Mumbai: Multiple Hindi film producers and studio heads believe there is an urgent need to discuss and resolve the rising costs issue in a post-pandemic world, even as the Telugu film industry, or Tollywood, is halting production of all films beginning August 1 until matters are resolved with various stakeholders.

Producers, studio heads, and top executives of Bollywood felt that the business model of Bollywood needs a correction, starting with the actors’ fee.

“The massive shifts and headwinds for the movie business now aren’t only in the theatrical market but also in the streaming space. The volume of content being acquired and values are deeply impacted. It is critical for all stakeholders in our value chain to be course and cost correct,” said Amrita Pandey, CEO, Junglee Pictures.

“I think talent fees need to be aligned with market realities where no longer is an opening weekend or a streaming fee guaranteed with an actor's name or film scale.”

“The only way it will work is if the stars come down to earth. We have been talking about the rising cost of the stars for a decade now, but nothing has happened,” said a top producer.

As per industry estimates, Akshay Kumar charges Rs. 117 crores per film. The price for Shah Rukh and Salman Khan also comes close to Rs. 100 crores each, while Aamir Khan is the only actor, who doesn’t charge any amount upfront but takes an 80% share of the profits.

“What is needed is a genuine course correction, a fixing of the economy, and a re-calibration of priorities,” said Tanuj Garg, managing partner, Ellipsis Entertainment. Garg is the producer of films like ‘Ragini MMS’, ‘Looop Lapeta’, and ‘Tumhari Sulu’.

Industry experts say that with the star’s prices being high, the Hindi film industry is already in deep trouble, without even considering the creative part of the business.

“Bigger producers are insulated so far because they can sell their films to OTT players, but with those players also looking at cutting costs, the legitimate producers will not have money to put into the films,” said the head of a large production house.

Some feel it’s not just the actors’ fee but the mismatch in the value-chain across the entire creative and distribution industry. “We need an equitable distribution of risk and reward,” said a head of one of the top film studios. “Ultimately who in the value chain is paying for the movies – earlier it was satellite, now it's OTT. ”