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Massive budgets and the unregulated demands of top stars have been making headlines ever since Hindi films made for whopping costs started tanking at the box office in quick succession this year. The latest industry insider to share his views on the topic is Abhishek Banerjee, best known for projects like Stree, Bhediya, Dream Girl, Dream Girl 2, Pataal Lok, and Mirzapur, among others. Despite having an acting career spanning over a decade, he said that supporting actors can sometimes earn less than a star’s bodyguard.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Abhishek was asked to share his opinion on escalating film budgets, which are usually attributed to the rising fees of stars. He said, “That’s completely a star thing, one can’t blame actors for that. The producers have to decide.” The 39-year-old said that he witnessed unreasonable demands from stars even when he worked as a casting director. He said, “I have been casting for movies and shows for many years now. So many unnecessary demands are made by certain stars. What happens because of that is actors ko paise nahi milte.”
“I would be told by makers, ‘Kam paise mein cast karo.’ I don’t know if the stars know this reality or not. Sometimes good actors get peanuts for a show or a film. Star value of course gets people to the theatres and buy tickets, but at the same time, an actor also adds same value to a story, one cannot neglect that. One can’t pay a star’s bodyguard more than an actor’s daily wage,” he said.
In the same interview, Abhishek also recalled how, he’d be put on the spot as a casting director when a production house told him, “Hamare paas budget itna hi hai lekin achha actor chahiye.” He described the situation as ‘appalling’.
Commenting about this notorious trend, an actor recently told to indianexpress.com, “Most of the film’s budget goes to the star, then the entourage fees. So, by the time they come to others, they start cost cutting. As a result of that, you will either get a good talent to work for lesser pay-leading them to be demotivated right from the start-or replace them with less ecperiences people, who will not do that job well, which will reflect on screen. Then when the film flops, the makers will exclaim shock, as if they didn’t see it coming.”
The costs also extend to the entourage that a star brings with them. “A hairdresser, stylist of a star will end up earning more than the writer. What is their contribution to the success of a film and what is mine? This skewed economics hurt”, Veteran writer Anjum Rajabali, Senior Executive Committeee Member, Screen Writers Association told indianexpress.com.
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