MUMBAI: Renowned Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar has revealed that he has ceased paying hefty salaries to male actors for his films.
Speaking during a panel discussion on an Indian channel, Johar, who has produced several hit films, emphasized that he would encourage other filmmakers to reduce the salaries of male actors as well. “There are only six main heroes in Bollywood, and they are always cast. It’s time to give new actors a chance,” he stated.
Johar further explained that major actors had declined to work in his low-budget film “Kal” because they were demanding salaries that matched the entire film’s budget. “The budget for ‘Kal’ was 400 million Indian rupees, and well-known actors were asking for the same amount. I asked them if they could guarantee that the film would earn 1.2 billion rupees,” he said. He noted that even new actors demand high salaries, but they are unwilling to take risks or experiment with their roles.
On a related note, filmmaker Zoya Akhtar pointed out that male actors often take home 70% of the film’s budget as their salary, stressing that this situation needs to change. She suggested that filmmakers like Johar should lower actors’ fees and allocate more resources to technical staff.
