Unpaid work of any kind is a particularly unpleasant feature of our industry. Fortunately nowadays there is much less of it around in TV, however it does linger persistently on in the lower reaches of the Film industry.

And it is particularly offensive when it is offered to those on the lowest rung of the production ladder, especially when other members of the crew are all being paid.

That is the case on a film currently being crewed up by one Kavita Kumari of Dream Girl Productions, a production being shot in Derby in April. Kumari posted an advert on a Facebook group calling for applications for crew on the film, to be based in a school and mostly cast with children (“crew will be asked if they are DBS cleared”) with all the roles except the 3 runners to be paid. These valueless members of the crew would apparently be expected to survive on expenses alone. On a 20 day shoot.

Midlands based Kavita Kumari variously describes herself online as a producer, talent agent, production manager, casting director, actress and location manager. A busy life, and no doubt one where she demands remuneration every time she fills any one of these many roles. Difficult to understand why then she expects anyone else to survive on fresh air and expenses alone.

Gratifyingly, when Kavita posted the advert for the work, there was a huge outcry on the Facebook page on which it appeared, which quickly spread to others. Kumari then hastily removed the advert, but not before she had (by her own admission) harvested a pool of around 100 runners to exploit for their work.

When asked why she felt it was fair (or indeed legal) to expect these runners to work for free, she decided to opt for the bare faced lie approach, denying that she had done such a thing (despite the evidence being readily available in her own writing) and claiming that it was all some kind of social media storm in a teacup.

A warning then for cast and crew to watch out for this particular individual (and her company) if she comes looking for workers on any production in the future. Given the evidence of this particular episode, she is clearly not one to be trusted.

If anyone does do this work and wants to be paid for their work (as is their legal right) do feel free to get in touch. Claiming your wages is very straightforward and cost free, and most industry freelancers would be delighted to help you nail this particularly obnoxious behaviour.

Kavita Kumari, Dreamgirl Productions: Freelancers beware!

**EDIT**

It appears that Kavita Kumari has more than a little history of shady behaviour, if this article is anything to go by (apologies in advance, it is a link to the Daily Mail):

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2588023/Crooked-businesswomen-met-Queen-two-Prime-Ministers-used-fake-students-steal-200-000-government-funded-charity.html

Since this article was posted, more accounts of this woman offering unpaid work have also turned up. A warning then - be very cautious in terms of any financial dealings with Kavita Kumari/Kavita Jnagal, her reputation precedes her!