The death of a crew member on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s upcoming film ‘Love & War’ has once again brought attention to working conditions in the entertainment industry. Chandradhari Singh Yadav, a carpenter employed on the film, reportedly died after suffering an electric shock while at work.Following the incident, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) President BN Tiwari confirmed that Bhansali had extended financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh to the deceased worker’s family. However, the federation has urged the production house to increase the compensation to Rs 50 lakh, considering Yadav was the family’s sole breadwinner.Speaking to IANS, Tiwari said, “On the set of ‘Love & War’ directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 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 have requested him, because the worker was 42 years old, he was the only earning person. So, we requested the production to give him INR 50 lacs. There has been no response from his side yet. Our objection is only on this, not on health and safety. Health and safety, instead of 12 hours of maximum duty, 16-20 hours of work is being done”.As of now, neither Sanjay Leela Bhansali nor his production banner has responded publicly to FWICE’s request.Tiwari stressed that the issue extends far beyond a single film set. According to him, poor safety standards and excessive working hours have become common across film, television and web series productions, making urgent intervention necessary.He further mentioned, “It is not just about Sanjay Leela Bhansali. On maximum sets, where serials are being made, where series are being made, where other works are being done, there is a problem everywhere. So, this is totally unacceptable to the condition. And the federation is going to take strict action on this. No matter whose set it is, our team will go for health and safety, and will go and find out how many hours he has been working. Our aim is not to stop shooting. Our main issue is that our workers, our technicians and artistes, who are being made to work like slaves, who are being made to work like slaves, should be stopped. We are technicians. We do entertainment for the cinema industry”.He added that the federation’s priority is to protect workers through dialogue rather than legal action. According to Tiwari, FWICE has never lodged an FIR against any producer and instead believes in resolving disputes through discussions with the concerned parties.He went on, “The federation has never filed an FIR against anyone. Our power, the strength of our organisation, is such that people listen to us and respect us. Our organisation is set up to protect our workers. It is set up to fight for their rights, and safety. We are not set up to file an FIR against anyone”.The incident has also sparked conflicting narratives. Recently, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) questioned the initial version of events and called for an independent investigation to establish the exact cause of the worker’s death.Responding to AICWA’s concerns, Tiwari maintained that the federation has complete knowledge of the incident and reiterated that the electrocution occurred because of exposed electrical wiring on 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 on the spot. He was a member of the elite labour union. Our people used to work with him. He was not working alone in the department he worked in. Many labourers were with him”.He further added, “Some technicians were with him. Sound recorders were with him. Cameramen were with him. If we say that it was caused by the current and the post-mortem report also says that he died due to the current, then it is not true”.
