The Hindu Business Line : Unionised glamour

THE ongoing feud between the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) and the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce has a long and chequered history. The antagonism between the two organizations has only worsened with the financial crisis that has gripped the Malayalam film industry.

Bereft of hits and mega-blockbusters as in the heydays of the industry's superstars Mammooty and Mohan Lal, the industry is grasping for breath, even as it digs its own grave amidst a pile of mediocre screenplays and uninspired scripts.

Siyad Kokker, President of the Film Chamber, however, says the real problem is the exorbitant fee that the stars in the Malayalam industry charges.

Kerala's film stars who have teamed up to defend a common cause are in good international company. A couple of years ago, several prominent Hollywood actors, including Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, backed calls by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), America's biggest and most powerful acting union, to keep movie and TV production in the US.

SAG, which boasts 98,000 members, started strict enforcement of rules banning its performers from working on non-union projects made abroad but aimed at the US audience. Under the crackdown, named Global Rule One, performers could face fines, suspension and expulsion if they accept work on such productions.

The move is said to have had serious implications for the movie and TV industry in both the US and in favourite filming locations such as Canada, Australia and the UK. These places are often chosen because they are scenic and because they offer technical expertise at cheaper rates than in Hollywood.

An actor in America cannot escape SAG. All studio-produced, and most independent feature films, as well as television soap operas, series, and movies, require that an actor be a member of SAG.

America - whose Hollywood screenplays have inspired many a Malayalam film director, some to the extent of outright plagiarism - boasts of two more essential unions for professional actors, apart from the biggest, SAG: Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artistes (AFTRA).

AFTRA has some overlapping responsibilities shared with SAG, but it represents a wider range of professionals in various entertainment categories, from newspersons to magicians.

SAG is primarily concerned with wages and working conditions of performers working on film. AFTRA is a national labour union affiliated with the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

In most cases, the stated goals of the unions are to establish minimums for actors: minimums for work, minimums for residuals, minimums for conditions on a set and minimums for dues that a member will pay.

However, unlike AMMA and other outfits like the Malayalam Actors and Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), the Hollywood unions do look after their members. A major benefit of Union membership in Hollywood is access to agents and casting directors through guild-sponsored seminars and showcases. One wonders whether that happens in Kerala's unions.

Another crucial difference is this: The Hollywood trade union leaders clearly state that it is not a union's responsibility to find an actor a job or keep him in a job once he has found one. Just because an actor is a member of a union does not mean he or she is any more talented, experienced or qualified to work than any other actor, says one advisory.

As Kerala's film stars lock horns with producers and financiers, they should perhaps mull over these aspects as well. It may be glamorous to sweat under the arc lights - but only if you get paid on time. Otherwise, as another leader said on another occasion, if you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Only, this time, make that "sets".

The writer can be contacted at kg@tug.org.in

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