As Bollywood hits the halfway mark of the year, the industry’s performance hasn’t been as promising as expected. While a few movies like Shaitaan, Crew, Article 370, and Madgaon Express managed to make a mark, many big-budget films fell short of expectations. In response to this lull, producers are gearing up to address the situation.
Next week, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India, Active Telugu Film Producers Guild, and Tamil Film Active Producers Association are scheduled to meet with six leading celebrity talent management agencies for the third time.
Producers & Talent Agencies’ Meeting To Discuss Reduction In Entourage Costs
The primary agenda of this meeting is to brainstorm ways to reduce the budgets of movies. The skyrocketing fees of stars have long been a concern in the industry. However, the focus of the upcoming meeting will be on cutting down entourage costs.
A senior celebrity manager, who attended the last meeting in May, shared, “Our suggestion is to revert to the post-COVID norm, where an actor has an entourage of three.” This suggestion originated from one of their clients, a senior star who worked on three major films during the pandemic. “The star started out in the ’90s when entourage wasn’t a thing and vanity vans were reserved for megastars like Mr [Amitabh] Bachchan,” the manager explained.
Even today, according to the client, a team comprising one spot boy, one make-up man, and one additional hand is sufficient. However, for a female actor-host, an entourage of four will be considered. A senior member of the Producers Guild, who spoke anonymously, highlighted the struggles filmmakers face with budgets in the post-pandemic market. The issue of high entourage costs was recently brought to the forefront. “I agree that entourage cost is a part of the problem and not the whole issue. But recently, a studio’s CFO was shocked to see a Rs 7 lakh monthly bill from a make-up person. The CFO’s salary was lower than that! This can be brought under control,” he said.
Small & Mid-Budget Bollywood Movies Will Be Promoted For Higher Returns
Another topic on the agenda for the meeting is the promotion of small and mid-budget movies. Recent months have demonstrated that these films can yield high returns.
An IMPPA official stated, “The box-office run of Crew, Madgaon Express, and Article 370 has been good. Producers must seek high-concept films, spend more on writing, and pay reasonable fees to the stars and crew. We will also talk to OTT heads to widen the gap between theatrical and OTT release [in the hope that people will visit theatres]. Otherwise, people may stop visiting cinemas.”
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