As players swing the bat to strike out during these baseball playoffs, the actors, technicians, and cameramen in India raised their pickets as they struck to demand increased pay and better overtime, bringing a halt to the world’s largest entertainment industry.

With the strike, dozens of movies and television productions will be on hold until an accord is reached between Bollywood executives and industry talent.

“Workers are paid for eight hours, but they work far beyond this. They are not paid more money and are not even paid on time,” Dinesh Chaturvedi, head of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, told reporters in Mumbai. “Workers will not report back for work unless we are paid in time and have better working hours.”

Similar to the 2007 writers’ strike in Hollywood, more than 100,000 technicians, dancers, and other film workers were told not to show up to work Wednesday morning, according to reports. The workers are reportedly represented by a coalition of 22 industry unions.

With production halted indefinitely, striking workers hope to address working conditions on set that are allegedly poor. According to industry insiders, those who build movie sets and handle lighting are paid the equivalent of $11 per day with no overtime, despite long hours.

Union officials told reporters they had the support of some of the biggest names in Bollywood, including Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

As an industry, Bollywood, which is based in Mumbai, produces more than 800 movies per year, including 200 Hindi-language films.

Producers reportedly were working on a deal to present to union officials on Wednesday evening, according to Ratan Jain, President of the Association of Motion Picture & TV Program Producers.

“The strike is not in anyone’s interest,” Jain said to reporters Wednesday. “Filming has come to a halt. We will sit down and find a solution.”

A major player in the local economy, Bollywood reportedly generated about $2 billion in revenues in 2006, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The accounting firm predicts that revenue will double by 2012. Reports that several megastars did not work on Wednesday were not confirmed.

The strike could not come at a worse time for Bollywood, which is gearing up for its peak season. Production studios are getting ready to launch their biggest films this month, as India’s month-long festive season began on Tuesday. Just like Christmas in America, movie fans throughout India fill movie theaters this time of year.

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