Films today are not failing, budgets are. Producers are losing their monies in most movies, barring a few and the reason for that, of course, is the costs not being in line with the final box office numbers. While there are costs that add to the quality of the film, there are a few that are non-productive and only add to the costs and not to its quality. We take a look at one such being the exorbitant and irrational charges paid to the staff of an actor. Mukesh Bhatt has been producing films for the last three decades. Out of 100 years of our cinema, Mukeshji tells us how things have gone wrong only in the last five years. 

Mukeshji, could you help us understand the break-up of what you as a producer pay the staff of an actor over and above his or her fee?

An average film is shot over 70 days. Then, you need 20-25 days for dubbing and promoting the films.
 

Average costs (all costs are per day):

Makeup and hair stylist: Rs 1 lakh per day

Driver of the star: Rs 5,000 per day

Boy of the star (who is always with him, holding his phone and other belongings): Rs 5,000 per day

Costume assistant: Rs 5,000 per day (whose only job it is to hold star's costume. This is over and above the costume person for the film provided by us)

Double door vanity van: Rs 20,000 per day (as against the normal cost of Rs 10,000 per day that we would pay, every star wants their own vanity van to be paid, for which we are required to pay double the amount)

Total Incremental costs per day: Rs 1.25 lakhs per star

Total costs added due to the above to a film (assuming just two stars in that film): Over Rs 2 crores (this means that @ 50% recovery for a producer from the box office collections, the film would need to do Rs 4 crores more business just to recover the costs of assistants of our stars)

Additional costs to be incurred by us: Each star wants his agent/manager to accompany him on the shoot. They also need to be given a business class ticket and the same five-star hotel room, where the star is staying.

If a driver/makeup and hair stylist go for five promotions in one day, they will charge five times from each place they are going to. So during promotions, a driver may land up earning up to Rs 25,000 per day.


It is not just a question of the money. It belittles the producer that he is paying a driver more than a chartered accountant on the film. I feel so bad that the accountant making the cheque to be given to the driver is paid much lesser than the driver. An assistant director on the film is paid just Rs 1,500 per day, but the star's boy gets paid Rs 5,000. Isn't that nauseating? The shocking part is that the actors' managers and directors fight with the production team if we don't pay. How can I demand for my driver to be paid Rs 5,000 per day? Then, the manager will come and ask you that they need mineral water for the actor to shampoo their hair. Have you heard of anyone washing hair with mineral water? Initially, I thought the manager was joking, but then, I realised that it was for real. I want to ask a fundamental question to my actors.


Industry has been functioning for 100 years. Out of that for 95 years, no managers or secretaries ever came on set. Why do they come now? What are they doing there? Stars want everything personal now. They want their own personal trainers to be taken on shoot. And everything is obviously at the producer's cost.

Our industry is dominated and manipulated by the star system. If I alone will say no and put my foot down, someone else will say you take it. Why can't all producers stop this practice? I went to the stars two years back asking them not to charge this amount and all of them agreed to it very gracefully, but nothing happened as everyone finally went back to paying them and succumbed to the pressures. Stars should negotiate extra for their staff with the producers, but pay them directly themselves. Please save us from the humiliation of paying drivers and spot boys more than our chartered accountants. The producer is the most vulnerable duck on the set. He can be manipulated by the star the way he wants to. Even a bhikari is better than a producer. This is the only industry, where the boss pays crores of rupees and is treated like a servant. In any other industry, the man who pays the money gets the salaam. (Times of India)