Tollywood directors & producers go on indefinite strike

Bengali directors, backed by producers, across different mediums went on an indefinite strike from Monday as a mark of protest against the technicians' refusal to work with Rahool Mukherjee as the director of Prosenjit Chatterjee's new film produced by SVF. The Directors and Artistes Employees’ Institution (DAEI) clarified that their directive does not apply to projects in other languages.

On Monday morning, the shooting floors of various studios in Tollygunge, such as Dassani, N.T. 1, and Technicians' Studio, wore a deserted look due to the strike. This work halt threatens the timely release of numerous Bengali films and web series scheduled for the upcoming months. Daily soaps are also expected to be affected.

The deadlock over Bengali film superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee's next film persisted on Saturday as the film federation remained firm on its decision not to accept Rahool Mukherjee as the director. Despite the DAEI lifting a three-month break of service on Rahool on Friday, technicians refused to resume work on the upcoming film produced by SVF, the largest production house in the market.

The situation escalated when several directors, producers, and actors from the industry gathered at the Technicians Studios in Tollygunge, Kolkata, to show their support for Rahool, who gained fame directing Dev starrer "Kishmish."