Close to 10 days after Rekhs, a popular subtitler in the south Indian film industry, opened up about Production giant Lyca allegedly not paying her dues, the issue remains unresolved.
Rekhs says she has requested Lyca multiple times to settle her dues for her work in Rajinikanth’s 2018 magnum opus 2.0. “I do not want to give up. It is unfair to not be paid for the work you did. I am only asking them to pay me for the work I did for the film’s Tamil version. My Hindi and Telugu subtitles, too, were used for Amazon Prime and that also needs to be accounted for,” she tells TNM.
Rekhs says that subtitles are integral for expanding a film’s reach. “Several Hollywood celebrities have been able to watch the film on Amazon Prime because of the sub titles. A lot of them have been able to appreciate 2.0 mainly because of the subtitles. As far as the payment goes it isn’t even 0.001% of the film’s collection. Reports are that 2.0’s rights collected Rs 50 crore overseas. What they owe me is not even a drop in the ocean,” she says.
Ever since Rekhs posted about the matter online, support has been pouring in for her on Twitter. “The press and Twitteratti have been so very supportive. I was quite surprised when all the support started coming in. Yet, Lyca seems to be maintaining radio silence on the issue. I was under the impression that the bosses were not aware but it's hard to believe that now, especially after all the media coverage,” she adds.
#2pointO is #3!!! overseas sold for 50crores, wat my team has to be paid is 1/10 of a drop in that ocean of money!! #mayjusticeprevail! https://t.co/VvOVtezaqS pic.twitter.com/Rz8FAgEoAJ
— rekhs (@rekhshc) August 24, 2019
Rekhs says it’s disappointing that someone like her, who has been working in the field for 10 years, with gruelling work hours like 6 am to 2 am, is being treated this way. “We put in at least 10 hours of work every day and even though this amount may not pinch my pocket, the same cannot be said for my editor. They work on the time codes, twice, for the censor version and for the final version. We just want to be paid for the work we’ve done,” she says.
Melanie Greenberg, an Indian film enthusiast who runs a YouTube channel called Pardesi Reviews on which she regularly posts reactions and reviews to Indian films, has come forward in support of Rekhs.
“Rekhs is simply the best subtitlist in Indian Cinema. I never feel left out of a joke because she finds an English phrase that still makes me laugh. I can’t believe that she and her team have not been paid for an international blockbuster like 2.0. It’s because of subtitles that Indian films can reach a global audience,” she tells TNM.
“Good subtitles can allow you to be lost in the magic of a movie while bad ones with missed timing or wrong words take you right out. In my interviews with Rekhs I’ve learned what care she puts into her work and how many times she rechecks it to make sure the timing is exactly right. No one else tries to rhyme the songs in English! Many films don’t even bother to subtitle songs which is so frustrating for me,” she adds.
Melanie recently posted a video on her channel in which she’s in conversation with Rekhs and a few others, discussing the importance of subtitling and all the challenges that go with the business.
TNM is awaiting a response from Lyca’s team on the issue.