“Because apparently market mein paisa nahi hai,” the actor said sarcastically, who featured in a mega budget Bollywood film released a few years ago. “Most of the film’s budget goes to the star, then the entourage fees. So, by the time they come to others, they start cost cutting. As a result of that, you will either get a good talent to work for lesser pay–leading them to be demotivated right from the start–or replace them with less experienced people, who will not do that job well, which will reflect on screen. Then when the film flops, the makers will exclaim shock, as if they didn’t see it coming.”

A previous Indian Express report had listed the economics of overhead costs of a film, where the spot boy of a star on an average would charge Rs 25,000 per day, personal security would pocket Rs 15,000 per head per day and a stylist would charge up to Rs 1 lakhs. Trade analyst Komal Nahta had earlier revealed that Akshay Kumar had charged over Rs 100 cr for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan while Tiger Shroff had charged Rs 35-40 cr– a staggering figure which burdened the actioner.

The exorbitant pricing of the staff and the star fees is in complete contrast to what people working in every other department end up earning in a film, including, the one through which everything in a project begins and everyone eventually makes money out of– the writer.

‘Writer’s block’

Established writers in the film industry charge anywhere above Rs 75 lakhs, and some even quote Rs 2 crore. The second slab for mid-level writers is around Rs 50-60 lakhs, for those with one moderate success the slab is between Rs 25-30 lakhs. It is the newcomers, who are the most vulnerable to exploitation, often being muscled into a pay of Rs two-three lakhs.

“When a writer goes to negotiate his fee, the makers often say, ‘Oh no, not this much, you are a new writer.’ How does that matter?” veteran writer Anjum Rajabali, Senior Executive Committee Member, Screen Writers Association told Indianexpress.com. He was speaking on the sidelines of a session SWA arranged to discuss the mental health of writers.

“We need to establish a minimal fee, which should be Rs 12 lakhs for a writer. Because it is a new writer, they will squeeze and give them just Rs five lakhs. You have saved Rs seven lakhs, but your star is pocketing Rs 55 crores. Can you get rid of Rs seven lakhs from his fees?”

Bollywood writers speak about the challenges they are facing in the industry. (Photo: PR Handout)

Multiple screenwriters Indian Express spoke to say the stars and the entourage costs are “chewing up the budgets,” which often leave them with little money. A writer, who penned a beloved 2023 film, was shocked to learn that a female star’s entourage cost was Rs 16 lakhs a day. “And I am still struggling to get that money for an entire film! When you are always trying to get enough money to survive, you can’t ever write in peace. Only a few are writing those big budget movies, the rest of us are writing to survive. In a scenario like this, you are constantly made to feel you are the least important person.”

Rajabali said the disparity happens even in big studio films if a new writer is involved. “A hairdresser, stylist of a star will end up earning more than the writer. What is their contribution to the success of a film and what is mine? This skewed economics hurt.”

The veteran screenwriter said the solution isn’t to approach studios and ask them to not pay a hairdresser the amount they are currently shelling out, but simply pay the writers better. “Now, from where they adjust it, how they do it, it is on them. You are paying Rs 1 lakh a day, and you are cribbing to pay Rs 12 lakh to a writer?” Rajabali fumes.

An industry source said Bollywood is going through a troubled time, and no one, apart from the top creamy layer, is benefiting. “It is a sad condition, no one is ready to take risks, think things through, nothing is working. It is a mess. Only the star films are getting made. There seems to be a pay crisis across the board, not just writers.”

A renowned cinematographer Indian Express spoke to shared how studios are trying to negotiate with them to do films for a fee which amounts to just one percent of the entourage cost. The price slab of an established editor is currently Rs 80 lakh to a crore, followed by Rs 50-60 lakh for the next bracket and then Rs 25-30 lakh for those who do mid budget films. But the pricing for some is shifting, as reputed production houses are now trying to cost cut not just the fee but also cost of food bills.

‘We need stars, not actors’

It isn’t that only star vehicles lead to cost cutting, as an actor featured in a beloved recent film came on board for a day’s work in the movie. It was a small part, which was paying the actor Rs 15,000, which they would receive in parts. The first part of the payment was made, but the second part of it never came– despite the film being bankrolled by a major production house. The actor felt too low to even ask for the remaining Rs 7,000 from the makers, who earned in crores through theatricals and later OTT rights.

“If it is a big amount, I understand payment being made in trenches. But why are actors, who don’t have a recurring role also made to go through this grind? There is no pay, then there is delay in payment and it is all adding up disastrously as it is now taking a toll on actors,” the actor said.

The details of what those artistes, who don’t fall in the bracket of popular celebrities headlining a film, paint a troubling picture. The gamble is to either reject low paying jobs in the hope that something better will eventually come up, or bite into an “obviously bad” heavy paycheck project, which might help sail the tide, but sink their value further when it tanks.

An actor, acclaimed for her phenomenal work on the big screen and now streaming, said the pay is brutally lopsided. “A lot of time an actor like me will get paid for the similar amount of what one’s hairdresser must be getting. What I earn for a film, after coming on board understating the constraints, one person from the entourage pockets in a day.”

An actor, who has mostly so far done supporting roles, recalled how a producer approached them for a film that had a decent role and a popular cast on board. The fee was Rs 7,000 per day. “I know they would have spent obnoxious money on marketing and on other aspects. After years of my experience in the industry, actors like me are finally turning down some roles because we are not paid well. But it is coming with enormous risks,” the actor says.

Another actor, who has been a popular face on streaming, told Indian Express on the condition of anonymity that they were on the verge of quitting the industry as a lack of basic pay has pushed them to the edge. “Right now, there is no work and definitely no pay. It is a tense situation for artists like us, as the battle is intense. The feeling is compounded when we see that money is spent by the production on everything else that is unnecessary.”

Actors, who the industry doesn’t see as “commercially viable,” bear the brunt when it comes to pay. A rise in the budget of a film helps no one, as it makes its recoveries slimmer, even if the film manages decent numbers at the box office.

‘A 100 cr flop’

In a previous Indian Express story about the poor first quarter of Bollywood, Komal Nahta had slammed some of the movies which went overbudget, thereby affecting its recoveries. Kareena Kapoor-Tabu-Kriti Sanon starrer Crew, for example, netted Rs 89 cr all India upon its release. “But its budget was so high that it will break even, barely. You can’t make a Rs 80 cr film to say I got Rs 80 cr back,’” Nahta had shared.

An industry source revealed that this is primarily what has put a stop to a series of movie announcements in the industry. “If your film was made on a budget of Rs 50 cr and it does Rs 100 cr, you are in a position to keep the profit rolling and immediately invest in the next project. But now, when your mid-sized films on paper are mounted on a budget of Rs 100 cr and they get that much in return, you will naturally pause and reflect on what is going wrong and where.”

Sources close to film production shared that post pandemic, when the market went digital, streamers started paying huge sums of money to makers to acquire their films and to actors to act in their original projects. Star fees were suddenly hiked, so those who would charge Rs 5 cr for theatrical films were suddenly given Rs 15 cr to entice them to come on their platform.

“Now, once they started earning that amount, it became the norm when the situation became normal post COVID. So, suddenly, you had a host of mid-range stars charging anywhere between Rs 15 crore to 30 crore, while their box office for day one of their films was often in single digits. The producers thought the digital revolution would start showing results even theatrically, so the fee was retained, but almost every film bombed, and now, everyone has hit a crisis situation,” the source added.

Indian Express sent a series of questions to producer Shibasish Sarkar, President of Producers Guild of India, consolidating the grievances of all the stakeholders involved, the menace of rising entourage costs and a possible solution to lift the industry out of the crisis. There was no response.