Covid-19 pandemic has hit all spans of life far and wide. Movie Industry is not an exception and to overcome the huge blow that the industry is facing right now many prime movie stars across the languages have agreed to decrease their remuneration. And the first South Indian stars who came forward with a pay cut are the Malayalam movie actor Mohanlal and Telugu movie star Allu Arjun.
In the first week of July, the Affiliation of Malayalam Film Artistes (AMMA) led by veteran actor Mohanlal held a discussion among the members to discuss the topic of pay cut. However, the meeting was interrupted by protesters as it was held in a hotel that had been under the containment zone. Hence, the meeting was terminated and postponed to be held as and when the situation comes under control.
Vijay Antony from Kollywood already said that his wage will be 25% lower for his 3 upcoming movies-Tamizharasan, Agni Siragugal, and Khaki. Many producers are trying to persuade other actors to cut down their pay to at least 50% for things to work out amidst the time of disaster.
Mukesh Mehta of movie manufacturing and distribution firm E4 Leisure mentioned that a common settlement is necessary for the given situation. He said no one is against reducing their salaries and Malayalam film business has always believed in the concept of working collectively without causing rifts. And that, the relation between produces, artists and technicians are direct and interconnected
Mehta added that since many prime artistes are associated with their own production houses or distribution companies just like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Dulquer Salaman, and Nivin Pauly; it helps them to consider all the prospects. In Tollywood too, actors Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Jr NTR, and others have in-house productions and are anticipated to come up with helpful measures.
When it comes to Bollywood, Kartik Aaryan is the one Hindi movie actor who has come forward agreeing to lower his remuneration. There are reports that Ranbir Kapoor, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Taapsee Pannu have additionally slashed charges. Commerce consultants observe that A-list male stars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, and others would possibly consider working on profit-sharing with producers at various levels of film making.
Other than pay cut, actors are more likely to use fewer services like caravan and less personal staff that all sum up the total expense of a producer. In addition, the extra cost of promotions, advertising, and marketing too falls on the producer. And, it is high time favorable actions are taken by the stalwarts of show business for the film industry to stand up again and survive from the crisis.
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