Manikarnika Actor Daniel O’Kane EXCLUSIVELY Speaks TO Sandip Pal About Ekta’s Balaji Telefilms And Their Non-Payment Of Dues

Daniel O'Kane revealed all about payment inconsistencies in a tell-all conversation with Desimartini's Sandip Pal. The serials and television dramas that the Indian audiences so eagerly binge watch are shot in conditions one can’t imagine and the worst part is, it is almost always that the character actors who are not in continuity and mostly shoot for 2 to 3 days for a short role don’t get paid at all in a timely manner. This time the production house that is under scrutiny is Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms. 

Actor Daniel O’Kane who played the prominent role of Lieutenant Nicholas in the Kangana Ranaut directed Manikarnika is an Australian actor/model and works in Mumbai. Besides playing the supporting role in Manikarnika, he has also played a supporting character in the Sunny Leone Biopic titled Karenjit Kaur. The actor will also be seen in the webseries Ikihgai, Udan Patolas and also in a small role in Hum: I am Because of Us . He has also bagged small yet prominent role in  feature films Badla and Mission Mangal.

The Melbourne artist shot for Balaji Telefilms’ Dil Hi To Hai that aires on Sony TV. He was part of season 1’s episode 13 and 14. They were telecast on the 5^th and 6th of July 2018.

Unfortunately the actor hasn’t yet been paid fully for his work! In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times Desimartini, he spoke about his ordeal. Quipped he, “In the hit Hindi TV serial Dil Hi Toh Hai, which aires on Sony TV and ALTBalaji, I was involved in the wedding story between Rishabh (Akshay Dogra) and Reeva (Gurpreet Bedi). I played Andrew, Reeva’s friend from college, who was helping to give her wedding a European touch like she wanted. This annoyed her father, Vijaypath (Bijay Anand), who wanted a more traditional wedding.

“I was originally told I’d be only needed for 2 days on set, however after we started shooting they told me they wanted me to come back for more episodes. The writers had wanted to include me more in the wedding story. Unfortunately, I had other commitments and was not able to return. It was my hope that perhaps Andrew would be needed again in the future.

“I was promised by production that I would receive payment on my last day on set. However, we didn’t wrap on that last day until 2 AM and all the producers had gone home by then.”

The actor stressed on the fact that he got along pretty well with the actors Karan Kundrra, Gurpreet Bedi and Bijay Anand, further mentioning that they were like family to him which is why he doesn’t have any grudges against the creative team. However, he does have issues with the production team because of the laxity they display in their daily chores. The actor further disclosed, “After shooting, I texted my producer asking when I could get payment. He said he would let me know. I understand that many production houses can’t process payments immediately and sometimes you have to wait up to 1 month for payment. Actors are used to doing this, so I respectfully waited.

“In August, I got tired of waiting. I went to the Balaji Head Office to speak with them, as at this point my producer had stopped responding to my calls and messages and I had no one else to talk to. I gave my invoice in person to an accountant who works there. They told me the payment would be processed within a week and gave me a landline phone number to contact. For the next month, I called this number at different times of the day, but no one ever picked up the phone to speak to me. I can only assume my invoice was either lost in a sea of other invoices or just thrown in the bin.

“This was around the time when I learned that Alex Salnikov and Rick Maclane also hadn’t received payments for work done at the same time. These are also foreign actors, based in Mumbai, who work in many different productions.

“In September, I worked 10 days on the film Manikarnika with Kangana as my director, I have a supporting role in this movie. There I met an Indian actor who managed to call my producer of DHTH on my behalf and asked him to help me. For the next 3 months, I would periodically contact the same producer and he kept telling me to wait. He would send messages that said "Maybe 10th October u get ur payment", "Last week of October confirm", "U get ur cheque in November", "Between 7-10th December". Each time I gave him the benefit of the doubt, each time he gave me false hope. Finally in December he once again stopped responding to my texts and calls.

“In this time I was given numbers of other people who worked at the company. People either ignored me or told me that they couldn’t help me. At the beginning of this year, I went back to the Balaji head office again to try speak to someone. Security wouldn’t even let me through the gate. I spoke to someone from accounting on the phone outside from the security desk. They refused to let me in the building. All I wanted to do was give my invoice again in person. They wanted me to post my invoice in the mail.

“Eventually after pleading with them to help me, they told me I needed to go to Killick Nixon Studios in Powai, as the accountants who process invoices for DHTH were there. (I found it interesting that they didn’t tell me that immediately) and wanted me to go away and post my invoice to them at head office instead. But alas, by this point, I was not surprised by this behaviour.

“In Powai, I met a new producer at Killick Nixon Studios. He gave me excuses as to why my payment hadn’t yet been processed. He said that dozens of actors at Balaji who worked in June-July 2018 had yet to be paid, due to several key people leaving Balaji and none of them bothered to leave these actors’ contact details behind. The production team was waiting for these actors of that time to come to the studio in Powai, so that they could learn of the work they had done and to process their payments.

“This new producer assured me I would get money by Monday 14^th January. I wanted to speak to the head of production of Dil Hi Toh Hai to tell them about my experience so far. But the producer insisted that it wasn’t necessary and assured me I wouldn’t have to wait another week.”

As I file this story, Daniel who has already given up all hopes of getting his rightful payment of Rs 24,000 wishes that his ordeal comes out in public because, “the amount in question is a significant amount to be chased but not so much that the production house cannot afford to pay.”

This story indeed sheds light on a very pertinent aspect of the television industry. Given the fact that many actors depend on this money to survive, denying it is nothing less than a sacrilege! Daniel further asserted, “For every big superstar there are thousands more actors working in Mumbai, both Indian and foreigners alike. Some actors are struggling to make ends meet, while they wait for that big break which may never come. Some of them are under financial stress while they wait for producers and accountants at Balaji Telefilms to do their jobs and make payments. They’re afraid to speak up, in fear they’ll either never get their payment or worse, won’t be given any more work. After all, no one wants to work with a “difficult actor”.

We really hope the concerned people at Balaji Telefilms read this story and understand the plight of these actors. Just like Daniel, there are several other actors who have shared their stories with us. We hope justice prevails and their dues are cleared at the earliest. Everyone wants a good work atmosphere, an unbiased working environment, a place that doesn’t suppress the voices of the weak and we expect dignities will be maintained and reality will not be eschewed!