One of the major questions being posed to the powerful Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) by the opposing theatre owners and DSPs was the need to cut star salaries. When TFPC said the VPF was eating into their profits, theatre owners said it amounted to just two to three per cent of the total budget of the film, compared to the 50-60% of the budget top stars command.
It struck a chord with fans of Tamil cinema, as they felt the actors, especially the superstars, were charging far above their market value; making the film commercially unviable. During the ongoing strike, Vishal had to face uncomfortable media-probing regarding star salaries. In his reply, he said, “Let theatres first show accurate box-office collections after 100% computerisation of tickets, and then we will talk about star salaries.”
Cost and effect
As the strike entered its 25th day, Suriya announced that he will henceforth pay the salaries of his assistants, instead of relying on producers to pay them. Vishal and Karthi, the key members of TFPC, followed suit. However, other big stars such as Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay and Ajith have not endorsed it so far.
Nasser, the president of Nadigar Sangam, while heaping praise on Suriya, Vishal and Karthi, said: “This move will save the producers ₹12 to ₹15 lakhs per film.”
The theatre owners, though, see this as a mere cosmetic change, which will not bring down production costs. Tirupur Subramaniam of the Theatre Owners Association said, “Recently, most of the big hero Tamil films ended up as failures, because 50 to 60% of the total budget was given to the male lead actors and star directors as their salary. The salaries had to be paid out before release, and at the end of the day, they grossed big but the producers and distributors ended up with losses due to the budget and subsequent price it was sold at. The producers, in a way, have to be blamed, because they go out of their way to woo the big stars.”
Other markets
But things are different in Bollywood. A big star like Aamir Khan or Akshay Kumar takes a token amount as his salary, and joins the production as a co-producer and shares the profit. The star takes a lion’s share in every sale from theatricals, satellite and merchandising of the film. And even if the film does poorly, it is never a loss for the producers.
In Kollywood, a star’s market value is calculated on how much money their last film grossed. The star remains insulated from failure, and his PR machinery ensures that even a flop looks like a super hit. There are enough and more new producers with stardust in their eyes to fund star films without even listening to the story. Older producers and studios, who were sticklers for budget, have made way for a new breed of filmmakers, who borrow recklessly as the budget goes haywire.
The salary structure
Today, there are stars with as many as four or five assistants— a makeup man, a dietician, costume designer, trainer and the all-powerful manager who looks after his/her dates, social media and fan clubs. The star sees to it that the producer picks up their bills and also their stay and travel. And if the producer objects to these demands, the star throws tantrums, which may lead to delays in production.
Top heroes in Tamil these days prefer to work for producers who pay 50% of their salary upfront and the rest in instalments. Will the ongoing strike finally lead to the stars taking a pay cut, or will they work out a system where payments will be based on a more logical calculation?
