’30-40% of a film’s budget goes as star fees’: Siddharth Roy Kapur explains economics of Bollywood movies, reveals actors are going for backend deals

Elaborating further, Siddharth added: “So, there’s a component of, obviously, you know, something that’s built into the cost already, which is a fee. And then there’s sharing in the profit. And therefore, the upfront fee can be lower to reduce the cost of the project. And then in success, everyone gains. So, that, I think, is becoming much more prevalent as we go forward.” He acknowledged that, in recent times, actors have indeed taken lower upfront fees and shown willingness to participate in profit-sharing. However, he also emphasized the need to see this trend become more widespread.

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When asked how much the cost of talent, particularly the lead stars, accounts for in the overall budget of a big project, Siddharth said: “If it’s a big project, it could be as much as 30–40%.” He illustrated this with a comparison: “It’s the same thing in Hollywood as well. If Tom Cruise is doing Top Gun: Maverick, a lot of that budget is going to be his fee. But that’s because that film is going to get a massive opening because of Tom Cruise. And it’s the same thing with our films. I mean, if Salman Khan or Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan are in a film, a lot of the economics are based on their presence in the film.”

On the subject of pay parity between male and female stars, Roy Kapur said: “They are getting paid better, but there’s always room for more parity.” When asked about the extent of the disparity, he elaborated: “It’s quite significant. I mean, if you looked at it completely, you know, without any lens, I do believe that it still is commensurate in terms of the commercial potential of those projects—because audiences have told us that they will come in certain numbers for certain kinds of movies. And therefore, that, I think, is the up and down that does exist, whether you like it or not.”

He concluded by reiterating that there is always room for improvement, adding that his production house continuously works toward achieving greater pay equity.