If filmmaking halts, hunger takes its place” – Director V.N. Aditya
In cinema, a true producer is not the one who invests only when profits are guaranteed, but the one who continues to invest regardless of success or failure. There are individuals who, even after facing losses, continue to channel earnings from their other businesses back into films.
Over the last decade, some have invested thousands of crores, providing employment to countless workers, withstanding flops, criticism, and trolling, yet staying committed to the industry.
Instead of encouraging such dedication and enabling quality cinema, it is unfortunate when politics, false propaganda, or caste-based divisions push investors away from films and back into other industries. Ultimately, this damages workers and the industry at large.
To put this into perspective, the money spent by one such producer on daily wages and meals for hundreds of workers over ten years could itself fund the budget of several big films.
While many big names in the industry are never questioned—even when they underpay workers but splurge on stars—it is often the sincere producers who become targets of unions and criticism.
Any workers’ union should stand up against producers who exploit labor—not against those who provide livelihoods to thousands. Strikes may satisfy some leaders, but in reality, lakhs of workers in the Telugu industry are left with empty stomachs when regular shoots stop.
Film is a profession where income exists only if work happens, and when shooting is halted, no one can rescue another from hunger.
Leadership means problem-solving, not disruption. If unions truly have power, they should come together to ensure smooth shooting for at least one day, instead of blocking work.
After all, stopping production serves no one—not the producers, not the workers, and certainly not the industry.
I am not a union leader, only a long-time member. Yet, having directly witnessed three and a half decades of changes in cinema, I believe experience itself is a qualification to speak.
Investment in cinema is not easy—success rates are barely two percent, yet since 2008, thousands of crores have entered the industry, with more still lined up.
This growth has also brought national and international recognition in the form of several prestigious awards.
For everyone’s sake, let producers make films. That is the only way workers can survive. If we halt shoots, it is the stomachs of workers that burn first.
Cinema rewards effort with sustenance, but a day without work means going to bed hungry. This is a reality everyone must understand before they act.
— V.N. Aditya, Director
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