Conversations about meteoric star fees and their entourage costs borne by producers have gained momentum in the past few months. Many filmmakers have voiced their opinion on how that has been shooting up the cost of production of films at a time when the industry is already going through a rough financial patch. While Anurag Kashyap, sometime back, spilled the beans on how a star’s personal chef was charging Rs 2 lakh a day to cook ‘healthy’ meals for him, Rohit Shetty recently defended actors’ exponential remunerations stating that the cost of everything has gone up.
Now, in an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Gulshan Devaiah agrees with Anurag, his That Girl In Yellow Boots director and Bad Cop co-star, and avers. “Maybe Anurag in his experience has seen some actors like that. I was there when he said that, so I can say that he added that there are producers who were willing to pay that money. Suddenly, why are they complaining? Pichle paanch filmon mein toh tumne diya tha utna paisa. Now that they don’t want to shell that much amount, they’re complaining,” he says.
But he’s quick to add that ‘some of the blame needs to be borne by actors too’. “One has to understand why such a thing is prevalent. It’s like asking, why is a government official taking bribes? That’s because someone is also willing to give it. Yes, it’s true that not all actors quote a high price. There are only a select few. But they should also become a bit reasonable,” Gulshan points out.
The Ulajh actor explains that problems arise when one actor tries to copy another as a result of which, producers are often stuck in limbo. “Sometimes it’s a trickle-down thing. They see other actors walking with five bodyguards and then they want six for themselves. Yes, we aren’t offered residual income or backend deals. I don’t know why everyone shies away from talking about it. Maybe because they’ve to open their books and show transparency in their accounts. But there are other ways to make money too,” he states.
Referring to this situation as a ‘systemic problem’, Gulshan tells us that the shift in the financial condition of the film industry has led a lot of producers to suddenly raise their concerns. “A few years back, producers must have thought that paying that money will be worth it. Maybe it’s not worth it anymore. Maybe they don’t have that spare Rs 2 lakh to splurge on a chef. Things are changing. So, it’s everybody’s responsibility to make sure that every story is made with the right budget,” he says.
He continues, “At some point, nobody cared about it because they knew how to make money. But life has thrown challenges now and the situation isn’t easy anymore. There are other avenues through which producers could make money. Now, the burden of recovering the cost is on them. It’s a cut-throat business. It has always been difficult to release films in theatres but now more than ever, producers are faced with the challenge of creating that budget.”
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