Major collision on the cards as...
Chennai artistes vow to fight producers

The Tamil producers’ decision to crack the whip on artistes and directors has assumed ominous proportions, with the artistes deciding to stand up for their rights.....

If the producers are adamant about their demands, the artistes also will come with a fresh list of demands to secure their own interests. Some of them are quite interesting. The entire remuneration and perks should be put on the agreement paper in black and white and the artistes will not return the signing amount of a film, if the producer is unable to launch it. The artiste should be paid 10 per cent of their remuneration while signing and the entire amount should be paid as soon as the dubbing is over...

A major standoff between the producers on one side and the directors and artistes on the other is on the cards in the Tamil film industry. The reason being the new "Magna Carta" framed by the Producers Forum with a view to implement more discipline among the artistes and complete films faster. But how far these demands will be acceptable to the individuals concerned is anyone’s guess. Interestingly, they have exempted certain stars from the ‘disciplinary code’ which cast a doubt on the need of the whole exercise.

Tamil Film Producers Association’s newly elected president Ibrahim Rowther and vice-presidents Kovai Thambi and AL Azhakappan chaired a meeting recently in Chennai to give final touches to the code of conduct aimed to stall the spiralling cost of production of Tamil films. Though, the Artistes Association have not totally rejected the proposal, there is a large scale resentment about the biased approach the producers have taken with regards to certain stars and these voices could be heard albeit on hushed tones. The Association is slated to meet on November 29 to discuss the matter and give a suitable reply. There is also apprehension that the whole controversy could snowball into a strike in the Tamil film industry.

The demands set by the Producers Association seem impractical at times if one judge them closely in a logical manner. It says that the directors should finalise the story before the actual shooting begins. This is only possible if the director himself writes the story. If its written by someone else, what he can do? It further says that there can be no ‘story sessions’ at expensive resorts and five-star hotels between shooting schedules and it is the director’s responsibility to ensure this. The other clause ask the directors to complete a film in a period of maximum 60 days and if they failed to do so, prior permission has to be taken from the producers body. But there are exceptions to this rule too. The directors who have a track record of making films that has been sold for more than Rs 5 crore are exempted from this clause. The clause which will create more heart burn and pinching is the one which disallow the directors from claiming car allowance, petrol allowance, driver’s wages, cigarettes, liquor and other miscellaneous expenses. The most hardhitting clause is the one which says that the directors and stars are not allowed to use cell phone while a schedule is in progress. But stars like Vijay, Vijaykanth, Ajit, Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan are exempted from this dictat. Henceforth, the choice of costume designers will be at the discretion of director and stars and if a particular star want her own designer, she /he will have to foot the bill from her remuneration. The producers also felt the many new stars who are from the Hindi film industry are put in five star hotels which makes a big hole in their pockets. So hence, if the clause is ratified, these stars will be accommodated in three star hotels.

The charter of demands run into many pages and if these are accepted by the concerned association in toto, there is a feeling that producers will be saved from many burdens. Surprisingly, The Tamil Film Directors Association headed by Bhartiraja has accepted the charter in toto without any bargaining. But the association representing artistes have not taken these demands kindly. They are appaled by the double standard the producers apply for stars and other artistes. What they feel is that if there is rule, it should apply to all and sundry without any discrimination.

The real retort came from Vijaykanth, president of Artistes Association, he felt that the artistes have been more accommodating with producers in terms of remuneration. He said that on occasions when the producers have faced financial difficulties, the artistes have waived their remuneration so that the films were completed on time. He sounded a warning note too, adding that if the producers are adamant about their demands, the artistes also will come with a fresh list of demands to secure their own interests. Some of them are quite interesting. He said that the entire remuneration and perks should be put on the agreement paper in black and white and the artistes will not return the signing amount of a film, if the producer is unable to launch it. He further stated that the artiste should be paid 10 percent of their remuneration while signing and the entire amount should be paid as soon as the dubbing is over. He said the artistes will not wait till the producers sell their films to the distributors. The tough stance taken by the artistes are seen as a mark of rebellion against the clauses framed by the producers body. So all the eyes are set on the November 29 meet of artistes in which these demands by the producers would be discussed in detail and if rejected, a future course of plan will also be chalked out.