KOCHI: The Kerala Film Producers' Association (KFPA) will stop all production work once the Malayalam Cine Technicians' Association has decided to go ahead with its decision to form a trade union.

KFPA president Milan Jaleel said here on Thursday that the decision to form a trade union would hamper the prospects of the Malayalam film industry. Quoting official figures, he said the number of films produced in the industry had come down over the last 10 years. Ten years ago more than 150 films were produced a year, but the number has come down to 50 in 2005.

Mr. Jaleel said that rising production cost had cut down the number of films made in the State. Video piracy has also eaten into the revenue share of the industry.

Producers have been complaining that pirated VCDs and DVDs of latest Malayalam films are available in the market. CDs of latest films are circulated even in the first week of the release of the film.

Commenting on the decision of technicians to form a union, Mr. Jaleel said the move would add to the problems faced by producers. They fear that the discipline existing in the industry will get affected with the launch of the union. They feel that the union will not help in promoting the interests of the industry.

Producers will meet soon to chart out their plan of action. It is learnt that technicians wanted to ensure job safety by forming the trade union. Workers in the industry have been unorganised for years. The association of technicians will hold fresh rounds of discussions before finalising its idea to form the union.

The film industry in the State has been in crisis off and on for some reason or the other

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail