Escalating star fees and entourage costs have been a hot topic in Bollywood lately. Several stakeholders have weighed in on the issue as the Hindi film industry has not been able to rack up profits lately. Now, John Abraham has commented on the issue labelling the 2 lakhs per day charge of a stylist as ‘mental.’
In his conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the ‘Pathaan’ actor reflected on the debate bashing exorbitant star fees and the associated entourage costs. “It’s already hurting Hindi cinema. At this point of time, we shouldn’t be paying people to act in films because we don’t justify those huge budgets. The huge fees that we get paid, and we can’t load a film with entourage costs as well. It’s ridiculous. Don’t know if actors are thinking this way or is it their agent making them think differently. I understand you are put in a bubble, but you can’t be so daft. You need to see the real world. If people are blowing sunshine from your backside, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. As an industry, we are really suffering.”
John Abraham added that actors should cut their fees and reflect when the director says they aren’t worth the money. “First thing to make amends is by cutting your personal cost. When a director tells you that you aren’t worth that much, you need to take that in cognizance. We don’t have that thought yet. We compare ourselves to other actors, and we want to broadcast our fees, and that’s the worst thing to do.”
Continuing, he said, “Actors should admit that we are down the deep black hole, and actors should go to the backend and work on the film. Actors should say that if the films make profit, we make profits because we have earned our millions. How much more will you suck the system dry?”
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As the conversation progressed, John noted that actors aren’t the only ones to blame, producers play a role too. “But producers are all willing to pay those obscene amounts as well.” Moreover, he called for a focus shift from star power to content. He said, “Make films, don’t make proposals. Today no actor can get you any opening. Get your content right and cast actors according to the script.”
On the work front, John Abraham’s last flick was ‘Vedaa’ alongside Sharvari Wagh. He is currently gearing up for the release of ‘The Diplomat’ which will hit theatres on March 7.