TAPSEE IS READY TO TAKE PAY CUT
HAPPY TO FOLLOW THE LEAD OF TAMIL ACTOR VIJAY ANTHONY WHO IS TAKING A CUT OF 25% FOR NEXT 3 FILMS
The Covid-19 pandemic has surely dealt a mighty blow to every industry. And show business is no exception. As per a trade estimate, the Coronavirusinduced lockdown is likely to result in losses of over ₹3,0003,500 crore. Now, as the film industry finds itself stuck in a limbo, a question — which the trade experts as well as industry insiders have also started to ask — arises: is it time for actors, especially the top ones, to take a pay cut?
Down south, Tamil actormusic director, Vijay Antony is taking a pay cut of 25% for his upcoming three films. Reportedly, Malayalam star Mohanlal and Telugu actor, Allu Arjun are accepting a smaller pay check than their original fee. Also, it’s believed that Tamil producers have convinced actors to slash their salaries by nearly half.
“That’s the only way out, especially if our actors/stars are looking at a rapid resurrection of the show business. For some time now, rationality needs to come in and vanity has to go out. An actor can’t charge a superpremium fee while others are stuck in an abyss. Their salaries shouldn’t put a pressure on the entire value chain, and make it all inviable,” says exhibitordistributor Akshaye Rathi.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh feels Bollywood actors also “ought to cut down their salaries”. He says: “Otherwise, producers won’t be able to release their films, considering an actor’s fee is about 60-70% of a film’s total budget.” Producer Ramesh Taurani concurs, saying: “It’d be a welcome move. But it’s a bit too early to talk about it. Let the work start, and only then, will there be clarity. It would also depend a lot on the kind of investments a producer has made.”
Interestingly, actors such as Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Kartik Aaryan and Taapsee Pannu have already lent their support to the idea. While Dixit-Nene feels “we have to come and pitch in our efforts”, Aaryan says he “would do whatever collectively we [the industry] decide to do”. Pannu, on her part, expects that when work begins, “we will need to take a salary cut and I am ready for that”.
Going forward, “sharing the risk” could be the name of the game, says filmmaker Nikkhil Advani. He explains: “I think more and more actors are going to be big on back-end sharing route. They are also sensible, and know that a film can’t be loaded too much with their pay check. We will see a lot of them partnering in the risk, especially for films that they really want to do.”
Rathi also has the same remedy to the issue. “Actors can take a larger pie at the back-end instead of taking a big sum upfront. It’s a win-win situation for all then.”