Hema panel says ‘treated worse than slaves’: The lives of junior artistes on film sets

Another junior artiste says, “On my first day on the sets, a production controller told me that I will have to do late-night shoots. I was ready for that and was promised a decent pay. At the end of the shoot, I was told that my acting was bad and that I don’t deserve the money I was promised.” She was finally paid half of what she was promised.

According to the committee report, film sets usually have contractors who hire junior artistes, who are often not paid on time. The committee talks of how they are made to “beg” producers or coordinators for their payment to be made after days of work. While the artistes are paid anywhere between Rs 1,800 and Rs 5,000, this amount never reaches the artistes, the committee notes.

The report also states that junior artistes are often asked sexual favours, sometimes even in exchange for food that is provided on the sets. A junior artiste who suffered burn injuries and another who suffered a leg fracture had to shell out their own money to get their medical treatments done, the report says. The artistes are often not provided accommodation and transport – “there were occasions where they had to sleep in railway stations for their safety”.

According to the committee, the junior artistes are not given access to toilets on the sets even though they often have to work for over 19 hours.

One of the committee members wrote, “I was surprised to hear from a junior artiste that she was not allowed to go to toilet by the production unit since it takes 10 minutes by walk to reach a convenient place for going to the toilet. Many of them have landed up in hospitals on some occasions, it is stated… There is also an understanding that such toilets (in the caravans of the main actors) cannot be used and many junior artists, co-artists etc… do not dare to make request to the main artist.”

Moreover, they are denied basic facilities such as water and food on most sets. The committee report reads, “Junior artistes who are made to stand in the hot sun are not even given anything to eat or drink on most sets.”

The report adds, “Even if 100 persons are needed (for a shoot), thousands of junior artistes are made to come to the set. Only a few will be chosen and those few are given food coupons. But the others will be asked to remain on set and not allowed to go back.”

The committee notes that many of the junior artistes who remain on the sets for long hours “won’t even be allowed to sit or take rest when there’s no shooting”. The report, which has depositions by the actors, talks of an instance when a junior artiste, who reported sick to work, sat on a chair, but was asked to stand up and not return to the sets.

“It was shocking to know that junior artistes are treated worse than slaves on certain sets,” the committee says.

Junior artistes also face sexual exploitation on film sets, the committee states. “Junior artistes are told they will be given a chance in cinema if they comply by the demands for sex. They are told they will have to adjust and compromise if they want to be in the film industry,” the report says.