Mumbai: Bollywood actor John Abraham, while introspecting the dire condition of Hindi cinema, slammed actors for demanding hefty fees and making filmmakers pay for their entourage as well.
John further suggested that to save the industry, actors should accept a “pay cut and work on a film from the backend.”
“It’s already hurting Hindi cinema. At this point of time, we shouldn’t be paying people to act in films because we don’t justify those huge budgets. The huge fees that we get paid, and we can’t load a film with entourage costs as well. It’s ridiculous. Don’t know if actors are thinking this way or is it their agent making them think differently. I understand you are put in a bubble, but you can’t be so daft. You need to see the real world. If people are blowing sunshine from your backside, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. As an industry, we are really suffering,” the actor told The Hollywood Reporter.
He shared that it’s “mental” that stylists are charging Rs 2 lakh per day.
“First thing to make amends is by cutting your personal cost. When a director tells you that you aren’t worth that much, you need to take that into cognizance. We don’t have that thought yet. We compare ourselves to other actors, and we want to broadcast our fees, and that’s the worst thing to do,” he stated.
He also blamed the producers for giving into the demands. “…producers are all willing to pay those obscene amounts as well. Make films, don’t make proposals. Today no actor can get you any opening. Get your content right and cast actors according to the script,” he added.
Meanwhile, on the work front, John was last seen in ‘Vedaa’ along with Sharvari. ‘Housefull 5′ is his next upcoming project.