There have been protests against filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi by workers on his film 'Gandhi Vs Godse' for non-payment of their dues. Most of the film was shot before the pandemic broke out in 2020. The film is based on Asgar Wajahat’s play @Gandhi.com and is set between 1947 and 1948, focusing on the last years of Mahatma Gandhi’s life.
Some workers on the film crew have alleged that they have not been paid their dues. They are using slogans and posters against the filmmaker on Mumbai streets. A Navbharat Times report quoted one of the posters, “Murdabad (Down with) writer-director-filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi. It has been more than three years but we, the workers, have not been paid our dues. The company has money for Kazakhstan trips, and can pay the carpenter as well, but not for us - the extra setting boys. We are just being given dates. No one should work with such production designers and directors and neither should any company give them any work. They are not paying us so they stay in profit."
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) General Secretary Ashok Dubey has confirmed the non-payment of dues. He told ETimes, "We have had meetings with Santoshi and he has said that he will pay up. We got the complaint from the workers themselves. It is possible that the anti-Rajkumar Santoshi posters are being done by some antisocial elements because the workers have been informed that Santoshi will complete paying their dues in a few days time."
The film stars Deepak Antony as Mahatma Gandhi and Marathi actor Chinmay Mandelkar as Nathuram Godse. It also features the filmmaker’s daughter, Tanisha Santoshi, alongside Arif Zakaria and Pawan Chopra.
