Strike By 100,000 Film Workers Brings Bollywood to a Standstill

More than 100,000 workers in Bollywood went on indefinite strike yesterday over low wages, late pay and the expanding casual labor force in the industry - a move which threatens to close cinemas in India during the busy festival season.

Big names such as Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have joined dancers, writers and technicians in the "non-cooperation" strike in Mumbai, home to India's prolific movie industry.

Dinesh Chaturvedi, the head of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), said 147,000 people had stayed at home and that poor pay was the heart of the issue. "A film worker gets 600 rupees [£7.50] per day and a television worker gets paid 500 rupees per day. The least the producers can do is pay them on time," he said.

The union's decision to go on strike - the first in 50 years - could not have come at a worse time. Indian cinema is recognized as a critical and commercial success - with annual ticket sales of 3.6bn.

With so much at stake, both sides are hopeful of an early resolution. Studios and producers in Mumbai said the problem was with "contractors" who were paid to find staff for Bollywood productions but often failed to pay workers agreed rates.

Ratan Jain, the president of the Association of Motion Picture and TV Program Producers, said it was "a few unscrupulous people in the industry". "More than 100 films have stopped production. All the studios are shut. Artists who have been booked months ahead will now demand more money to turn up again."