CINTAA appeals to its A-listers to pitch in financial aid, ration

The Cine And TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA) on Monday appealed to its A-list members to provide financial help to the underprivileged workers of the entertainment industry who are hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Actor Amit Behl, senior joint secretary, CINTAA, said the appeal was made to the actor members so that resources could be pooled together to help those in need.

"Unlike some of the other associations, as a union, we don't have a big corpus or are cash-rich. That's why are appealing to our A-listers so that if we have a big corpus, we can help our members better," Behl told PTI. The actor urged all actors to pitch in not only via funds but also through rations.

"Nobody expected this calamity to happen so it has put us on a thinking mode for the future to gather funds for a rainy day too," he said, thanking TV actor Arjun Bijlani for his contribution to rations. Behl said majority of the actors, whether on TV or web, work on a per day basis with a 90-day cycle of payment, therefore CINTAA has also urged the broadcasters to bypass the cycle and release their payments.

"In our trade, we can't work from home. The process of physical shooting has stopped. About 80 per cent of actors working on TV-web, work on a per day basis. It's just that daily wage workers in other crafts get paid the day they finish their work. 

"But our actors, whether they are A-listers or not, have a 90-day cycle. So we are urging the broadcasters that let's not maintain the cycle, if someone needs funds immediately, it can be put to good use." A broadcast SMS evoked a response from over 400 members asking for help, following which CINTAA sent the members an e-form, where they filled in their bank details. 

As of now, the association and its sister concern, the Cine Artist Welfare Trust (CAWT), have started helping with a nominal monetary amount of Rs 2,000 for anyone in need.  "Everyday the bank is transferring money to 100 accounts. So slowly we are doing it... We are also getting a positive response from actors. We have organised rations for some of our people who are in far-flung places and who need provisions immediately," he added.

(With PTI inputs)