The death of a crew member on the sets of: Sanjay Leela BhansaliThe upcoming film ‘Love & War’ has once again brought attention to the working conditions in the entertainment industry. Chandradhari Singh Yadav, a carpenter who worked on the film, reportedly died after being electrocuted while working.After the incident, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) President BN Tiwari confirmed that Bhansali had given financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh to the family of the deceased worker. However, the federation has urged the production house to increase the compensation to Rs 50 lakh, considering that Yadav is the sole breadwinner of the family.Speaking to IANS, Tiwari said, “On the sets of ‘Love & War’ directed by: Sanjay: Leela Bhansali, one of our technicians died due to electric shock. After his death, SLB helped his family by donating INR 40 lacs. This is a good amount, but we ask him, because the worker is 42 years old, he is the only person who earns. So, we asked the production to give him INR 50 lacs. There is no response from his side yet. Our objection is only to this, not to health and safety. Health and safety, instead of 12 hours maximum duty, 16-20 hours work is done”.So far, neither Sanjay Leela Bhansali nor his production banner has publicly responded to FWICE’s request.Tiwari emphasized that the issue is more than a film set. According to him, poor safety standards and excessive working hours have become common in film, television and web productions, requiring urgent intervention.He further mentioned, “This is not just about Sanjay Leela Bhansali. In most sets, where series are made, where series are made, where other works are made, there is a problem everywhere. Therefore, this condition is completely unacceptable. And the federation will take strict action on this. Anyone set, our team will go for health and safety, and go and find out how many hours he has been working. Our goal is not to stop shooting. Our main issue is that our workers, our technicians and artists, who are being worked like slaves, must be stopped. We are technicians. We create entertainment for the cinema industry”.He added that the priority of the federation is to protect workers through dialogue rather than legal action. According to Tiwari, the FWICE has not lodged an FIR against any producer and instead believes in resolving disputes through discussions among the concerned parties.He continued, “The federation has never filed an FIR against anyone. Our power, the strength of our organization, is that people listen to us and respect us. Our organization was built to protect our workers. It was established to fight for their rights and safety. We are not set up to file an FIR against anyone”.The incident also sparked conflicting accounts. Recently, the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) questioned the initial version of events and called for an independent investigation to determine the exact cause of the worker’s death.Responding to AICWA’s concerns, Tiwari maintained that the federation has full knowledge of the incident and reiterated that the electrocution occurred due to exposed electrical cables on the set.He said, “No, we have complete information that the wires opened because of the current and the cause of death is unknown. He died instantly. He was a member of the elite labor union. Our people used to work with him. He did not work alone in the department he worked in. Many workers were with him”.He added, “A technician was with him. The sound recorders were with him. The cameramen were with him. If we say it was due to current and the post-mortem report also says that he died due to current, then it is not true”.