Producer Allu Aravind came as the chief guest at the teaser launch of Kotabommali PS, which is being produced under the banner of GA2 Pictures. M9 News Correspondent Nishant asked a question to Aravind in the Q&A session and now it has led to a big discussion in the industry.
“By making small films continuously, you are driving the industry forward, but the question is why you are lagging behind in making big films?” is the question. Aravind tried to escape by saying that there are two big films but they are getting postponed due to various reasons.
When the same question was asked again, he just gave a single-word answer saying ‘cost’.
But M9 News Correspondent Nishanth did not stop there. “One of the most highly remunerated heroes in the industry is in your family (Allu Arjun) as well as in your extended family (Charan, Pawan Kalyan, Chiranjeevi). Can you say cost as the reason for that?” he asked. Aravind downplayed the situation in his own style.
“I don’t think the remuneration of the star heroes is the reason for the cost increase. They only contribute to 20-25% of the total cost. The real reason is the cost involved in making films on a grand canvas,” Aravind said.
Arvind tried to escape cleverly so as not to blame the stars in his family.
The remuneration of stars being just 20-25% of the cost of the film is not true except in the case of 1-2 films. The remuneration of the heroes whether they agree or not is the main reason for the cost increase.
Here is an example of that. A hero, that to a hero who makes medium films, is doing his landmark film.
New producers are excited as the film has a chance to be made on a relatively small budget. But the celebration did not last long. The hero said that as the film is being made on a low budget, the difference amount should be added to his remuneration.
They said okay since there is nothing much to do. But because the new director could not handle it, the budget for the film was not reduced as expected. The film turned out to be a big-budget film. Now will the hero who took more remuneration take responsibility? Obviously No!
It does not end with the remunerations of the heroes. Apart from their on-location expenses, for some producers, the vacation expenses of the heroes and the shopping expenses of their wives are also added.
Hero’s food, travel, and accommodation are all five-star levels. As if that is not enough, the salaries and allowances of their staff are extra. The salaries of the staff who work as general for the heroes are also transferred to the producer’s account once the film is signed.
Some people can say only heroes should not be blamed. There are other contributing factors as well for the cost increase. The exploitation of supporting artists who take three lakhs per day and music directors who demand two suite rooms in Park Hyatt are also responsible.
But ours is a system where everything runs on heroes. If they are set, everything will be set. But they will not decrease their remunerations. Seeing them, everyone else does the same.
Due to this, the industry is losing ‘regular producers’. That is the reason why people like Allu Aravind have become silent. Who knows this better than Allu Arvind? If not, but he remained tight-lipped due to ‘family’ commitments.
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