Manmeet Grewal's suicide: Raza Murad, Karan Patel, Nia Sharma question producers over delayed payments in the TV industry

Television actor Manmeet Grewal (32) committed suicide on Friday (May 15) due to financial crisis and this has left the TV fraternity in a state of shock. It has also given birth to many serious conversations such as actors and technicians not being paid by the producers on time, dearth of work, due to which they are unable to repay their loans and EMIs. The nationwide lockdown has made it further difficult to survive with no income and the sword of rent, bills hanging on one's head. Due to which, it became difficult for the Aadat Se Majboor actor, Manmeet Grewal to make ends meet. Many TV personalities have come out in the open to speak about the ongoing issues and how can the entertainment industry be handled post lockdown. Read on...(With inputs from Tanvi Trivedi)

Naagin 4 actress Nia Sharma penned a note and wrote, "I know many of my friends (Actors) that haven’t been paid since last year or more with rents and EMIs mounting, work this year clearly being halted indefinitely, everyone’s losing patience somewhere. I know, Producers have bigger risks and problems to deal with .. no clarity on the industry resuming Work any soon ,but still keeping up with the salaries of their huge staff , I totally respect that! In fact, I would thank them for generating thousands of jobs for us through the years, I could make a better life here. On that note, I’d just like to make a humble request on behalf of my fellow actors/ friends, other daily wagers that their dues be paid asap especially at a time when they need it the most so that we’re not waking up to more such Suicide Stories a few days or a month later!! I wish to be financially so strong one day that I myself could help people around. I rest my note." (Instagram)

Yeh Hai Mohabbatein actor feels killing oneself is a "cowardly act". The actor says that life gives such curve balls, one has to face it because suicide is not the solution. After the person is gone, it is his/her family that is left behind in pain and sorrow. Speaking about it, he wrote, "More than sympathy, I harbour anger for these kinds of people. I know most of you wanna shout out at me saying that only someone going through hell can know what helplessness feels like, okay agreed, but I strongly believe that no bloody problem in life is greater than life itself and nothing can compel you to give up this life which by the way is not what you have earned but its gifted to you by someone you called mother or maa all your life. So, you have no right to destroy something that does not belong to you. Remember you are not the only one to face tough times, there are million others who are probably in a worse situation than yours. I also think you cannot paint with white on a white canvas, you will need a black. Similarly, it is healthy to feel depressed or sad at times because only then will we identify and value happiness. I, for one can say this out of personal experience, that the more you talk and share your sorrows the lighter their burden becomes and with joy it's the vice versa, the more joy you spread the more it adds up in your life." (Instagram)

"So now that I’m done saying what I had to, one last parting advice from me, 'If you think your life has brought down on your knees, reach out and share because for all you know, the situation you thought u can never get out of, someone else could just sleepwalk you through it. There is nothing shameful in confessing that you are hurting, infact it takes a lot of guts to expose your weakness and that is what friends and family are for. Share with them, Care for them and at times when you feel vulnerable, just Stare at them. And even now if you still wanna go ahead with the destruction, I’d suggest you do that with something that belongs to you because by all means, this life of yours belongs to your parents, your wife, your siblings, your kids, your family and your friends who are always there for you, its your bad if you didn’t reach out to them.' (Instagram)

Cine & TV Artists Association (CINTAA) has requested producers to clear their actors’ dues. Amit Behl, Senior Joint Secretary and Chairperson of Outreach Committee, CINTAA, shared, “We urge television producers to clear the dues of their cast. Actors need money to survive, so producers should not insist on the 90-day payment system in the face of such a crisis. If people are paid their dues, we can avert such tragedies.” (Instagram)

He feels that it’s easier said than done. Amit explained, “Working at minimum capacity and resuming shoots is a creative call, in which we have no say. Also, people must understand that even the smallest unit on a TV set requires a certain number of technicians. So, it is not easy for TV shows to resume shoots even after taking the necessary precautions, because it will pose a health hazard.” (Instagram)

JD Majethia, Chairman of the TV wing of Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC), said, “It is important that we take care of our fellow workers in such a crisis. I had previously sent a mail in this regard to all the producers and yesterday, I again penned a note urging them to clear dues. In addition, they should make an advance payment to those who are in need.” (Instagram)

We have a plan in place and would like to discuss it with the Maharashtra government. We would like to resume shoots with a smaller workforce. It is important that the show goes on." (Instagram)

Raza Murad said, “The saddest part is that the TV industry follows a system of being paid after 90 days. There are many workers, including actors, who are currently facing a financial crisis because of this. If this situation continues, we fear that there may be more Manmeet Grewals.” Speaking about resuming work, the senior actor said, "I would like to appeal to the government to give us permission to start work with minimum workers, with all the precautions in place." (Instagram)

The cast and crew of Hamari Bahu Silk have been waiting for their dues to be cleared since June 2019. In fact, some members of the cast are finding it difficult to make ends meet since the industry has come to a standstill. The shoot of the show commenced in April last year. The unit members have received payments for just 15 days so far. All attempts to get their dues cleared have been in vain. The lead actor of the show Zaan Khan told BT, “I have worked with many production houses, but have never been in a situation like this. We have been requesting the makers — Devyani Rale, Sudhanshu Tripathi and Jyoti Gupta — but to no avail. For the past five-six months, we have been asking them to clear our dues. They assured us that they will, but are yet to do so. They have even stopped taking our calls now. Forget us, make-up artists, junior actors and other technicians, who don’t make a lot of money, haven’t been paid either.”