Suresh Shyamlal Gupta

Suresh Gupta was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra. His ancestral village is Borra, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He attended Sandesh Vidyalaya School and Uttar Bhartiya Sabha School in Mumbai for his early education. He attended S.K. Somaiya College and earned a degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Padmabhushan Vasantdada Patil Pratishthan's College of Engineering.^[1]

In 2013, he was appointed as the Mumbai President of the Youth Wing of the Indian National Trade Union Congress. In 2014 he became the National Secretary of Youth Wing of the Indian National Trade Union Congress.^[1]

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In 2016, he founded All Indian Cine Workers Association (AlCWA), a non-profit organisation aimed at addressing the concerns and issues faced by artists, workers, and labourers within the Indian Film Industry.^[1]

In a meeting with the government authorities, the Government of Maharashtra agreed to establish a committee dedicated to the welfare and rights of individuals in the film industry. Gupta was appointed as the employee representative on this committee.^[1] Under his presidency, the organization has raised issues and made demands related to the Indian film and television industry.^[10]

After a complaint was filed in Kolkata in July 2018 against the Netflix web series Sacred Games, its showrunners and lead actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, for allegedly insulting former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in one scene,^[11] Gupta, as President of AICWA, filed a complaint at the Chembur police station,^[12][13] A Public Interest Litigation on the matter was later filed in the Delhi High Court.^[14]

Following the 2019 Pulwama attack by the Pakistan-based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Jammu and Kashmir, AICWA announced a complete ban on Pakistani actors and artists.^[15][16] Gupta said the attack was "cowardly" and the most shameful act Pakistan has ever done, it will take strict action against anyone working with Pakistani artists.^[17][18] In reciprocation of the ban, a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court seeking a ban on the trade of Indian films in Pakistan.^[19][20]

AICWA protested against singer Mika Singh's performance at an event in Pakistan in August 2019, and boycotted him from any association with film production houses, music companies and online music content providers.^[21][22] The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) also issued the ban against him and his crew who performed at the event, but revoked the ban after he apologized.^[23][24]

Art director Raju Sapte’s suicide was raised in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on AICWA's demand,^[25][26][27] following which a meeting was held under the leadership of Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil and State Home Minister Satej Patil, and orders were issued for strict action against the culprits.^[28] In August 2021, the accused were arrested by the Mumbai Police for alleged extortion.^[27][29][30]

In February 2024, model-actor Poonam Pandey and her agency, Schbang, executed a fake death stunt to raise awareness about cervical cancer, leading to public outrage and calls for legal action. Gupta, as President of AICWA, demanded that the Mumbai Police Commissioner register an FIR against Pandey and her manager, arguing that their actions could damage the credibility of death announcements within the Indian film industry and potentially exploit serious health issues for personal gain. Following the public backlash, Pandey and her agency apologized, explaining that their intention was to highlight the seriousness of cervical cancer and to emphasize the importance of its prevention and awareness.^{[31][32][33][34]}