The shooting of television show "Kaala Teeka," featuring Dalljiet Kaur in the lead role, was disrupted recently after a fight broke out between a crew member and members of Allied Mazdoor Union.
According to a Mid-Day report, the incident occurred when Gangeshwar Shrivastav-led Allied Mazdoor Union, which had been dissolved by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) in December 2014 and has been operating as an independent body since then, apparently barged into the TV show's sets and demanded to check the workers and technicians' identity cards.
When sound recordist of the show Navnath Wayekar objected to showing his identity card as the members of the union are not affiliated to FWICE, it led to a huge argument between them. The sound recordist was allegedly slapped and assaulted by the union members.
"Navnath Wayekar questioned why he should show his ID card to them when they were not affiliated to the FWICE and have no right to carry out an inspection. That led to an argument. Wayekar was pulled and slapped. There have been several instances of the union members throwing their weight around and indulging in high-handed behaviour," a source told the daily.
However, Rakesh Maurya, a member of union, refuted to the allegations. "No one slapped him. He was using expletives and that's when a scuffle took place. The FWICE is against our association and they just want reasons to pull us down," Maurya said.
Meanwhile, FWICE has been informed about the incident. "It was embarrassing and upsetting. The FWICE has, however, assured me of an apology from the union," Wayekar said.
