‘In a film with Rs 30 cr budget, Bollywood stars demand Rs 40 cr fee’: Imran Khan slams ‘foolish’ actors, say they ‘handicap’ films

He criticised the inflated upfront fees that can balloon production costs and reduce a film’s profitability. “If I have a sense that my film is going to cost 30 crores to make, that’s your cost of production. And I say I will charge 40 crores. So now your film costs 70 crores—Rs 30 crore of which is the actual film and Rs 40 crore is my personal salary. What is now our route to profitability? And do I care about that? I should care about it. It’s my film. I think that there is the potential for this film to be a decent film, take less money up front. Roll the dice. Take a gamble and bet that the film will do well. If anyone can afford to do that, it’s the star, if you’re commanding a salary of Rs 40 crore.”

Imran Khan praises Aamir Khan’s approach

He praised Aamir Khan’s approach as a model for responsibility and faith in a film. He said Aamir has never taken anything close to his value up front. He will take it at the back end and instead of demanding Rs 60 crores or Rs 75 crores as a fee, he will have a backend deal. “That is foolishness. You are handicapping your own film. You’re exploiting your film and you are enriching yourself personally at the cost of the film. This is what it is. It is essentially that you don’t actually have faith or belief in the film.”

He continued that actors feel ‘who knows what kind of garbage you’re going to make. Give me my money, get out of my way. I got my money, now who cares about the film?’. Imran said anyone who is in a starring position, upon whose back a film is being funded and financed, if they are not in the position of enough financial security to gamble on the success and the quality of the film, then who else will?

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Soaring star fees and entourages

Bollywood is under increasing scrutiny for soaring star fees and lavish entourages, with producers frequently citing these as major pressures on film budgets.

Aamir Khan has also been vocal about these industry trends. In a discussion with Komal Nahata last year, he criticised actors expecting producers to foot the bill for personal staff, live kitchens, trainers, and multiple vanity vans.

“I hear that stars of today also don’t care to pay their drivers. They ask their producers to pay them… Where are you spending all the money you are earning?” It is extremely sad and harmful for the industry. When you can afford a lifestyle for yourself, why are you putting that on a producer?”

“As an actor, it is my duty to make sure that the production house is not burdened because of me. Every team player should think this. You are all working for the film, be a team.”

Big stars adopting profit sharing model

Many of Bollywood’s biggest names, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, and Hrithik Roshan, have reportedly adopted a profit-sharing model, taking a lower upfront fee and earning more through backend profits.

Director Anurag Kashyap has praised this method, calling them “the most cost-conscious persons in the industry” and noting that it helps keep budgets under control.

Siddharth Roy Kapur also confirmed the trend in an interview with CNBC-TV, explaining a two-part compensation model: “A fixed fee built into the project’s cost and a share in the profits. By lowering the upfront fee, the overall budget becomes more manageable. This is becoming common in the industry.”