Strike Is A Word I Hate, Says Rajinikanth On FEFSI Issue

Rajinikanth, in a press release issued this afternoon, has called for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing strike by FEFSI.

“Strike is a

 word that I hate. Whatever problems we may have, if we let go of our prestige and think about the common good, we can arrive at an amicable solution. As a senior artist in this industry, I request FEFSI and the Producers’ Council to work together to achieve a peaceful resolution to this.”

Earlier today, FEFSI head, RK Selvamani met with the actor at his residence in Chennai. While details of the meeting are not available yet, it is speculated that the duo talked about the ongoing strike. 

Interestingly, Selvamani said at a recent press meet that he wanted actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan to help bring about an end to the crisis.

FEFSI, an organisation of about 24,000 film workers, announced that it would go on an indefinite strike from August 1 if its demands were not met. As a result, the shooting of around thirty films were affected. The patchwork on Rajinikanth’s Kaala was also impacted as a result. 

It all began when Billa Pandi producer RK Suresh refused to provide additional batta to technicians for travelling more than 400 kms during an outdoor shoot. The journey batta is a system by which technicians are given extra money to travel to locations longer than 400 kms from the home base (Chennai). 

Following this incident, the FEFSI workers went on a strike which ultimately resulted in the Producers’ Council passing a resolution to work with non FEFSI technicians.