The shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram Leela was disrupted briefly on Sunday evening, after members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) landed up on the set with complaints of non-payment of workers’ dues. Prem Singh Thakur from FWICE’s vigilance department said, “Payment has been pending for long. I had to go to the set as many workers had been complaining about it. They don’t file complaints fearing they would lose their jobs. Even their conveyance reimbursement was pending for some time.” He adds, “I switched off the lights to get the producers’ attention. Mr Bhansali asked me what the problem was. I introduced myself and told him about the issue. He immediately calledas his production assistant and asked him to clear the dues.” When we contacted Bhansali, he said, “There is no payment issue. The person who told you this is lying and has vested interests. You can come and check for yourself.” And while Bhansali may have been in denial, his office has given in writing to FWICE that all pending payments would be cleared in a week.
