Kollywood gods’ pay packs get bigger despite slump

At a time when most employees in corporate India are happy to forego salary increases just as long as they can keep their jobs, the pay
packets of top movie stars in Tamil filmdom are something of an anachronism. In 2005, Vijay was paid Rs 3 crore for starring in the hugely successful ‘Sivakasi.’ Another blockbuster followed the next year in the form of ‘Pokkiri.’

But since then, he has hit a rough patch with consecutive box-office flops in ‘Azhagiya Tamizh Magan’ (2007), ‘Kuruvi’ (2008) and ‘Villu’ (2009). If you think the actor is due for a pay cut, you are mistaken.

The ‘Ilaya Thalapathy,’ or ‘young commander’ to followers, is said to be taking home a cool Rs 6-7 crore plus distribution rights for Chennai city for his forthcoming ‘Vettaikaran,’ produced by M Balasubramaniam and B Gurunath Meyyappan. Ajith is taking a leaf out of superstar Rajnikanth’s book.

The actor, busy shooting for ‘Asal’ in Malaysia, is said be charging Rs 5-6 crore plus a 30% share in profits from the sale of rights (including, distribution, satellite and international rights) for his next movie. In an industry where top actors are few and far between and most not compromising on the pay front, producers have to select from a handful of them at the top or settle for niche actors. They can’t do much to change the situation, but at least they can grumble about it.

The main target of their ire is the production houses run by corporates, those such as Pyramid Saimira, Ayngaran International, UTV Movies and Moser Baer. They are accused of knowing little about the local market or ruling rates and spoiling the production culture in the Tamil movie industry.

“Corporates pay much higher than current market rates to secure bulk dates from artistes and technicians, artificially pushing prices northwards,” a leading producer (whose movie is set to release in the next couple of months) told ET on condition of anonymity.

He cited movies where the leading men were paid more than a fourth of the total budget only for them to flop at the box office. Some producers are of the view that actors’ current rates are exorbitant compared to the market available for Tamil films. The Tamil film industry churns out around 110-120 movies a year with a combined budget of about Rs 500 crore.

Sales are estimated at Rs 850 crore-Rs 1,000 crore, including international markets. “Salaries are very high these days. There are hardly any repeat audiences either. This, coupled with overall increase in production costs and long production schedules adds to the producer’s burden,” says K Muralidharan of Lakshmi Movie Makers, who is also secretary of the Tamil Film Producers Council.

Although the international markets, Malaysia, Singapore, US and parts of Europe, are slowing opening up to Tamil flicks, it does not justify the amounts top artistes charge these days, said another producer. Moser Baer COO C Dhananjayan, while agreeing that artiste salaries were at times “not justified for regional films,” felt they were a function of demand and supply.

Ajith, whose profit-sharing model has been welcomed by those who believe it reduces the burden on producers, thinks that how much an actor is paid “boils down to compatibility” between the negotiating parties. Vijay was not available for comment.

The Hindi movie industry, which also saw salaries for top actors skyrocketing in the past couple of years mainly due to corporates investing huge sums of money, seems to be seeing a correction.

Akshay Kumar is said to have charged Rs 30 crore for Kambakht Ishq but other A-list actors have started taking pay cuts, those aware of the situation say.

Artiste fees, that were just 10-15% of movie budgets in 2006-07, went as high as 60% in 2008. While current salary levels for Hindi film stars are rationalising at 30-35% of the budget with further scope for correction, it remains to be seen if Tamil moviedom will go the same way.