The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) laid down new and controversial rules for the Tamil film industry recently. As per the new rules, only Tamil actors should be taken in Tamil films. The South Indian film body also stated that Tamil films should be shot only in Tamil Nadu unless it’s necessity to shoot outside the state or country.
What is FEFSI?
FEFSI is an organisation consisting of technicians involved in various fields from the Tamil film industry in Tamil Nadu. The film body is headed by director and producer RK Selvamani.
It is a partnership of 23 unions belonging to different works in the film and television industry. Reportedly, the organisation has around 25,000 members.
What are the new rules?
Here are the new rules by FEFSI:
- Only Tamil artists should be employed for Tamil films
- Shooting of films should happen only in Tamil Nadu
- Shoot should not take place in an outside state or outside country without utmost necessity
- If the shoot doesn’t complete on time or goes out of budget, written communication is to be made to producers with reasons
- Disciplinary action will be taken if the above rules are violated
The controversy
Several media reports have stated that the members of FEFSI were not able to secure work because Tamil films were made with artists from other industries.
In the past, several Tamil films were shot in foreign locations and this reportedly led to lack of employment opportunities for FEFSI members. Because of these reasons, the FEFSI laid down new rules.
However, several social media users criticised these rules. Recently, Telugu actor-politician Pawan Kalyan criticised the rules and said such exclusivity could limit the growth of the Tamil film industry. He also stressed the importance of embracing talents from other regions.
"Telugu industry thrives because it encourages talents from other regions, like Sujith Vaassudev from Malayalam, Urvashi Rautela from the North, and Neeta Lulla whose family migrated to India from Pakistan during the Partition. A film becomes exceptional when it combines talents from various languages. Restricting it to our language and people will cause the industry to shrink. I urge the influential members of the Tamil industry to abandon such thinking and create globally renowned films like RRR," he reportedly added.
Tamil artists are yet to share their views on the issue.
