Parambrata Chatterjee, Anjan Dutt, and other directors sign a letter to revoke Rahool Mukherjee’s suspension order

The office of the Directors Association Of Eastern India was so crowded that many directors had to stand outside as the filmmakers met on Thursday to discuss the suspension order on Rahool Mukherjee issued by the Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India. Parambrata Chatterjee, Arindam Sil, Raj Chakraborty, Anjan Dutt, Kamaleswar Mukhopadhyay, Debaloy Bhattacharya, Ayan Chakraborty, and several others attended the meeting. The office bearers of the directors association Sudeshna Roy and Subrata Sen were also present at the meeting. Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly and several others have the meeting a miss. Kaushik Ganguly was reportedly out of station on Thursday. 

Also read: Rahool Mukherjee vs Federation: Srijit Mukherji, Debaloy Bhattacharya, and others gear up to take on the ‘highhandedness’ - will they succeed?  

A large number of directors were present at the meeting on Tursday. The meeting started around 5 pm. As per sources, 72 directors signed a letter to revoke Rahool Mukherjee’s suspension order. Alternatively, they threatened to separate themselves from the umbrella of the Federation. The Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India has 25-odd guilds, including the directors association, under them. Around 9 pm, Sudeshna and Subrata went to meet the Federation leader Swarup Biswas and other heads of the guilds to convey the letter. 

At nearly 11 pm, the Federation decided to let Rahool work as creative producer for the upcoming project. However, they did not agree to revoke suspension order. The Federation officials said that they would not object in Rahool be on the floors with Soumik Halder directing the film. While no decision has been made, directors seemed to be unhappy with the outcome of the meeting. According to a director who did not want to be named, "We want Rahool to direct the film without any suspension order."

It all started when SVF announced its upcoming production, featuring Prosenjit Chatterjee and Anirban Bhattacharya, on July 17. Rahool was scheduled to direct the film. After he received the ‘suspension’ email, SVF announced that DOP Soumik Halder would direct the movie, while Rahool would work as the creative producer – a rank beyond the Federation’s jurisdiction. It was later reported that the officials of the Federation refused to allow Rahool to continue with the project even with a new designation.

Earlier today, the directors association issued a notice stating that they do not intend to stall the project and will allow Rahool to be a part of it as long as he does not work as the director.