‘Actors charge Rs 100 cr, then demand entourage cost,’ says filmmaker: ‘Big B an exception’

Amitabh Bachchan took a sabbatical away from the movies after he joined politics in the 1980s, and even though he ended that chapter just a few years later, it took him over a decade to find his groove again. In the late 1980s and 1990s, Amitabh Bachchan was going through a rather tough time in his professional life, as his films were not performing as well as they had in the 1970s. So when producer KC Bokadia approached him to work in the film Aaj Ka Arjun in 1990, Amitabh Bachchan wasn’t the biggest star in the business. However, Bokadia felt that he was still the most honourable actor.

‘Actors charge Rs 10,000 for an assistant when it should be Rs 1,000’

In a chat with Hindi Rush, KC Bokadia shared that while many actors today burden the producers with the cost of their entourage, Bachchan was always particular about the fact that no one but him would bear the cost of his team. Bokadia recalled that Bachchan was the first actor to receive a Rs 1 crore fee from him, and even then, Bachchan was the one who paid for his entourage.

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“Amitabh was the first person in the industry whose spot boy, make-up man, driver… He wouldn’t take any money for them, even back then. He brought his own van, his driver and I salute people like that. Actors charge crores of rupees but that doesn’t hurt the producer that much but when you ask for Rs 10,000 for an assistant who should be getting Rs 1,000… You think we are fools?” he said.

He said that in the present time, actors are charging close to Rs 50-100 crore, and still expect the producer to pay more for their entourage. “Now, actors charge Rs 50-100 crore… They should be a little generous. Even the producer should feel like they are working with someone who has a big heart and actually deserves this much money,” he said and added, “If you burden the producer with unnecessary cost… You ask them to pay for a gym in vanity vans, and you think this is something to be proud of?”

Bachchan agreed to do film without script

Bokadia shared that it is because of these increasing costs that independent filmmakers and producers are unable to make or release their films. He said that theatres want to sell their tickets and a lot of times, producers buy their own tickets as they want to show a bigger box office collection. A higher collection helps them negotiate a higher price for streaming, so producers sometimes pay crores from their pocket to show a higher collection.

In another part of the chat, Bokadia recalled his memories of working with Amitabh Bachchan and said that when he was first told that he must work with the star, he was interested in sitting outside his make up room and waiting for hours. But when he eventually met the star, he did not have to wait at all. In fact, Bachchan agreed to do his film in just two minutes. Bokadia had produced films like Teri Meherbaniyan and Naseeb Apna Apna until then, and his film with Bachchan, Aaj Ka Arjun, became his first directorial.

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“It was my first film as a director. He didn’t even listen to the story. I didn’t even have a story, and he said yes to Aaj Ka Arjun,” he said and added, “Bachchan saab said, ‘This is the first time I am doing a film where I neither know the story nor the director’. I told him, ‘What you can do on screen can’t be done by anyone else, and if I don’t have you, then what will I do with a story that works for you?’”

After Aaj Ka Arjun, Bachchan and Bokadia worked together in Lal Baadshah, and he recalled that the star “is a lion, and has always been one.” “People are so bothered about other things, like costumes, etc., but I feel what you do on screen, that is where the actor shines,” he said.

KC Bokadia produced films like Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Lal Baadshah, Aao Pyaar Karen, Phool Bane Angaarey, Naseeb Apna Apna, Teri Meherbaniyan, among others.