Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 22, 2019)

The makers of Mirzapur recently dropped the teaser announcing that the crime thriller — that has Ali Fazal play the hot-headed Guddu Pandit and changed it all for him — will release in 2020.

Word in the industry is that Fazal, with the success of the first edition behind him and a role in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film, Death On The Nile, under his belt, has hiked his remuneration by 40 per cent for digital shows.

Fazal opines that digital entertainment is playing a key role in bringing about pay parity in the industry, by rewarding talent over stardom. “Digital shows are now competing at a global level. Remuneration has a direct effect on quality. What no one understands is that actors in India are constantly worried about keeping afloat. I speak for everyone, if I may, because I have come from the space where actors were exploited for decades. I hope we can shut that system down with better union laws and benefits.”