Like any other industry, the film industry has also been facing a tough time with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several producers began lamenting about the massive losses they are facing due to the projects being stalled from March this year when the government first announced a lockdown.
Recently, Tamil producer G Dhananjayan revealed that he had suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 1 crore in the making of his upcoming Tamil project Kabadadaari. The situation is no different in the Malayalam film industry with several producers calling for the actors to take a pay cut.
Speaking about this in an interview with the Times of India, Renjith M, the President of the Kerala Film Producers Association has said that 75% of the actors in Kerala have agreed to reduce their remuneration.
He has been quoted as saying that these artistes had already signed agreements to take pay cuts. There were a few disagreements, he agreed. This was in connection with two films starring Joju George and Tovino Thomas respectively. This has now been resolved, said Renjith.
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal has also agreed for a pay cut for his upcoming film Drishyam 2, which had begun shooting in September. Other artistes associated with the film have also agreed to follow suit, Renjith said.
He added that technicians of various films have also agreed to work for lesser payment, considering the situation.
About 10 Malayalam films are progressing with their filming now and two among these are high budget movies, including Drishyam 2. Plans are on to reduce the budget further.
The ban on shooting of films was lifted in June but movie makers took their time to resume work. There was a general consensus that the more than 60 films which were pending release owing to the shutdown of theatres after the pandemic should first see light before shooting of new films began.
(Content provided by Digital Native)