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<ul><li>Even though the ‘<keyword id="3080230" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gig-economy" source="Orion">gig economy</keyword> workforce’ is a new concept, the <keyword id="37465" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="film-industry" source="Orion">film industry</keyword> has been working with such a model for decades.</li><li>The Indian film industry employed over 2.5 lakh people in 2017 alone.</li><li>Despite the unionisation of the Indian film industry that protects the rights of freelancers, there are a lot of issues left to be dealt with.</li></ul>Gig workforce is the hottest new trend that has emerged with the rise of the digital economy leading to the advent of companies like Zomato, Swiggy and <keyword id="8681398" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="urban-company" source="Orion">Urban Company</keyword>. Widely overlooked, but the concept of hiring contractual employees has been around for decades, if not centuries. That’s right. The Indian film industry has been one of the biggest employers of gig economy workers since its beginning. The Indian film industry employed over <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/731218/employment-in-the-film-industry-india/">2.5 lakh </a>people in 2017 alone. Business Insider hosted Academy Award winner and Indian film producer Guneet Monga and Urban Company’s cofounder Varun Khaitan in its Future of Work event — held on September 16 and 17 — to throw more light on the topic. Monga said that the film industry in general has been employing several freelancers for decades, whether it is light boys, dancers, junior artists, art directors, cinematographers and more. The term <keyword id="7771650" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gig-workers" source="Orion">gig workers</keyword> has come up with the advent of the digital economy. “It can seem unstructured, but it actually works very well in the <keyword id="278613" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="freelance" source="Orion">freelance</keyword> business there… There is a union in this segment and that brings about a structure. But there are also some major challenges that come with it,” she added. She elaborated that the many freelancers have spoken about how difficult it is to get into the union or how expensive it is. Besides this, the segment does not get health benefits, does not come under labour codes and more, even though the payments are fixed due to the existence of a union. Watch More: What film producer Guneet Monga talks about unionisation in Indian film industry and what challenges it presents <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Khaitan, on the other hand, elaborated how Urban Company, an at-home services startup, has managed to overcome such challenges in the beauty and home segment. He noted that a salon or a service shop would employ 10-15 professionals and were essentially the “middlemen”, therefore a professional’s income would be capped. Urban Company has not only offered a more flexible working environment, but also increased their take home income and offered them health benefits. Khaitan also noted that allowing these service professionals to get in touch with customers directly has provided them with more respect and business prepositions as well. “There is actually a very high price point here [Indian film industry] even to become a part of the Union. And then there is a supply of enough and more people are constantly getting inducted, but there is definitely a bottleneck on how unions function. They do protect them [freelancers] in terms of providing for jobs, but the kind of structures that you [Urban Company] are talking about is still, I feel, not in the best shape here right now. And this has just been our industry that has been thriving on freelance,” Monga added. She elaborated that while the Indian film industry has been striving for freelancers, it's not with a vision of bringing people together or offering insurance or health benefits or looking into labour laws. Watch More: What Urban Company’s Varun Khaitan had to say on the current conditions of freelancers in Indian film industry <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Khaitan, sharing his experience, said “There are middlemen who claim to be good representatives and good samaritans of the workers, but are actually not. They are in some sense the heart of the problem, because a few things that just came up in this chat show there is no sense of balance between supply and demand in what is happening across the trade in the film industry and what that leads to is there is no sense of actual monthly earnings. So everyone just fights for what I can make on this job and it leads to an unheadly spiral.” SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/the-only-way-to-beat-the-bots-from-taking-your-job-is-to-be-more-human/articleshow/86282273.cms">Future of Work 2021: The only way to beat the bots from taking your job is to be more human</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/easemytrip-touches-market-cap-of-a-billion-dollars/articleshow/86285130.cms">EaseMyTrip touches market cap of a billion dollars</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/biocon-hero-motocorp-tvs-motor-banks-and-other-top-stocks-to-watch-out-for-on-september-17/articleshow/86281250.cms">Biocon, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, banks and other top stocks to watch out for on September 17</a>

Here is what the Indian film industry can learn from gig economy firms like Zomato and Urban Company

London, Apr 19 () An award winning Indian dancer and choreographer in the UK has started offering a range of online sessions on Indian and Western music under the banner 'Dance Karona' to participants from several nations to beat the blues after the coronavirus lockdown led to cancellations of her upcoming performances in several countries.'Dance Karona' -- says Kuchipudi dancer Arunima Kumar, who begins her class with a digital hug to participants from Poland, Spain, Britain, India, US, Brazil and the UAE.Arunima, former Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar's daughter and a London School of Economics (LSE) graduate, left her corporate career to run a dance company in London and the news of the lockdown brought her cancellations for upcoming performances in UK, Poland and France, putting her team under pressure financially and emotionally.However, few days later she had over 100 participants grooving to both Indian and Western music digitally with Arunima offering a range of sessions using Facebook, Instagram and Zoom. The classes include yoga, Indian classical dance, Bollywood fitness, chair dance moves for the elderly with breathing exercises, among others which are also customised as per demands of participants."It was depressing, scary and we felt we had lost our livelihood. It was our darkest hour. I have worked hard past 10 years to build my team and company, engage with my communities through Indian art and culture and at a time when there is so much anxiety and stress, I felt I must stay resilient."I believe that physical distancing may be a new reality in these times but not social distancing. Socially, we must stay connected even more, else we will lose our sanity," she told .She said she was also connecting with artists who have suffered huge losses in their profession due to the lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has claimed more than 160,000 lives worldwide."Without people there are no arts and the gig economy is the hardest hit. So it's critical that artists come together in new ways and continue to do what they love - let arts heal the world. Due to this disruption, technology is enabling us to be connected to anyone across the globe online. The world is our stage, through a screen," she added.Arunima, a trained Kuchipudi dancer, an Ustad Bismillah Khan awardee and Sahitya Kala Parishad Scholarship for Dance in 1998, plans to take performances online too. She is also empanelled as an Established artiste with the Indian Council of Cultural Research.She has 700 performances to her credit which include her dance at the Buckingham Palace for the Queen's reception to mark the UK-India Year of Culture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit at Wembley stadium where she presented her choreography before 70,000 people and world media as well as Rashtrapati Bhavan in India. According to Kornelya, a participant from Poland, "we need this, it was super energetic and now I am in a positive mood. Next time, I will bring my husband Roberto"."To me, it was meaningful because I got fired last week from my job. I was so low but today I could smile and dance and be free," she said.For Mala Kumar, "it is fun and fitness at its best and there is a reason to dress up and feel good during the lockdown. After two weeks of isolation, I felt happy. I was e-meeting others and had put on make up. It is also great for kids as they can exercise, sing and dance. They feel normal despite the physical closure of schools".Arunima also has an extra-hand during digital classes. Her 6-year-old daughter Aishwarya Gupta, who is now at home until schools open again."She joins in on most sessions, changes her costumes. This keeps her healthy and happy. It's a special moment for me too," she said.Several countries across the globe have imposed lockdown to curb the spread of the deadly virus which has infected more than 2 million people worldwide. SKL ZHZH

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Here is what the Indian film industry can learn from gig economy firms like Zomato and Urban Company

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'Dance Karona': Indian dancer's digital classes help beat lockdown blues

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