All work and no pay make TV artistes see red

Over the past months, the television industry turned into a battleground of sorts. After several production houses failed to make payments on time and artistes raised a hue and cry over this, the Artists’ Forum took the task of resolving the deadlock upon itself. As some serials changed hands, payments were not cleared as NoCs were not in place. But now, with the Forum’s intervention, things have started looking up. Artistes are hopeful that the backlogs will be cleared soon. But before that, they talk about their payments that are stuck. Over to them.
Tuhina Das
Serial: Bhoomikanya
Dues:
Rs 15,000
“I don’t have a lot of dues as I was not being able to give dates to Bhoomikanya, when the serial was in its final lap. At that time, I was
shooting for Aparna Sen’s Ghare Baire Aaj. There was some amount left to be cleared, but money has started coming in,” said Tuhina.

Rupa Bhattacharjee

Serial: Ami Sirajer Begum
Dues: Rs 3 lakh
“I am yet to get my payment for the past three months. But it seems good days are finally here as the process of clearing the dues has
started,” said Rupa.
Badsha Maitra

Serials: Ami Sirajer Begum and Khana
Dues: Rs 3 lakh
“We are happy with the news that the backlogs will soon be cleared by the channels, but at the same time, we want the technicians to get their payments too,”
said Badsha.
Bidipta Chakraborty

Serial: Jai Baba Lokenath
Dues: Rs 75,000
“I am yet to get my payment for January, February and March. Members of the Artists’ Forum have been fighting for this and I guess it is time for us to rejoice as all the backlogs are finally getting cleared,” said Bidipta.
Arijit Chowdhury

Serial: Mahaprabhu Sree Chaitanya
Dues: Rs 3.2 lakh
“I haven’t received my remuneration since January this year. Right now, it is in the process of clearance. Hopefully,
we will receive the money soon,” said Arijit.
Lama Halder

Serial: Mahaprabhu Sree Chaitanya
Dues: Rs 3.48 lakh
“I am yet to receive my payment for February and March. I worked till March 15. The Artists’ Forum has really fought hard to resolve this crisis and I hope within a few days all dues will be cleared,” said Lama.

Tulika Bose

Serial: Ami Sirajer Begum
Dues: Rs 3.5 lakh
“In my career of 21 years,
I never had such a bad experience where we artistes had to fight for money. At one point, it felt like begging! I have been hearing that dues will be cleared soon, but I will believe it once I get the money in hand,” said Tulika.
Sohan Bandopadhyay

Serials: Jai Baba Lokenath and Ami Sirajer Begum
Dues: Rs 2.5 lakh
“I am yet to get my payment against 45 days of work in two serials; it’s a lot. But I heard that the process of clearing the dues has started and I am hopeful of getting my money as well. Let’s wait for the time being,” said Sohan.
Debdut Ghosh

Serials: Mahaprabhu Sree Chaitanya
Dues: Rs 1 lakh
“Thanks to the initiative taken by the Artists’ Forum, we actors are hopeful that the backlogs in payment will be cleared soon. But one has to see how long is the waiting game. The technicians should also get their money,” said Debdut.
Soumili Ghosh Biswas

Serial: Jai Baba Lokenath
Dues: Rs 40,000
“Hopefully, we will start getting the money soon. Things seem to be looking up. We have submitted our bank details and other documents to the channel and have been assured that we will get our payment,” said Soumili.