AICWA President Demands FIR Against Sanjay Leela Bhansali Over Love & War Set Tragedy

The All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) President Suresh Shyamlal Gupta criticised veteran filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali over the death of a worker on the set of Love and War. He labelled the worker's death as a "murder" and demanded an FIR be registered against Bhansali on murder charges.

A worker named Chandradhari Yadav, a carpenter, died after suffering an electric shock on the set at Film City, Mumbai. The Production house has offered ₹40 lakh as compensation to his family. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

AICWA President slams Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Speaking to IANS, Gupta alleged that the death of the worker was caused by the absence of proper safety measures. Apart from the FIR demand, he also sought ₹1 crore in compensation for the victim's family and a comprehensive fire and safety audit of all film sets.

"Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a well-known film producer and filmmaker in Bollywood. Everyone knows him. His upcoming film is Love and War, in which big actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, and many others are taking Rs 100 crore or Rs 50 crore. On the set of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a 42-year-old worker used to work as a carpenter. He lost his life in a power cut. He was not alone; he had a whole family. His wife and two children. There were no safety norms on his set. That's why he lost his life. If there were safety norms, this worker's life would have been saved. He lost his life because there were no safety norms. Due to a lack of safety norms, a worker has lost his life. I won’t call it a death; this is murder. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is accused of a fourth death on his set. This is murder," he was quoted as saying.

He further recalled that this is not the first death on Bhansali's set. Back in 2000, when he was filming Devdas, a worker died. In 2001, another worker died. In 2016, a similar incident occurred on the set. Adding the recent four deaths on the producer's set.

Gupta concluded by saying, "Every year, many workers die on film sets. You rarely hear that a producer or a big actor has died on set. This does not sound good because everyone’s life is at stake. But every time, it is the workers who are reported to have died. Everyone knows there are no proper safety norms on sets. That is why people are losing their lives. We have demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation. Nothing happens with Rs 40 lakh—Rs 1 crore is needed. He has two daughters. In today’s expensive times, who will take care of their upbringing? That is why we have demanded Rs 1 crore."

All about Love & War

Helmed by Bhansali, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal in lead roles. The film will release on January 21, 2027.

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