Behindwoods recently had an interaction with popular theatre owner and producer, Abirami Ramanathan. During the interview, we questioned about the reason behind the high salaries of actors.
He answered, “Let me answer in the producer’s point of view first. Let us assume you (VJ Maathevan) to be Vijay or any other big star of that stature. I want to make a film with you so that I can get around 10 crores of profit. So, I stand in queue for your call sheet. When you ask 20 crores as your salary, I quote 25 crores and request you to do a film for me immediately, instead of waiting for few months or years. Did you as Vijay ask me to increase your salary? I was ready to give you more. There’s no point in pinpointing a person for the high salary when the producer is ready to give.
One more important thing in cinema is, once you lose your market value, that is all; you will be packed up and sent back home. Tamil cinema has seen many stars who have lost their market. Producers are giving high salaries and the actors readily accept that. Why is the producer ready to give high salary? Because, if that particular actor, say Vijay or someone, is starring in that film, minimum profit is guaranteed. So, there is nothing like, this is bad or this is good.”
To catch the full interview, follow this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CPnLetLcT0