In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion within the film industry about the rising costs that go into a film’s production. This subject has become a growing concern given that several big budget Bollywood films lately have been unable to create the desired impact at the box office. In a chat with Bombay Times, actress and now producer Kriti Sanon, shares her perspective on this matter.

Last month, reportedly a meeting occurred between four film bodies — Indian Motions Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India, Active Telugu Film Producers Guild and Tamil Film Active Producers Association, along with five talent agencies, to address the escalating costs of movie production.

Talking about it, Kriti tells us, “Actors should get paid what they deserve, however, there are a lot of things that should be checked. There are certain areas where a lot of unnecessary expenditure happens. At the end, it is the content that wins. No matter what you are paying people or whether you think you are paying them more, if you’re not focusing on the main thing which is the content, I don’t think the rest matters.”

Lately, multiple filmmakers such as Anurag Kashyap and Farah Khan in their interviews, have spoken about the rising issue of stars’ unnecessary expenses while shooting. “A lot of money that is spent doesn’t go into making the film. It goes into the paraphernalia; it goes into the entourage. You’re shooting in the middle of a jungle, but one car will be sent to the city three hours away specifically to get you that five-star burger you want. You don’t get into the process of it,” Anurag had said in an interview with Humans of Cinema.

Ask the Crew actress about the paraphernalia, from the point of view of an actor and a producer, and she replies, “I’ve not experienced any of that myself, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on that. But it should not be ridiculous. It should make sense at the end of the day. For instance, if you are giving an actor a certain kind of food or a trainer — is that the requirement of the script and the role he/she is playing? That is the question. When I was doing Mimi, I was supposed to be on a particular diet and I was supposed to gain weight, which I was doing only for the film. So, in such a case, it makes sense for the production to take care of it. But yes, we should be mindful of costs. We need to be mindful of everything on set.”