Hairdresser From Bengali Film Industry Sets Herself On Fire, Accuses Stylist Panel Of Denying Work

Kolkata: A woman hairstylist working in the Bengali film and television industry allegedly tried to die by suicide by setting herself ablaze, claiming that a powerful lobby in the technicians' association has been preventing her from getting work since May this year, police said on Sunday.

Moments before trying to take her own life on late Saturday evening, the woman in a voice-recorded statement and a handwritten note, identified 10 people allegedly responsible for her predicament. A police complaint was lodged in this connection.

The allegation of the hair stylist will be looked into, said the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India, the umbrella body of technicians and directors.

The woman doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire at her residence but the family members saved her and admitted her to a state-run hospital. She was discharged from there on Sunday.

She had recorded a statement on a mobile phone and scribbled a hand-written note in Bengali in which she accused some influential members of the Cine and Video Hairstylist Association of treating her in a vindictive manner.

"I was not being allowed to be part of projects independently and made to wait for their consent. I was also not given any project by the association. This has caused tremendous financial strain on me. My family has been virtually starving for the past couple of months," she said in the scribbled note and in the recorded audio statement.

"As a result, I am forced to take my own life," she said and named 10 colleagues holding them responsible for her situation.

An industry source said she was suspended on May 1 by the technicians’ body for “insubordination and indiscipline” for three months and after the expiry of that period, she was free to take up any project.

It is the discretion of production houses to choose her for any project and the technicians’ body has no role in it, the source said.

Expressing solidarity with her, actor Sreelekha Mitra wondered who would take responsibility for her suicide bid.

"She had not been getting any assignment for months. To whom will she turn to for justice?" Mitra said in a Facebook post.

Recalling that the woman has been in the industry for 22 years, starting as a shooting attendant and later becoming a hairdresser, actor Sudipta Chakraborty said, "I will stand by her and protest any injustice. Let her recover first." The Directors Association of Eastern India (DAEI), a representative body of filmmakers, voiced support for the hairstylist.

In a statement, the DAEI said every stakeholder in the industry should raise their voices against the "vested interests who have institutionalised threat culture concept in the sector by muscle power and intimidation." It said the life of the hairstylist concerned has been saved this time and discharged from the hospital, but she will need prolonged counselling at home.

"We don't need a rerun of the incident. Let's all unite against such bullies in industry," it said. Swarup Biswas, the president of the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India, told PTI that he had heard about the incident.

“A committee formed to look into allegations of discrimination and grievances will examine the issue. If the allegations are found to be true, we will take proper action," Biswas added.