The stand-off between artistes and producers of Bengali TV serials here continued for the fourth day today with no shooting taking place in any of the eight studios.

Neither of the two warring sides, the Artists Forum and the Welfare Association of Television Producers (WATP), refused to budge from their stands on the issue of regularisation of pay.

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The Forum was ready for talks with the WATP but the producers should initiate the process and write a letter to the Forum at the earliest, its general secretary Arindam Ganguly told reporters after an internal meeting.

“We do not have any closed mind-set. In the interest of everyone concerned, we are ready to start shooting at any moment but that has to be preceded by a discussion with the WATP that must send us a letter inviting us for talks,” said Ganguly, who is also an actor.

He said the Forum was not budging from its demand for payment of the salaries of every artiste within the 15th of the next month and hourly basis of payment if the shooting schedule of an artiste exceeded 10 hours.

This arrangement had been agreed upon in the 8 July meeting between the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of East India, the Forum and the producers, he said.

Producers sent a letter to the artist forum to arrange a meeting but they are declining the previously signed memorandum of understanding. Artistes are ready to start work but not ready to accept their decision. Under these circumstances, shooting remained closed today.

Producers want to start the work but they do not want to maintain the criteria that has been signed as an agreement between WATP anf Federation of Cine Technician s and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) earlier in June, said actor Prasenjit Chatterjee.

“The artist forum is also ready to start the work but they are against the demand of the producers,” he said.

After a general meeting of the artist forum today, actor and working president of West Bengal Motion Picture Artist Forum, Prasenjit Chaterjee, said: “If the producers give us a call time for tomorrow for shooting, all the artistes and technicians will hit the floor on time. We want to start work and the discussion simultaneously. But if they want us to work without maintaining the agreement that has been signed they we’ll stick to our demands.”

Swaroop Biswas, president of FCTWEI, said: “The artistes are being blamed that they have stopped working but it is a wrong notion. The artistes were ready to work but after we spoke about our demands, the producers stopped shooting.”

He invited the producers to have a discussion provided they agree to the demand of the artistes and the technicians. On the other hand, it was learnt that producer Rana Sarkar said that if the artistes think of themselves as labourers, they will lose a lot of benefits.

Since Saturday, TV channels are telecasting repeat episodes of the mega serials.