Let us start with a general knowledge question. What do Dil Chahta Hai, Gol Maal, Singham, Dum Maaro Dum, Finding Fanny, Go Goa Gone and Dear Zindagi have in common? Either parts of the movie or the entire film were shot in Goa. Dil Chahta Hai did wonders for the Chapora fort and increased footfalls from domestic tourists. That film did what no advertising campaign could manage. Films from the various industries dotted around the country visit Goa regularly to shoot in some of the wonderful locations. But then like in any film there is a protagonist who wishes to cause harm. The taxi drivers who hold the hospitality industry to ransom with their demands are now threatening to cause problems to an industry that helped generate Rs 200 crore in revenue for the state in the pre-covid days.
Last week two leaders of a Goa taxi union were arrested for allegedly assaulting crew members of a film unit shooting in Nerul village near Panjim.
The crew members got attacked inside the bungalow where they were shooting because they apparently hired taxis from outside Goa. Incidentally it is the same union which is responsible for a 14 day taxi strike in Goa.
Lyndon Alves who does production work for shoots for the two years said it was sad that such behavior was exhibited by the taxi drivers. He said “This is total contempt of the high court. They have been indulged so much. They want to cancel Goa Miles. They have to understand that by their behavior, Goan technicians who work on set will lose their jobs. These taxi drivers are affecting the job prospects of their fellow Goans. They don’t realise, people in the industry talk and the stars don’t want to face such situations. They say no to Goa and then that’s that. I think if people behave like this, their driving licenses should be cancelled. The authorities have to get strict. Before people are giving licenses, they should be given a course over 15 days where they should learn that they are the first interface for anyone visiting Goa and they have to present themselves in a certain way.”
He went on to say that the development of this industry was the ambition of the late CM Manohar Parrikar and the present CM and this was certainly not a welcome development. Lyndon ended by saying that units shooting in Goa used to take generators from Mumbai but now it was being sourced locally. He said it was important to realize that it was a business and people had to be prepared to work hard and sometimes for long hours. It was easy he said to get a taxi from Mumbai which would work out to Rs 5000 a day. The same from a Goa taxi driver would come to around Rs 11,000 per day. That just did not work out economically.
Sawant, a line producer whose staff Francis was on site when the taxi drivers walked in said it was not the first time this had happened. He said “There are 30 shootings taking place in Goa now and this incident did not take place in a public space. This happened in a bungalow. You cannot walk in and they have no authority to stop a shoot. We were shooting in Nerul and we know they were trying to stop shooting in Candolim too and they came over and did what they wanted to do. Francis was injured in the attack. They want the government to scrap Goa miles and we are paying the price”. Francis said billings from shootings were good and it was not unusual to earn anywhere between Rs 3-4 lakhs for a 15-20 days shoot. He said a lot of people were dependent on this business and it would be said if it was affected. Shoots he said was a very big promotion for Goa and great business for restaurants.
A man who had no problems talking about the effects of this action was Shiva Baba Naik who is a partner of Rohit Shetty and helps Yashraj Productions in all their productions in the state said the monies involved were huge for Goa. He said “Out of Rs 200 crore earned, Rs 198 crores was spent in Goa. In terms of staying, food, transportation hardware, a large number of taxis which usually means between 30-50 is all provided by local suppliers. Food for over a hundred people every day is provided by Goans, this is all huge money. People think this is entertainment. This is serious business and everyone on the set is there because they are paid. The only thing we don’t have is technical expertise which is brought over from Mumbai. People rent out houses for anywhere between Rs 25,000-Rs 75,000 per day. We pay the Panjim municipality Rs 1.10 lakhs everyday and if we have to shoot in a CRZ area we pay Rs 50,000 per day. Everything is paid, nothing comes free. This is serious business. And these guys going to wreck it? What are they thinking? In the long run they will be affected if this business does not come here.”
The taxi drivers are a law unto their own. And this cannot continue. Who will bell the cat remains to be seen.
