Senior technicians cry foul over payment dues

The TV industry has been facing a critical financial crisis for months now. Altogether 380 technicians, actors and vendors, some of whom are still part of serials like Jai Baba Lokenath, Ami Sirajer Begum (now off air), Khonar Bochon, Mahaprabhu Shree Chaitanya and Pratham Pratishruti (now off air), are yet to get their dues. Here's what senior technicians had to say...

Debjit Roy, Musician
Serials: Mahaprabhu Shree Chaitanya, Ami Sirajer Begum, Jai Baba Lokenath, Khanar Bochon and Prothom Protrisruti
‘I did the background score for five serials and still haven’t got my dues for more than a year now. I even refused to work unless my dues were cleared. But every time, I was promised that it would be. We are not members of the guild. So, I don’t know if our issues will ever get solved. I have even mailed the channels and production houses, but nothing yet.’
Indraadip Das Gupta, music composer
Serials: Ami Sirajer Begum, Mahaprabhu Shree Chaitanya
‘It is not easy to be a producer. People should have a proper financial planning in place before getting into production. Either one should have enough funds or have the ability to arrange them to sustain in this industry. I did the title track and music for these two serials. Even Shreya Ghoshal, who had sung the title track of Ami Sirajer Begum, didn’t get her dues.’

Shibashis Bandyopadhyay, Researcher and broad strory writer
Serials: Ami Sirajer Begum, Jai Baba Lokenath, Mahalaya (2018 special programme)
‘I worked for 11 months for the show Jai Baba Lokenath, which spanned over 300 episodes. But I got partly paid. I am yet to get the remuneration for the last three months. For Ami Sirajer Begum, I was not given a penny. It’s sad, because I had to research so much. I had to cull out information from various history books, including books written in French, translated into Bengali and English. What can I say? Now, with the Federation’s intervention, I may get back some amount. However, I don’t know how much I will get. But I am not sure who will pay for our accrued TDS’