Actors to pay staff from own pockets, producers happy

Mumbai: Film producers, who have been shelling out extra money to pay an actor`s staff during shootings, can heave a sigh of relief. The Film and Television Producers Guild of India has decided that all actors will have to pay their staff from their own pocket.

Till now, producers had to bear the additional expenses of an actor`s personal make-up staff, driver, hair stylist, personal trainers, et al. According to producers, these costs added up to anything between Rs.15,000 to approximately Rs.50,000, depending on the actor`s popularity and demand. But producer Ratan Jain says: "Why should we pay them so much?" "There are various (payment) formats decided by the guild, but actors and staff hardly follow it. The staff members charge like anything," Jain said. Jain says that as per the rule, the staff is supposed to get paid around Rs.1,000 to Rs.1,500. But the actual expenses turn out to be way beyond. "None of them followed the rules," he said. Now A-list actors including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn are said to have agreed to the decision, and producers are happy. Kumar Taurani said: "It`s a good initiative taken by the guild. It`s a great thing that the actors have agreed. We felt that many times these payments become very unreasonable and create lot of confusion. So it`s a good thing for the producers and actors." Both the parties say the new format, which was being discussed by guild members since the past few days, will start with immediate effect. "It`s a good thing now as it will solve everybody`s problem. This will start with immediate effect with the stars` next projects," said Ramesh Taurani. The benefit, as pointed out by Kumar Taurani is that "now producers will negotiate for just one fee with the actors, which will make things much easier". IANS