Artists' body asks serial actors not to shoot outside homes
Amid the ongoing row over some Bengali TV serials being shot at home during restrictions on shootings since May 16 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists Forum on Friday asked actors not to go out of their homes for shooting. Notably, the shoots for serials, web series, and films have been on halt since May 16.
'Some producers are shooting new episodes outside actors' homes'
The stricture of the Forum followed claims by the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) on Thursday that a section of Bengali television serial producers is shooting new episodes outside actors' homes and passing it off as work from home.
We don't support such shoots: Official
"We support the work from home concept following all prerequisite COVID-19 guidelines. We are not for shooting outside homes, and not even in spacious roofs with cover," a forum official said Friday. "We have urged actors not to go outside their homes to shoot. Shooting can be done only by a few and not in a gathering," the official said.
Some producers are allegedly shooting in closed godowns and hotels
FCTWEI President Swaroop Biswas had alleged that shootings were being done in closed godowns and hotels by producers of three-four mega serials and they passed it off as work from home. "The location and background of some episodes of certain TV soaps in the past few days indicated that the shoots, with one or two actors, did not take place at homes," Biswas said.
Make-up artists are called at shooting venues during market timings
The federation also claimed that it has information that make-up artists were being asked to visit such shooting venues from 7 am to 10 am when markets are open and a higher number of vehicles ply on roads.
Attempts to cause rift between technicians, artists, producers: WATP
The producers' body, Welfare Association of Television Producers (WATP), said in a statement, "There are attempts to cause strain between the relationships of technicians, artists, and producers." Without naming anyone, the statement said, "Technicians are forced to not support the work from home concept during shoots. They are misinformed about remuneration during this period of restriction."
