The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) president R.K. Selvamani thanked Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday for laying the foundation stone to build 1,000 houses for film union members in Paiyanur on the outskirts of Chennai.
Speaking to the reporters, he said that the function should have been held in March. “The CM laid the foundation to build a housing project for FEFSI union. Around 1,000 houses will be constructed in the first phase. We had requested it in February and the CM was supposed to kickstart the project in March. It got postponed due to COVID-19,” said Mr. Selvamani.
Mr. Selvamani said the work in the industry has come to a stop completely. “There have been strikes and protests before but work has never stopped completely. It has been a very tough time. As a first step, we gave 20,000 members 25 kg of rice and ₹500. Again, with the help of State government, we gave them ₹1,000. For this month, we have given 5 kg rice, other essential items. We have requested the State government to provide ₹1,000. Around 18,000 workers were given Big Bazaar coupons,” said Mr. Selvamani. He said shootings would start in a full fledged manner in a week.
Mr. Selvamani said that they have requested the State government to provide free housing for workers who do not earn big money.
He said that they were finding it tough to start shooting in full swing as outdoor shootings had been prohibited. “Despite permission given to shoot, we are finding it difficult to restart shooting. They have given permission only for indoor shooting; it is not possible to shoot movies.” He added that workers have lost ₹1 crore in wages per day during the lockdown.
