Bollywood closes as workers strike

A pay dispute has resulted in thousands of actors and technicians in Bollywood going on strike.

One Mumbai union has stated that many of its members have not been paid for months and is threatening indefinite industrial action.

Federation of Western India Cine Employees' representative Dinesh Chaturvedi commented that such conditions cannot continue.

"Employees sometimes work for as long as 30 hours at a stretch. There have been serious health issues and even accidents. We have been writing to producers but it got us nowhere," he said.

"Filming has been cancelled because workers have not reported on sets. Workers will not report back for work unless we are paid in time and have better working hours."