Finally, after the total breakdown of talks between the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) and the Tamil Film Producers’ Council (TFPC), despite the mediation of the state labour commission over the wage issue, it looks like the Tamil Nadu government will step in to resolve the long-standing dispute.


At a recent press meet, FEFSI members revealed, “Efforts are on to conduct the talks in the presence of the state labour minister S T Chellapandian. This is likely to happen in the next two days.” Though the wage issue has been affecting film production in Tamil Nadu since January, FEFSI members officially went on strike from April 7. The fate of 23,000 workers and over 50 films that are in various stages of production depend on a quick resolution of the issue.

Meanwhile, producers continued shooting for a couple of films (like Karthi’s Alex Pandian) with workers who agreed to work on their terms. Some members of TFPC also have requested police protection for their shoots.