Actor Abhishek Banerjee has proved his mettle as a versatile performer with movies like Stree, Bhediya, the Dream Girl franchise, Pataal Lok, and many others. Having been a part of the Hindi film industry for over a decade, he recently opened up about the budget issue faced by the film industry. For quite some time now big-budgeted movies flopping on the big screen due to poor scripting has raised questions about where the filmmakers were exactly spending their money has been an active discussion topic among the cinephiles. It was revealed through many reports, that the producers first pay huge amounts to the actors, then their entire entourage that follows them, after which they use the rest of the money for the film.
Banerjee in a recent interview shed light on the same and expressed how supporting actors get paid less than a star’s bodyguard and his team. Talking to Hindustan Times about it, he revealed that the escalating film budget is usually attributed to the rising fees of the stars. He expressed that the actors cannot be blamed for it as the producers of the film decide it. Apart from being an actor, he has always worked as a casting director. Recalling an experience from that time, the 39-year-old actor shared that he has witnessed many unreasonable demands from the stars. He said, “I have been casting for movies and shows for many years now. So many unnecessary demands are made by certain stars. What happens because of that is actors ko paise nahi milte.”
The Paatal Lok actor went on to add how filmmakers would often tell him, “Kam paise mein cast karo.” He added, “I don’t know if the stars know this reality or not. Sometimes good actors get peanuts for a show or a film. Star value of course gets people to the theatres and buy tickets, but at the same time, an actor also adds same value to a story, one cannot neglect that. One can’t pay a star’s bodyguard more than an actor’s daily wage.”
Talking on the same topic during his interview with Indian Express, he said, ““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 ecperiences 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.”
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