이트The disruption of shooting바카라 웹사이트schedules,바카라 웹사이트postponement of바카라 웹사이트releases and바카라 웹사이트shelving of projects바카라 웹사이트impacted바카라 웹사이트media production바카라 웹사이트and바카라 웹사이트distribution chains. This also바카라 웹사이트created a new normal that demanded a careful deliberation of the wage inequalities and바카라 웹사이트structural problems that바카라 웹사이트underlie바카라 웹사이트the glitz and glamour바카라 웹사이트of the바카라 웹사이트entertainment sector.

The lockdown바카라 웹사이트became a moment of reckoning to understand how payment in the television industry바카라 웹사이트was바카라 웹사이트disbursed over a바카라 웹사이트90-day payment바카라 웹사이트cycle, which meant that바카라 웹사이트actors바카라 웹사이트and production personnel바카라 웹사이트were바카라 웹사이트paid only at the end of the 90-day schedule.바카라 웹사이트Against this backdrop, there were reports of바카라 웹사이트suicides by cine-workers바카라 웹사이트such as바카라 웹사이트dubbing artists, theatre employees바카라 웹사이트and daily wage labourers—a reminder바카라 웹사이트of바카라 웹사이트how바카라 웹사이트hierarchical and caustic the바카라 웹사이트film industry is, structurally—excluding the바카라 웹사이트below-the-line labour force바카라 웹사이트from any바카라 웹사이트claims over the final product.

The cumulative impact of the lockdown led to the shutdown of바카라 웹사이트theatres, many of which were single-screen ones struggling to survive amidst multiplex culture바카라 웹사이트and OTT바카라 웹사이트platformisation바카라 웹사이트that has permeated the entertainment ecology.바카라 웹사이트Thus, the바카라 웹사이트pandemic바카라 웹사이트gave way to a crisis resolution narrative, pivoted on the바카라 웹사이트survival바카라 웹사이트and바카라 웹사이트identity of the cine-worker.

The바카라 웹사이트#InThisTogether campaign organised by Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, and바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트contribution to the Chief Minister라이브 바카라 Relief fund by the late Lata Mangeshkar and Vicky Kaushal바카라 웹사이트formed바카라 웹사이트one바카라 웹사이트end바카라 웹사이트of the spectrum바카라 웹사이트of responses. There were also efforts to directly contribute to trade unions supporting cine-workers, with Tamil actor Ajith supporting바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) and Salman Khan supporting바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). Netflix India,바카라 웹사이트with the support of Salman Khan, came up with a바카라 웹사이트support package exclusively for the Movie Stunt Artistes Association. Netflix also supported바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트Producers Guild of India (PGI) with a financial package to be disbursed among daily wage-earners in the industry.

Economic arrangements and care networks were forged to pool in financial support collectively for those out of work. This took the form of emergency care packages, financial aid to support those who바카라 웹사이트were바카라 웹사이트furloughed or laid off,바카라 웹사이트and relief and welfare funds to those facing contingencies.바카라 웹사이트For instance, when the Kerala State Film Awards were declared in October 2020, the awardee for costume design had found a job as a painter, having switched to the construction sector as a daily wage바카라 웹사이트worker바카라 웹사이트to cover his expenses.

In the entertainment sector, the wagegap between the above-the-line and below-the-line units is so stark that questions of safety and welfare have taken a backseat.바카라 웹사이트However,바카라 웹사이트while questions of welfare and survival animate discussions on entertainment during the pandemic, it also draws our attention to how narratives of crisis have been used both to improvise already existing models as well as to experiment with new formats like OTT platforms to mobilise a diverse viewership.

The바카라 웹사이트use of바카라 웹사이트such바카라 웹사이트collective assistance,바카라 웹사이트mutual aid and바카라 웹사이트community-driven initiatives during leaner times바카라 웹사이트is not altogether바카라 웹사이트new and바카라 웹사이트has been part of바카라 웹사이트systems of바카라 웹사이트worker benefits바카라 웹사이트in바카라 웹사이트both바카라 웹사이트informal industries바카라 웹사이트such as pornography and sex work, as well as in more formalised sectors of the entertainment industry.바카라 웹사이트In fact, trade unionism and바카라 웹사이트organising바카라 웹사이트for workers’ benefits has a long history in the Indian film industry.바카라 웹사이트The formation of Bombay Cinema and Theatres Trade Association in 1926, the Madras Cinema and Theatre League in 1929 and the Motion Picture Society of India in Bombay in 1932 were meant to fortify the interests of producers, distributors and exhibitors.바카라 웹사이트Continuing with this tradition of work, the바카라 웹사이트Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees바카라 웹사이트(FWICE)바카라 웹사이트came up with relief packages with the support of the Producers Guild of India and the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) to provide ration and other바카라 웹사이트supplies to support the daily sustenance of its employees during the pandemic라이브 바카라 lethal waves.바카라 웹사이트Established in 1956바카라 웹사이트and having바카라 웹사이트around 2.5 lakh바카라 웹사이트members from around 32 craft organizations, FWICE has been at the forefront to ensure humane working conditions for and safety of cine workers, and has바카라 웹사이트played a crucial role in foregrounding the rights of the workers in the industry.

​In April 2021,바카라 웹사이트FWICE came up with바카라 웹사이트standard operating procedures in the context of Covid-19 guidelines바카라 웹사이트and ways to바카라 웹사이트streamline pre-production,바카라 웹사이트production바카라 웹사이트and post-production바카라 웹사이트in adherence바카라 웹사이트to the procedures. This included바카라 웹사이트the바카라 웹사이트reduction of sequences that included crowds,바카라 웹사이트wearing masks,바카라 웹사이트and바카라 웹사이트sanitizing바카라 웹사이트spaces바카라 웹사이트where film work takes place.바카라 웹사이트FWICE also announced that a monitoring team would be visiting sets to ensure that the guidelines were being followed during shooting. There were even carefully crafted statements released, explaining why the guidelines were constituted and how this could avoid the imposition of a total shutdown. With the shutdown of shooting with the second wave of Covid-19 in April 2021, FWICE addressed a letter to Uddhav Thackeray, the then chief minister of Maharashtra, to consider resumption of work in media and entertainment sectors as it was causing a huge setback to those in the industry left with no other source of income. Yash Raj Films, one of the foremost production houses, offered to shoulder the bills for vaccinating 30,000 members of FWICE바카라 웹사이트as a way to바카라 웹사이트convince the Maharashtra government to reopen the cinema halls. This was in tune with the drive at Mehboob Studios by the Production Guild of India to provide vaccines for its members and production crews. The non-cooperation notice that FWICE sent to the바카라 웹사이트Tandav바카라 웹사이트actor,바카라 웹사이트Gauhar바카라 웹사이트Khan, for allegedly violating바카라 웹사이트 Covid-19 rules by continuing shooting after testing positive—therefore, endangering those who worked with her—is one instance of organisations instituting rules for collective protection. However, while such regulations were pitched on the grounds of workers’ safety, they had a flipside as well.

The downsizing of staff as a part of the safety mechanisms also meant that many would remain out of work with no safety net and benefits. At the same time, the turn to OTTs in the face of theatre shutdowns also meant that바카라 웹사이트OTT바카라 웹사이트platforms, and cultivating dedicated patrons for such platforms, became the new normal. In this scenario, the Covid-19 phase바카라 웹사이트actually became the testing ground for new models of distribution and profit, solidifying바카라 웹사이트anxieties바카라 웹사이트about바카라 웹사이트whether collective action by cine-workers바카라 웹사이트would now give바카라 웹사이트way to바카라 웹사이트the neoliberal model of바카라 웹사이트freelancing.

Such anxieties and expression of dissent against neoliberal models has precedents before Covid-19. For instance, in바카라 웹사이트his 2017 documentary바카라 웹사이트Living on the Edge: Deglamorising Bollywood,바카라 웹사이트Opender바카라 웹사이트Chanana바카라 웹사이트renders a portrait of Mumbai라이브 바카라 film and television production sectors through interviews with spot boys, production executives and organisers. The concerns that find mention in the film include the바카라 웹사이트invisibilisation바카라 웹사이트of바카라 웹사이트labour, overtime shifts that go beyond the mandatory eight-hour regulation and worries related to safety and hygiene that junior artists and dancers바카라 웹사이트have to바카라 웹사이트tolerate in the absence of clean toilets and private changing rooms.

Such arrangements along with the precarious nature of employment바카라 웹사이트normalise exploitative and abusive practices in the industry.바카라 웹사이트The casteist and classist treatment meted out to extras and below-the-line workers in terms of separate food finds mention when one of the production personnel refers to this as an extension of the caste system바카라 웹사이트and untouchability.바카라 웹사이트In this arrangement, safety concerns often take the backseat; the onus is on individual바카라 웹사이트labourers바카라 웹사이트to바카라 웹사이트prove바카라 웹사이트that they are tough enough to survive in a competitive바카라 웹사이트labour바카라 웹사이트market.

While recounting the story of his friend­—an injured stunt-artist—an art director, who had worked on Chanana라이브 바카라 documentary, said that not taking risk is not an option in the industry, as such workers are seen as cheap, replaceable assets.바카라 웹사이트The바카라 웹사이트film shows us that the resolution of many safety-related hazards including fire or electrocution ends up only in the바카라 웹사이트payment of compensation to the family members of the deceased. Further, such compensation is limited only to ‘on-the-set’ death and injuries. A worker who dies while returning home after a late-night shift, for instance, would not be eligible for such compensation. Such injuries are portrayed as individual risks, rather than the outcome of profit-driven, cut-throat production practices.바카라 웹사이트It is important to be mindful of the dangers in using the rhetoric of “We are all in this together,” as David Harvey points out, because it essentially negates the experience of those who cannot afford to take time off because they do not have the luxury to do so.

(This appeared in the print edition as "The Haves And The Have-Nots")

(Views expressed are personal)

Darshana Sreedhar Mini is assistant professor in the department of communication arts at the university of wisconsin-madison