Zoya Akhtar urges Karan Johar to stop paying high fees for male actors: "You have to stop paying"

Karan pointed out that only about six male actors are deemed viable in the industry, while over 200 films are produced each year.

The soaring remuneration of top male actors in the Hindi film industry has become a growing concern. The ongoing financial struggles at Pooja Entertainment, coupled with reports of Akshay Kumar's hefty fee for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, have reignited the debate around actor salaries. Filmmakers Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar recently addressed this issue during a roundtable discussion.

In a directors roundtable conducted by The Hollywood Reporter India, Karan Johar reiterated the need for male stars to reassess their remuneration, before his fellow filmmaker Zoya Akhtar intervened.

Zoya said, “They are not going to know. But Karan, you have to just stop paying. You have to stop paying. That's it,” Zoya said. To which, Karan Johar replied saying that he no longer pays exorbitant fees to male actors.

“What is your last couple of films? How much have you opened to? With what right are you asking me for this number? I made a small film called Kill. I put the money in it because it was a high-concept film with a rank newcomer as the face of it. Because I've started doing it. It was a high-concept action film. You could not make Kill in any other way. It had to be in that train. Every star asked me for the same money that the budget was for. I was like, ‘How can I pay you? When the budget is ₹40 crore, you’re asking for ₹40 crore? Are you guaranteeing the film will do ₹120 crore? There's no guarantee, right? So finally, I took a new boy, and he was an ‘outsider,’ I have to say it,” Karan responded.

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Karan pointed out that only about six male actors are deemed viable in the industry, while over 200 films are produced each year. He stressed the necessity for producers to reallocate resources to nurture emerging talent.

Meanwhile, Zoya highlighted that the technical crew also warrants significant pay, but the majority of the budget often goes to male leads. She noted that some younger male actors are asking for Rs 40 crore but are hesitant to take risks with their acting choices.