The Film Studios Setting & Allied Mazdoor Union has complained to the government and the police against Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg’s company, Luv Films, for alleged non-payment of workers’ dues for almost a year, but, according to the Union, no action has been taken so far. These are daily-wage workers whose combined dues have crossed Rs. 1.22 crore. On its part, Luv Films claims that all the dues have been cleared by it. The problem has arisen because the workers were hired by Luv Films through contractors rather than directly. According to Luv Films, it is the contractors who have not cleared the dues of the workers.
It is quite a regular practice these days for producers to give the contract of a project to the Art Director/Contractor/Sub-contractor inclusive of the labour charges. The problem arises when these Art Directors/Contractors/Sub-contractors do not pay the wages of the workers, after collecting the same from the concerned producer. Luv Films has repeatedly told the FSSAMU that it cannot be held liable for the workers’ dues. However, the FSSAMU is not willing to clear the name of Luv Films. The production house has reiterated that it had hired the services of production designer Dipankar Dasgupta who, along with Hyperlink Brand Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and his associates — V. G. Jaishankar, V. G. Jairam, Gautam Jukar and Prashant Vicharev — had defaulted in making payments to the workers who had been hired by them and not by Luv Films. The company wonders why the FSSAMU, deliberately and knowingly, was targeting it (Luv Films) and not Dipankar Dasgupta and his associates, who were the actual persons at default.
Recently, workers refused to work on the sets of Luv Films’ Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor starrer on Chitrakoot Grounds at Andheri in Bombay, stating that they would not work until all their dues were cleared.
Clearly, the FSSAMU needs to take action against the defaulters rather than targeting the production house.