Scroll through social media and its kind of deja vu as the same elderly ‘this is the end of the road for Bollywood’ rhetoric gains momentum.
Critic notes that 2023 used to be a blue moon period. Shahrukh Khan returned to the screens after four years, not only being a man of emotions, but also reinventing himself with back-to-back mega hits. Ranbir Kapoor, who has always been closely watched, created “Animal”, a blockbuster that also featured the spectacular return of Bobby Deol. Now it can’t happen every year. Yes, this year two substantial films Bade Miyaan Chotte Miyaan and Maidaan failed, but didn’t we have a hit in Fighter, Crew? But expecting the same numbers every year is idiotic.”
But the failures of two substantial films with substantial stars have sparked another debate. Whether stars should be paid according to box office results is an compelling point of view. The profitability of a project is most often proportional to who manages it. The salary of one leading star could very well be the annual budget of a regional film industry.
To put the math into perspective, Bade Miya Chotte Miyan, considering the huge production cost of ₹350 crore, the remuneration of the top workers was ₹160 crore. Trade analysts believe it is time for the industry to take stringent measures to curb rising costs and returns.
Trade analyst Sumit Kadel gives his perspective succinctly. “Ten years ago, no actor was earning high salaries, except 90s stars like Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan. But what has happened recently is that mainstream stars who are unmatched at the box office have been removed, even the so-called B and C actors have increased their fees by 100 percent. A few years ago, their fees were less than a crore, but now they have gone up to ₹10 crore. Why? They are aware that even though their theatrical performance may not be up to par, their name is a draw in the OTT space. This is just an illusion because they think streamers are buying movies for them. This is a misnomer, and now that it’s a direct-to-digital theater and streamers aren’t buying movies directly, we’re seeing a lot of so-called great OTT movies hitting the screens for the first time. Because producer costs and box office profits have such huge margins, star fees will drop dramatically.
It is obvious that the money spent on production, promotion and marketing in no way equals the profits of the film. It is indeed time to recalibrate and reinvent the industry.
Another aspect that insiders point out is viewing fatigue – some stars come out with a movie every quarter and therefore have to rethink their strategy.
“Many actors have realized that overexposure is not good and has an adverse effect on them. This does not mean that content also matters because viewers are quick to judge,” says an insider.
The success of films like Laapta Ladies, Do Aur Do Pyaar, Crew and Madgaon Express prove that the real star of the show is ecstatic.
