A crew member dies on set Sanjay Leela BhansaliThe upcoming movie “Love and War” has once again brought attention to the working conditions in the entertainment industry. According to reports, Chandraharie Singh Yadav, a carpenter employed in the film, was electrocuted while working.After the incident, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) president BN Tiwari confirmed that Bhansali had provided financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh to the family of the deceased. However, considering that Yadav is the sole breadwinner of the family, the federation has urged the production house to increase the compensation to Rs 50 lakh.Speaking to IANS, Tiwari said: “In the Sanjay One of our technicians, Leela Bhansali, died due to electrocution. After his death, SLB donated INR 40 Cr to help his family. This is a good amount but we are asking him because the worker is 42 years old and he is the only one making money. So, we asked the production team to give him 50 Indian rupees. There has been no response from the other side yet. Our objection is only to that, not to health and safety. Health and safety, the maximum working time is no longer 12 hours, but 16 to 20 hours of work.”As of now, neither Sanjay Leela Bhansali nor her production team has publicly responded to FWICE’s request.Tiwari stresses that the issue goes far beyond a single movie scene. He said poor safety standards and long working hours have become commonplace in film, TV and web series productions and require urgent intervention.He further mentioned, “This is not just about Sanjay Leela Bhansali. On the biggest sets, where the series is being produced, where the series is being produced, where other productions are being done, there are problems everywhere. So, this is a completely unacceptable condition. The federation will take strict action against this. No matter who is on set, our team will be aware of how many hours they have worked for the sake of health and safety. The goal is not to stop shooting. Our main problem is our workers, our technicians and artists, they are forced to work like slaves and that should stop. We are technicians. We provide entertainment to the film industry”.He added that the federation’s priority was to protect workers through dialogue rather than legal action. Tiwari said FWICE has never filed an FIR against any manufacturer but believes in resolving disputes through discussions with all parties involved.He continued: “The federation has never filed an FIR against anyone. Our strength, the strength of our organization, is enough to make people listen to us and respect us. Our organization is set up to protect our workers. It was formed to fight for their rights and safety. We will not file an FIR against anyone.”The incident has also given rise to conflicting accounts. Recently, the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) questioned the initial version of events and called for an independent investigation to determine the exact cause of the worker’s death.Reacting to AICWA’s concerns, Tiwari maintained that the association was fully aware of the incident and reiterated that the electrocution incident was due to exposed wires on the set.He said: “No, we have complete information, the wire was opened by the current, the cause of death is unknown. He died on the spot. He was a member of the Elite Union and our people used to work with him. He was not alone in the department where he worked, many workers were with him.”He further added, “Some technicians were with him, a recorder and a cameraman were with him. If we say it was caused by electric current and the post-mortem report also says he died due to electric current, then it is untrue”.
