The death of a crew member in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film ‘Love & War’ has once again drawn attention to working conditions in the entertainment industry. Chandradhari Singh Yadav, a carpenter who worked on the film, reportedly died after suffering an electric shock while working.Following the incident, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) president B N Tiwari confirmed that Bhansali had provided financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh to the family of the deceased worker. However, the union urged the production company to increase the compensation to Rs 50 lakh, considering that Yadav is the sole breadwinner of the family.
Speaking to IANS, Tiwari said, “On the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, one of our technicians died due to electricity.
After his death, SLB helped his family by donating INR 40 lacs. It is a good amount, but we asked for it, because the worker was 42 years old, and he was the sole breadwinner. So, we asked the production to give him INR 50 lakh. There has been no response from his side yet. Our objection is to this only, not to health and safety. Health and Safety, instead of 12 hours of maximum work, 16-20 hours of work is done.”
So far, neither Sanjay Leela Bhansali nor his production company have publicly responded to FWICE’s request.Tiwari stressed that the issue extends beyond a single film set. According to him, poor safety standards and excessive working hours have become common in film, television and web series production, making urgent intervention necessary.He also added, “It’s not just about Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
In maximum sets, where series are produced, where series are produced, where other works are performed, there is a problem everywhere. Therefore, this is absolutely unacceptable for this condition. The Federation will take strict measures in this regard. No matter the group, our team will go looking for health and safety, they will go and find out how many hours they have worked.
Our goal is not a ceasefire. Our main issue is that our workers, technicians and artists, who are forced to work like slaves, must be stopped.
We are technicians. “We entertain the film industry.”He added that the union’s priority is to protect workers through dialogue, not legal procedures. According to Tiwari, FWICE has never filed an FIR against any product and instead believes in resolving disputes through discussions with concerned parties.“The union has never filed an FIR against anyone. Our strength, the strength of our organization, is that people listen to us and respect us,” he continued.
Our organization was created to protect our workers. He was prepared to fight for their rights and safety. We are not ready to file an FIR against anyone.”The incident also sparked conflicting accounts. Recently, the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has questioned the initial version of events and called for an independent investigation to determine the exact cause of the worker’s death.Responding to AICWA’s concerns, Tiwari maintained that the association had full knowledge of the incident and reiterated that the electrocution occurred due to exposed electrical wires in the set.He said: “No, we have complete information that the wires were open due to the current, and the cause of death is unknown. He died instantly. He was a member of the elite labor union. Our people worked with him. He was not working alone in the department he was working in, and there were many workers with him.”He added: “He had some technicians with him, he had audio recorders, and he had photographers with him. So if we say that it was because of the current, and the autopsy report also says that he died because of the current, then this is not true.”