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| Dancing away: Puneet Rajkumar in a song sequence for Bindaas |
The president of this association, choreographer Ramesh, received a letter from Okkuta stating that the association will no longer be counted as a part of Okkuta.
What it means...
The Okkuta is an important part of the Kannada film industry, which protects the working category in the industry. It has as many as 14 wings under its care. Some of them include the make-up men, spot boys, technicians, light boys etc.
The Dance Director’s Association was also one among these until recently.
“The Okkuta is like the mother hen of all these people. If a technician or worker on the sets is not paid his due, they step in make sure the film does not get released till each individual gets his due. It is a big advantage,” explains a source from the industry.
Knocked out
The DDA has not been given a valid reason for being knocked out from the list of wings under the Okkuta, but when HiTLIST got in touch with a few choreographers, here is what they had to say...
The Okkuta wants the Dance Director’s Association to work as an independent unit because we do not come under the workers category. Ideally we should be part of the artists category as dance is a creative art form
It all started with a choreographer called Tribhuvan. A couple of years back, he went to Chennai in search of better opportunities. The Tamil industry gave him a member card there. So he now belongs there. But if he has to work in the Kannada film industry, there are some other clauses that come into play. Any choreographer from another industry has to hire 50 per cent of his dancers from the state he is working in. However, it is the producer who feels the pinch when he has to shell out extra money for the dancers. Two of Tribhuvan’s producers felt that pinch and to make things easier, they want him to hold a member card from the Kannada film industry and not one from Tamil. The film chamber does not want to offer a membership card to someone who gave up on the industry for greener pastures. Things have gone out of hand and the members of the Okkuta feel that it is better to let the dancers association work independently and anywhere they want at that.
The DDA has been the fastest growing wing. They now have 450 members. The Okkuta can now support those who need it rather than this association that can survive well on its own.
