West Bengal: Minister Arup Ghosh’s brother running syndicate racket at Tollywood, says Locket Chatterjee

“The federation dictates terms and conditions to the film and TV world. While experienced technicians who refuse to be a member of the federation don’t get work, producers are made to hire inept hands associated with the federation,” Chatterjee told mediapersons.

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Alleging that due to the “highhandedness”, producers were unwilling to come to Bengal and invest in films, she said: “Most Bengali films do not have a huge budget. So producers, if they have to shoot some scenes or songs overseas, they would like to take along minimum number of technicians. Federation officials make it mandatory to take some of their members on these trips, whether it is required or not.”

“Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to call up Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to help a Salt Lake resident who was facing extortion demands from a Trinamool councillor. Would a phone call from someone of the same stature prod the CM to take action against extortion in the Bengali film industry?” Chatterjee asked.

“Many experienced technicians are now out of jobs and are working as rickshaw pullers. Some are also selling vegetables or running paan shops,” she said.

Aparna Ghatak, however, denied all allegations, claiming that this was Chatterjee’s attempt to be in news.

“There is no election around and probably she has no films on the floor at the moment. Thus, to be in media limelight, she is making such comments. The CM has done a lot for the welfare of technicians. We at the federation look into the problems faced by all technicians,” she said.

When contacted, Swarup Ghosh said he does not know what Chatterjee has alleged. “I have not seen the video footage of the press conference and have only heard about it from reporters. After I go through the same, I will take legal action against the BJP leader,” he added.