Kartik Aaryan On Actors Charging High Fees Despite Movies Not Doing Well: I Don’t Work With…

Kartik Aaryan is gearing up for the release of his film Chandu Champion. The sports drama biopic will hit the big screens on June 14. Ahead of the film’s release, Kartik has been giving promotional interviews. Most recently the actor weighed in on the ongoing debate of the need for actors to take a pay cut when their film does not perform well. 

Kartik Aaryan on the importance of fair profit distribution 

In an interview with Film Companion, Kartik Aaryan spoke about the importance of fairness in business. Recently, there has been an increased discussion on actors charging crores in fees in addition to their entourage cost which leads to a subsequent hike in the film’s budget, making it difficult for the makers to recover the amount. Kartik told the publication, “I have been very conscious about it that my producers or anybody associated with my film has to earn.” 

He added, “If a star is getting that value of a revenue from digital rights, satellite rights, or from theatrical business… if that adds up, I think there is the scope of getting some kind of fees, but if it doesn’t, then you have to lower your price.” Kartik also shared, “I don’t work with the mindset saari duniya mein kuch ho, main toh kamaunga (whatever happens to the rest, I must earn). It can’t be like I’m the only one who’s earning. My producers and directors are aware of this and I am sure that a lot of actors are also doing that. It is good for the larger ecosystem. Apart from the reviews, we also need box-office numbers. Main hamesha apni fee kam karne ko ready rehta hoon (I am always ready to reduce my fee).”  

Kartik Aaryan says the debate on entourage cost is a ‘healthy discussion’ 

With back-to-back poor performances of big movies, there is a lot of chatter in Hindi cinema around the remuneration taken by some of the big stars whose entourage also costs money to producers. In an interview with PTI, Kartik Aryan, said a film’s mathematics should add up at the end of the day. 

He said, “There are so many rights of a film when it releases. So you get an ‘x’ amount of money out of it. If your star value and the entire project’s value give profit to the entire team, I think then the math adds up. If it doesn’t, then you have to, you should take a cut… It’s a healthy discussion.”