Protesting non-payment of wages for acting in a film under production, twelve supporting actresses from Kerala locked up a film Director in his hotel room in Salem, Tamilnadu for a few hours.

The young actresses ended their protest after the producer of the Tamil film arranged for part payment of their wages at the intervention of police yesterday.

The group of actresses had been brought from Kerala by an agent for the shooting of the Tamil film Theekuchi (match stick) directed by Yuvaraj and starring Bhanupriya and Manivannan at the hill resort town of Yercaud. They were to be paid Rs 400 per day.

The filming, which went on for a fortnight, ended Tuesday but the actresses were not paid their wages and the producer had left the town, police said.

The actresses said they would lodge a complaint against the producer with their association in Kerala.