Zoya Akhtar Asks Karan Johar To Stop Paying “High Fees” To Male Stars
Karan Johar once again reiterated the need for male stars to reassess their remuneration.
Over the last few years, the Hindi film industry has been going through an identity crisis. And high remuneration of leading male actors has emerged as a big concern. This concern gained limelight after films headlined by A-list stars like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, recorded openings as low as Rs 2 crore and Rs 3 crore. In a recent directors’ roundtable conducted by The Hollywood Reporter India, ace director-producer Karan Johar once again reiterated the need for male stars to reassess their remuneration.
It was then that renowned director Zoya Akhtar intervened. “They are not going to know. But Karan, you have to just stop paying. You have to stop paying. That's it,” Zoya Akhtar said.
To this, Karan Johar responded by saying that he has stopped paying high fees to male stars now.
“What is your last couple of films? How much have you opened to? With what right are you asking me for this number? I made a small film called Kill. I put the money in it because it was a high-concept film with a rank newcomer as the face of it. Because I've started doing it. It was a high-concept action film. You could not make Kill in any other way,” Karan Johar said.
“It had to be in that train. Every star asked me for the same money that the budget was for. I was like, ‘How can I pay you? When the budget is Rs 40 crore, you’re asking for Rs 40 crore? Are you guaranteeing the film will do Rs 120 crore? There's no guarantee, right? So finally, I took a new boy, and he was an ‘outsider,’ I have to say it,” he added.
Karan Johar also said that there are just six male actors when it comes to viability. Zoya Akhtar also argued that the technical crew should be paid more since the male star takes away 70 per cent of the budget.
The ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ director also said that younger male stars want to charge Rs 40 crore yet not take risks in terms of their acting choices.
