If actor’s fee is more than the budget of the show, then something is wrong
AAs a producer and network, what they want to do is try and get a popular face. SUMEET VYAS, Actor
ctor Sumeet Vyas has been part of the OTT world since its inception and has seen its growth as well as the changes over the years. While the actor agrees that makers at times cast popular faces for the shows for various reasons, he feels that there is nothing wrong in doing so.
He explains, “I do not feel there is anything wrong in casting a film actor, if he is right for the part. But, if his acting fees is more than the entire budget of the show, then there is something wrong. There is a certain budget for the salaries of the entire unit, for the shoot to happen and if twice that number is being paid to one actor, then that’s not right. I do not think any actor brings that much value to any project. It’s the balance that we need to learn.”
Emphasising on his point, Vyas gives example of the shows that have done well in the digital sphere, which do not feature well-established film stars.
“Pataal Lok (2020), Mirzapur (2018), Rocket Boys (2022), Pitchers (2015), Permanent Roommates (2014), Panchaayat (2020) and many more. These are all those shows that did not have stars and still they were superhit. In fact, shows which had bigger stars in them and ridiculous money spent did not do well.”
He adds, “Sacred Games (2018) would be exception where they had two stars (Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and it performed nicely. My point is, nine out of the ten shows that did well, were the ones with actors you did not think were stars. They were just good actors who suited the part.”
Ask if biases are even more apparent when stars are cast for big projects, Vyas agrees but explains that it happens because of the commerce.
“As producers and networks, what they want to do is try and get a popular face so that they are at least covered on those grounds,” he signs off.