COVID-19: Relief fund for daily wage workers in film and TV industry, will Salman Khan-Sanjay Dutt back stunt artists?

A relief fund has been set for the daily wage workers whose earnings will be affected due to shutdown after COVID-19 pandemic. Talking about the same, Film & Television Producers' Guild of India (FTPG) CEO Kulmeet Makkar told Mid-Day, "It's too early to say who will donate, but anyone is free to do so. We opened a bank account on Wednesday morning; by Thursday evening, it will be functional for people to send in their contributions directly. [To determine the parties that are in need of financial aid], we are evaluating each production that was on floors, making a list of the people employed for the respective productions, and finally, determining the number of days for which they will lose out on their payment."

He explained the process citing the example of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' featuring Alia Bhatt. He said that if hypothetically in 60 days of shooting, the team was asked to wrap up in 15 days, the daily wage workers would be paid for the pending 45 days. "[Even though the shutdown is till March 31], we are preparing for an eventuality that could last anywhere between 15 to 60 days. The focus at the moment is to maintain a transparent system of distribution of funds. We will also form a committee comprising producers from television, OTT and films who will monitor the process and ensure the money is reaching the right people," he added.

Informing Mid-Day about ration distibution at Filmistan Studios, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) President BN Tiwari said, "We will distribute sacks of 15 kilos each that will  contain five kilos of rice, two kilos dal, five kilos atta, some masala and other non-perishable items. For now, the plan is to run this drive for a week."

"Everyone should not land up on Sunday fearing that we will run out of supplies. There are enough supplies for about 10,000 dailywage workers. We are also in talks with the state government, seeking help in crowd management," he added, also stating, "BP Singh, the creator of CID, has donated a couple of lakhs for this initiative. Shashi Sumeet Productions too have sent us money for the supplies. We have to manoeuvre our way through the grim times."

The Kapil Sharma Show, which came to a halt on Tuesday, will be among those who can apply for ration.

Talking to mid-day, Aejaz Gulab, general secretary of Movie Stunt Artist Association (under FTPG), elaborated about the situation among the stunt artists and said, "Stunt artistes fall under the bracket of daily wage workers and get paid 14730 per shift. (But the difference is that) our wages are higher compared to those of lightmen or spot boys. So, we haven't received any complaint from members of the stunt team so far. Our association also has a special fund that has been accumulated through donations [over the years]; it has been developed for such crises."

He added, "We will see If the funds are enough; if not, we will decide the way ahead. We haven't asked any [cine bodies] or stars for help yet. Who knows, we may get a helping hand from Sanjay Dutt or Salman Khan. We are thick with them, and they have always favoured us."