Karan Johar, a Bollywood filmmaker, recently stated that he is “fed up” with the steady rise in actor pay, particularly among the younger generation of stars.
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During an interview with Film Companion, Karan stated that numerous young performers have yet to prove their worth at the box office, despite the fact that their fees have been increased by tenfold. Karan was even more enraged that these fee hikes occurred during the epidemic, with performers using their past films’ failures or the lack of a release as justifications.
“There is a younger order that is yet to prove their muscle at the box office. They’re asking for Rs 20 or 30 crores. For no reason. Then you want to show a report card to them and say, that hello, this is what your film opened to,” Karan said. When questioned how a production business like Dharma Productions can refuse such performers who demand exorbitant payments, Karan stated that it is impossible, but that a better agreement can be reached.
The filmmaker also stated that it was unjust to pay actors such exorbitant salaries while paying artists such as editors, writers, and cinematographers far less. “I would rather pay top dollar to members of the technical crew, who actually make the film special,” Karan said. He went on to say that he was perplexed as to why he paid 15 crores to some performers and Rs 55 lakhs to an editor.
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Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar, Nikkhil Advani, and Sameer Nair joined Karan in expressing his anger with the reality that a technician or a writer is paid significantly less than an actor.
