Do inflated super star salaries affect budgets? Not always, say actors, while producers feel more efficient shooting schedules could help balance budgets better, irrespective of whether the movie has a modest budget, or is planned on a mega scale
Chennai:
He adds that while Telugu actors opt for profit-sharing deals, Tamil heroes do not believe in it. “That’s why heroes like Dhanush, Suriya and Jayam Ravi have started their own banners.”
Another issue that producers face is when film schedules get stretched. Except for films like Baahubali or 2.0, films generally start off and wrap up in 60 days across different schedules. “We have to pay the interest months before the launch and even after the release. It would be so much easier on us if stars get their payments in instalments. People who charge a few lakhs could opt for single payment. However, even actors who charge in crores are not ready to take part payments. They get 75 per cent of their remuneration in advance, and the rest before dubbing. “We are entirely dependent on the stars so imagine our plight if a star falls ill after 90 per cent of the film is complete or if the film doesn’t release. We still need to return the money to financiers with interest. It is not us, but the financiers who have taken the gamble by lending us money without security,” says producer T Siva of Amma Creations.
“If they cannot afford an actor’s remuneration, why are they here producing films,” asks Vishal bluntly. “Most of the producers know how this industry works. When I was an actor, I took remuneration in instalments. However, I became a producer because I did not want to bear the brunt of my producer’s previous debts,” he says.
Actor-producer Sasikumar too says that though he doesn’t believe in profit-sharing, shoots can be completed in a single schedule. “Back in 90s, movies were shot in film rolls and artistes didn’t have the liberty to go for more takes. Nowadays, we have abused the privilege of shooting movies in digital medium. Hence, it delays the entire process and we end up paying more interests than what we had actually planned. That is why, I ensure that my films are completed in single schedules in little less than 45 days.”
Udhayanidhi, is one producer who finances the films he acts or produces under his banner, Red Giant Movies. He also follows a model that no other actor follows in the industry. “As an actor I believe in profit sharing basis. That way, everybody is safe. It will be good if other heroes too can follow this model. Being a producer helped me understand the plight of other producers,” he remarks.
Tirupur Subramaniam tells us that it is the actors’ salaries that inflate the budget by a whopping 200 per cent. “Even if the film’s budget is
Rs 8 crore, the star’s salary is around Rs 20 crore. Apart from that there are technicians who charge more than
Rs 1 crore. K’town heroes, unlike the Telugu film industry, do not agree to collect their remuneration in instalments. They get it from the producers even before the shoot begins, and the producer has to pay the interest even after the film succeeds. If the film succeeds, it’s fine. If the film flops, imagine the plight of the producer. And how will the financiers get their money back?”
He adds that while Telugu actors opt for profit-sharing deals, Tamil heroes do not believe in it. “That’s why heroes like Dhanush, Suriya and Jayam Ravi have started their own banners.”
Another issue that producers face is when film schedules get stretched. Except for films like Baahubali or 2.0, films generally start off and wrap up in 60 days across different schedules. “We have to pay the interest months before the launch and even after the release. It would be so much easier on us if stars get their payments in instalments. People who charge a few lakhs could opt for single payment. However, even actors who charge in crores are not ready to take part payments. They get 75 per cent of their remuneration in advance, and the rest before dubbing. “We are entirely dependent on the stars so imagine our plight if a star falls ill after 90 per cent of the film is complete or if the film doesn’t release. We still need to return the money to financiers with interest. It is not us, but the financiers who have taken the gamble by lending us money without security,” says producer T Siva of Amma Creations.
“If they cannot afford an actor’s remuneration, why are they here producing films,” asks Vishal bluntly. “Most of the producers know how this industry works. When I was an actor, I took remuneration in instalments. However, I became a producer because I did not want to bear the brunt of my producer’s previous debts,” he says.
Actor-producer Sasikumar too says that though he doesn’t believe in profit-sharing, shoots can be completed in a single schedule. “Back in 90s, movies were shot in film rolls and artistes didn’t have the liberty to go for more takes. Nowadays, we have abused the privilege of shooting movies in digital medium. Hence, it delays the entire process and we end up paying more interests than what we had actually planned. That is why, I ensure that my films are completed in single schedules in little less than 45 days.”
Udhayanidhi, is one producer who finances the films he acts or produces under his banner, Red Giant Movies. He also follows a model that no other actor follows in the industry. “As an actor I believe in profit sharing basis. That way, everybody is safe. It will be good if other heroes too can follow this model. Being a producer helped me understand the plight of other producers,” he remarks.
Producing films is not a lucky draw, no one gets rich overnight: RB Choudary
Producer RB Choudary, an industry veteran who once produced as many as five films a year under his banner, Super Good Films, now hardly produces one film a year. “When I started producing films in the 80s, they were promoted through word of mouth. Now, cinema has changed so much that if a film doesn’t pick up in the first week, it is thrown out of the theatres. What’s the point in blaming the financiers when there are no ‘regular producers’ in the industry? Earlier, movies were made on a budget of Rs 30 lakh. Now, producing a film takes Rs 8 to 10 crore.
Ultimately the interest rate skyrockets. When films flop, producers disappear. Now, we have producers who think producing film is a lucky draw: if the film succeeds, he will hit a huge jackpot and can become a crorepathi overnight.
They have no knowledge about how films work and how production should be executed. After all these years, I have to relearn the ways of the film industry and I’m trying to understand new trends with the help of my sons.