The 3 month ban on Bengali filmmaker Rahool Mukherjee by Federation of Cine Technicians’ Workers of Eastern India has now been lifted. He was banned on the 20th of July this year on the grounds of violating the rules of the Federation and working with Bangladeshi technicians without permission. Filmmakers and other crew from the industry gathered around in protest and finally the ban was lifted.
The Federation said that Rahool Mukherjee went on to shoot his series ‘Lohu’ with Bangladeshi platform Chorki without any permission and he also violated the rule of employing local Technicians for foreign projects. Apart from the project ‘Lohu’ he also had to step down from a film titled ‘Puja’. The film had some big names from the industry like Anirban Bhattacharya, Prasenjit and more. Rahool Mukherjee had said that the ban was completely irrational and as ‘Lohu’ is an international project, he had “no obligation to the Federation’s requirement of employing local technicians.”
The filmmakers’ guild stood in support of Mukherjee and paved the way for the return to his project. He was compelled to back down as not only the director but also the creative producer of the film. He will, now, most probably be returning as the director.
‘Puja’ will resume shooting very soon and it is indeed a huge triumph for artistic expression and filmmakers from the industry are happy that they could lift the ban.