Producers, cine workers groups to provide funds, necessities to crew, with support from industry biggies

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and Producers Guild of India have come forward to supply relief materials and provide relief funds to cine workers in the wake of the ongoing shutdown of the film industry due to the spreading of coronavirus. 

“FWICE is organising the distribution of ration and basic materials of daily needs to the needy members of all its affiliates. This distribution will go on for whole one week beginning from Sunday, 22 March 2020,” said the cine body in a press release signed by Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor of FWICE and Indian Film and Television Directors' Association, BN Tiwari, president, Ashoke Dubey, general secretary and Gangeshwarlal Shrivastav, treasurer. 

The initiative has been made possible because of Frames Production Company. “We are thankful to Frames Production Company Pvt Ltd for their generous sponsorship. We also appeal to all the producers, technicians and other film and television personalities to come forward and lend a hand in our fight against Corona,” added the release. 

Similarly, the Producers Guild of India will be setting up a relief fund for daily wage earners who have been affected by the shutdown of the industry. 

“We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the fund, to ensure that we do all that we cans to minimise the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult times,” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, president of the Producers Guild of India, in an official statement. 

The move received support from a number of people from the film industry including producers Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani, filmmakers Anubhav Sinha, Rahul Dholakia, Hansal Mehta, and actresses Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Swara Bhasker, Nimrat Kaur, and Tisca Chopra, among others.