Debate on actor fees continues as Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar discuss industry challenges

The debate over exorbitant fees demanded by Bollywood's leading male actors has intensified, with filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Karan Johar addressing the issue during a recent discussion.

With more than 200 films produced annually, the Hindi film industry has been grappling with how to maintain economic sustainability as top actors continue to demand high fees, despite the underperformance of several star-driven films at the box office.

Zoya Akhtar, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, urged Karan Johar to take a stand against paying excessive fees to male actors.

“You have to stop paying them. That's it,” she said.

The director pointed to his latest project. He said, “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.”

Johar expressed his frustration over major stars demanding fees equal to the entire film's budget, citing an instance where several actors asked for the same amount as the $4.8 million budget of his film.

He questioned how he could justify paying such high fees, especially without any guarantee of the film making $14.4 million in return.

As a result, he ultimately chose to cast a new and lesser-known actor, noting that the individual was an outsider to the industry.

Karan highlighted that there are only a few male actors in the industry who can consistently draw audiences, and producers often feel pressured to allocate a significant portion of their budgets to these stars, leaving little room to invest in emerging talent.