5 months ago
36 ARTICLE AD
Tanishaa Mukerji, the sister of actress Kajol and daughter of veteran actress Tanuja, recently articulated her perspective on the ongoing discourse regarding actors’ allegedly impractical demands, such as multiple vanity vans and personal chefs, which contribute to escalating film production costs. The actress recently appeared in the film Luv You Shankar, attributed these demands to corporate companies.
Tanishaa Mukerji defends actors after directors blame them for having ‘unrealistic demand’
She elaborated, “Suppose an individual producer goes to the actor and says I want to do a film with you and I can pay you Rs 5 crore. On the other hand, these corporate companies jump in and say ‘We need 30 days from you, we will pay you Rs 30 crore’, how can an individual producer compete with a production house?” This highlights the significant disparity between the financial capabilities of independent producers and large corporate entities.
Tanishaa contended that actors should not impose undue pressure on independent producers. She argued that it is unjust for directors and producers to label actors as temperamental without considering the extensive time they dedicate to the set. “You cannot point out that this particular actor has so many vans without considering the amount of time he is spending on your set,” she stated.
Mukerji gives the example of Akshay Kumar
Further, Tanishaa Mukerji referenced Akshay Kumar’s work schedule to illustrate her point, noting the difference in expectations when an actor works limited hours. “It’s different when an actor like Akshay Kumar says I can only work 9-5, then he goes home and does his gym. Is the actor you are working with also just doing 9-5? How dare you tell ‘actors ke nakhre’? First point out if he is willing to be on your set for 14 hours. Is he willing to do an 18-hour shift with you? Consider all this and then comment,” she emphasised.
She argued that the budget of a film is contingent upon the shooting schedule, advising directors to be more efficient. “The budget of the film depends on the director. Reduce your days of shooting. Be compact with your days of shooting,” she asserted, dismissing claims about the high cost of vanity vans as exaggerations.
Tanishaa suggested that producers should negotiate terms upfront and be prepared to walk away if they cannot afford the star’s demands. She acknowledged that excessive expenditure occurs in the industry but maintained that such issues could be resolved through dialogue. She observed, “Yes, there is a lot of unnecessary expenditure happening in the film industry… people love to put the stars down so they come up with things like, ‘arey yeh inke itne nakhre’.”
Regarding the industry’s challenges, Tanishaa noted that so-called tantrums are not new and have always been part of the star persona. “Every star will have their tantrums, otherwise they won’t be considered stars. Bigger the tantrum, bigger the star,” she remarked, advising independent producers to negotiate with stars within their budget constraints.
Tanishaa comments on her movie failures
Commenting on the recent failures of big-budget films, Tanishaa attributed this to the audience’s historical acceptance of subpar content. “Audience determines the quality of cinema. The audience over the years has accepted rubbish. Now suddenly because of the OTT and everything, the audience is not going to the theatre,” she concluded, underscoring the shift in audience behaviour and its impact on the industry.
