Ashwini Chaudhary: Federation isn’t united with affiliates; strike isn’t unanimous
The strike by Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) demands better wages for junior staff but never discussed it with the other affiliates.
The strike outside film city in Mumbai by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has been making a lot of noise ever since junior artists and spot boys from television shows and Bollywood films started a protest asking for a hike in wage and revised working hours.
However, Dhoop director Ashwini Chaudhary, who is also the Vice President of Indian Film and Television Director’s Association (IFTDA), which is an affiliate of FWICE, feels that the strike is not a united step by the organistaion.
Chaudhary says that if there is no unity between the people working in a federation, strike will have no impact.
“The strike has been called by FWICE, which is the mother body of all the affiliates including IFTDA. Our issue is that when we are part of the federation, why were we not taken in confidence before announcing the strike,” asks Chaudhary.
Yesterday, there were reports that shooting for many shows such as Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, Is Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3 and Vaani Rani and films including Padmavati, Parmanu and Aanand L Rai’s next starring Shah Rukh Khan, was affected due to the strike.
Refuting any such thing, the filmmaker adds, “The strike has already fizzled out because shoots are still going on. Till the time the skilled association (singers, writers and directors) doesn’t go on strike, it doesn’t really happen. In such cases, it is not called a strike but just an agitation.”
Six affiliates under FWICE have raised their concern over the announcement of strike without their consent and the involvement of political parties in this strike is also a major concern for everyone involved.
“This is not the way the federation should have worked. The way things are taking place, we are more concerned because there are political parties getting involved in it now. We are not affiliated to political parties and we don’t want this matter to get politicised. It should not become a platform for political parties,” says Chaudhary.
Talking about if the demands being made by the protesters are justified or not, the filmmaker says, “The demands raised by federation are genuine but the concerns are of aligned staff [junior artists and spot boys] and they generally don’t consult the skilled technicians [directors, singers and senior artists].
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