India, June 25 -- Marathi television actor Shantanu Gangane is stepping into a role unlike any other - he's leading the charge for actors, directors and technicians struggling to be paid. Things took a turn for the worse post-pandemic as the window for payments was further extended, leaving many waiting months, sometimes over a year, with no clarity on when, or if, their dues would be cleared.

Gangane, best known for his role in the TV show Paaru, is now armed with data and signatures he plans to place before state cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar. He received the data and case studies after he sent out a rallying call on social media on June 8. Gangane urged artistes to fill in a Google Form - and within a fortnight 70 artistes r...