90% of foreign artists working illegally in India: Bollywood union

Bollywood has been going through turbulent times in recent years. I can only say that the industry is suffering because social media is constantly calling for boycotts of Bollywood movies and they are succeeding. Now, the Bollywood Trade Union claims that local artists and film crews are also suffering as foreign artists and crews take their place in Bollywood.

The PTI reports that many foreign artists are working illegally in Bollywood without proper work permits. Members of the Bollywood union have accused the Mumbai police of being at fault in the incident.

The Bollywood film industry is hiring more and more foreign professionals and artists for roles related to cinematography, screenplays, junior artists and dancers. Most often these individuals are recruited from countries such as the UK, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Indians originally dominated positions such as makeup artists, hair stylists, dancers, action directors, stuntmen, costume designers, art directors and technicians.

Ashok Dubey, president of the Federation of West Indian Film Workers (FWICE), told PTI that Indians are losing job opportunities because of foreigners working illegally in Bollywood. FWICE he consists of 300,000 members.

“These foreign artists and staff are employed by producers. Nearly 90% of foreigners working in the Indian film industry work illegally. I’m in a movie at ,” said Dubey.

The union crew opposes the whole issue as they believe foreign artists should be banned in the same way that Pakistani actors and technicians are not allowed to work in the Indian film industry. Union members also said they had lodged a complaint with the Mumbai Police over the matter, but to no avail. Currently, the exact number of foreigners working in Bollywood and Tollywood is unknown.