Kolkata: The hiring of National Award-winning makeup artist Somnath Kundu for Suman Sen’s ‘Eka’ — starring Nandita Das, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and Mona Singh — has sparked a storm in Tollywood. There are further tensions with three new regulatory mandates for Bengal film shoots introduced by a “temporary committee” formed by BJP MLA Papiya Adhikary. The Kolkata Film Industries Workers Union, affiliated with Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangha (BMS) — that operates as the labour wing of RSS — convened in front of Technicians’ Studio on Friday and rejected the mandates and the committee.Kundu told TOI that the row started after he wrote to the chief minister following an incident where technicians were targeted with rotten eggs, bricks, and stones. “My actions likely caused displeasure, leading committee members to request a staff list and demand the removal of Hena Munshi and me. This practice mirrors the tactics used during Swarup Biswas’ tenure. The producers declined this offer because they preferred to retain the existing team for our expertise in prosthetic work,” Kundu said.Calls to the film’s producer went unanswered. Partha Kar, who is part of Adhikary’s five-member committee, said, “Our committee members had a meeting with the producer in the presence of Tollygunje’s MLA. We have extended all support. All talks of banning Kundu are baseless. These rumours are being spread to badmouth the good work we are trying to do in this industry.”He also said the committee has implemented a few mandates for anyone shooting in Kolkata, including never stalling shooting irrespective of whatever problems crop up, and changing the technicians’ shift hours from 10 to 12 per day. “This aligns with the national protocol and helps producers who want to work keeping the national standards in mind. No technician will be allowed to implement a package system, where they take up multiple assignments simultaneously and send over assistants to do the job. Each technician will henceforth take up only one assignment at any given point in time,” Kar said.There is significant concern regarding the legitimacy of a temporary committee issuing these mandates. Tultul Roy, general secretary of Kolkata Film Industries Workers Union, said, “Why is our union, registered since 2011 and affiliated to BMS from 2014, not being consulted when committees, advisory panels or such mandates are being drawn up? Since we were not consulted regarding the issuance of these new mandates, we will not accept them. Regarding film industry labour laws, technicians work 12 hours daily provided they receive weekends off. Requiring them to work 12 hours without those breaks violates established protocols.”Tanmoy De, a member of the govt advisory panel and an RSS swayam sevak currently serving as co-convener of BJP’s state cultural cell, said: “Samik Bhattacharaya himself clarified that Confederation has no connection with BJP. There is no need to follow the norms this committee is making.”
