Bengali director Rahul banned from filmmaking for 3 months for violating rules
Bengali director Rahul Mukherjee has been banned from filmmaking for three months for violating the federation’s norms by shooting in Bangladesh without informing the concerned authorities.
The Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) has banned young director Rahul Mukherjee from filmmaking for three months for violating rules by going abroad for shooting.
After this, production house SVF appointed another director in place of Mukherjee.
FCTWEI president Swarup Biswas said neither the federation nor the Directors Association of Eastern India were informed by Mukherjee about his visit to Bangladesh to shoot the film, which is against the rules.
Portions of the untitled film, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya and Priyanka Sarkar, were shot in the neighbouring country.
Biswas said that when Mukherjee’s long absence came to light and he was contacted, he initially claimed that he had gone to Bangladesh as a tourist.
Speaking about another rule allegedly violated by Mukherjee, Biswas said, “He took the help of technicians associated with the Dhaka film industry to shoot the project.”
“This is not my personal decision. Various guilds under the federation have taken this decision,” the FCTWEI chief said.
SVF, the production house behind the project, said Soumik Haldar will now direct the film.
“In light of recent developments and respecting the guidelines of our stakeholders, we announce that Rahul Mukherjee has taken over the role of Creative Producer (for the project),” SVF said in a statement.
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Mukerji, whose romantic comedy “Kishmish” (Raisins, 2022) was a hit, did not comment on the ban but shared a social media post by veteran filmmaker Anjan Dutt and thanked him for the support.
Dutt said, “Preventing a filmmaker from working is wrong, unethical and illegal.”
The young director also shared a similar post by acclaimed director Srijit, who wrote: “Banning anyone is not the solution, nor is curbing someone’s right to work. In solidarity with Rahul Mukherjee.”
Director Kamleshwar Mukherjee also urged the federation to reconsider its decision.
Kamaleshwar Mukherjee said in a post on social media, “There is less investment, jobs and number of producers in West Bengal. It is difficult to make films here. If there is any obstacle in filmmaking, not only the director, but also the producer, actors, crew and technicians get frustrated and distressed.”