After holding a meeting at filmmaker Prosenjit Chatterjee’s house on Monday, directors and producers from the Tolly film industry urged chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her government’s intervention to clear the impasse over shooting.

The impasse over shooting continued even on Monday. A strike has been in place since Friday by cine technicians on shooting in the studios. The dispute began when directors withdrew a ban on film director Rahool Mukherjee. Cine technicians have been boycotting director Rahool Mukherjee.

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“It’s a matter of concern that work is being hindered by regulations,” said the directors and producers after a nearly two-hour meeting at Prosenjit Chatterjee’s house in the afternoon. However, the Tolly directors and producers are reluctant to term the situation as a ‘technicians vs directors’ conflict. After leaving Prosenjit Chatterjee’s house, they made it clear that there is no fight with the technicians. They complement each other and must work together. A way must be paved to bring in investments. Thus, shooting should resume from Tuesday; otherwise, it will impact the daily wage-earning technicians. Directors, including Gautam Ghosh, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Shiboprosad Mukherjee stated that regulations are constraining work opportunities. These rules need to be reviewed in light of changing times. A new structure is needed. After the meeting on Monday, they mentioned to the journalists the good relationship the film industry shares with chief minister Mamata Banerjee and urged her and the state government to look into the issue.

Gautam Ghosh began by saying, “We should all work together to take our industry to an international level, which is what chief minister Mamata Banerjee too desires. To come out of this deadlock, all parties need to come forward. We are also concerned about the technicians. We are all one.”

Indranil Roychowdhury mentioned, “Due to regulations, the amount of work in Tollygunge has decreased. In this situation, we appeal to the state government to intervene.”

Prosenjit Chatterjee said, “Today, we may have gathered for Rahool Mukherjee, but this problem has been around for a long time. Actors, technicians, and artists have faced work disruptions due to various rules for many years.”

Mr Ghosh added, “These rules need to be reviewed considering the changing times and technology.” Prosenjit added, “A while ago, there was a major serial being produced here from outside, which was halted for a few hours. I heard a lot of work for film Chorki was also cancelled. Why did that happen? I, Dev, and others are considering making pan-India films. But the point is, if outsiders come to work here who will benefit? Us, right? Having worked in various industries outside, I can say our actors and technicians are very skilled. If they do good work outside, it will ultimately benefit us. So, the point is, a lot of things have remained the same due to some regulatory knots. It is crucial to change that. Technology has advanced. It is very important to update rules and regulations every ten years. There is no room for opposition in this. We need to sit together and discuss this.”

Representing the Tollywood directors, Gautam Ghosh, Prosenjit, and Raj Chakraborty stated that none of them support halting work. Their technician studios are excellent. Facing the journalists, Shiboprosad Mukherjee stated, “The issue should be resolved through discussion on Monday, and work should resume from Tuesday.”