In August 2022, Active Producers Guild announced a month-long strike to reduce production costs. Earlier this year, producer S Naga Vamsi suggested that nothing much happened on that front. Producers have figured out that it's not possible to bring uniformity or herald norms that artists (especially big stars) and star directors can be made to adhere to. After so much brouhaha last year, star heroes and directors continue to be paid by producers as they deem fit on a case-by-case basis.
In their latest interview, three senior producers have defended star heroes, especially those known to charge upwards of Rs 20 Cr. Y Ravi Shankar of Mythri Movie Makers, Dil Raju of Sri Venkateswara Creations and S Naga Vamsi said that Tollywood heroes know how much they deserve.
Dil Raju stated that everything is a matter of demand and supply. So, he believes in the logic of market forces sorting out things. "There have been instances where certain heroes have come to the rescue of producers on the day of their films' release in case of a flop. Those things are not known to the world. They are internal matters," Raju said.
Naga Vamsi spoke of an instance where a hero, who had a flop recently, was ready to reduce his remuneration. There is no question of the heroes being adamant, he suggested. Y Ravi Shankar said that a project's viability doesn't depend only on the fees of the hero and director. It depends on the sets costing several crores, foreign locations required, etc.
In short, don't make a fuss about how much the heroes earn. The biggest producers have no problem!
