18 hour shifts, paid after 90 days: Actor Sudhir Pandey, 72, says deserves ‘better industry’ 

The actor further added that while the leading star of a TV serial has completed power, the supporting actors have no say. “Today, high grade TV actors are a different class. If there’s a prominent character who is bringing the audience, the channel listens to that actor. They can even blackmail the channel. On the other hand, if the other character actors, who are giving quality work, ask to increase their remuneration, they don’t listen, they cut you out.”

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Sudhir Pandey also opened up about the delayed payments they received, despite signing a contract. “What’s shocking is that the contract is signed on a per day basis, but the payment is made after 90 days. The exploitation of actors should be stopped, the situation has to improve. No one fights and no one talks about it. We have labour laws, but they don’t apply to the entertainment industry. A person works for 14-18 hour shifts, doesn’t even get time to sleep and has to report again. This is the condition that supporting actors are put in,” he said.

When asked if he goes to any award shows, the veteran actor revealed, “I don’t go to award shows. Why would I go? There’s no purpose, false cheering. It has become a joke. I deserve a better industry, where people are more enlightened and are genuinely sensitive. I belong to a middle class community, but I am not an average actor, I am an A-class actor.”

For the unversed, Sudhir Pandey is known for classic TV shows such as Buniyaad, Amanat, Balika Vadhu and Sasural Genda Phool, and hit Bollywood movies like Shaan, Guru, and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. On the work front, the actor was last seen in the comedy-drama film, Ginny Wedss Sunny 2. Sudhir is also playing the character Mohanlal Sharma in the ongoing TV series Crime Beat.