Kochi:Malayalam cinema is currently grappling with a crisis caused by a significant rise in salaries for actors and technicians. The Producers Association has formally requested the actors’ union ‘AMMA’ (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) to consider lowering the remuneration demands of its members. Consequently, some producers have opted to halt projects involving certain prominent actors due to their inability to meet the requested payment terms.
The remuneration of all the leading male actors is above Rs 4 crore. A renowned young Malayalam film actor has reportedly demanded Rs 5 crore to act in a new film. The total cost of this film will go up to Rs 15 crore. As OTT platforms have stopped paying large sums of money to purchase film rights, it has become impossible for producers to recover the costs from theater screenings alone. A teenage star who acted in a few hit films has asked Rs 1 crore as remuneration. Some cinematographers have begun demanding payment on a daily-basis with one young cameraman reportedly asking for Rs 1 lakh per day. This does not include the remuneration for assistants.
Renowned music composers purchase the film’s music rights instead of asking for remuneration. They will sell it to music companies for huge sums. Previously, the music rights were sold by the producer. Producers are now in a situation where they have to rely only on theatrical revenue.
The Producers Association has sent a letter to ‘AMMA’ as they face a situation where they are unsure of getting returns for the huge investments they make on films. It is reported that this issue will be discussed in the first meeting of the new office bearers. It has also been decided to discuss the remuneration of technicians with FEFKA (Film Employees Federation of Kerala).
The decision of the Film Producers Council, a producer’s organisation in Tamil Nadu, is to not shoot any new films for now as they often end up spending a huge amount on the assistants of the actors who are already paid a lump sum. Producers say that if there is no resolution, the same model will have to be adopted in Kerala as well.