Producer K Rajan, who is known for outspoken attitude, has batted for the producers' cause, while urging the actors to cut down on their expense that include their remunerations. He has particularly mentioned about the stars getting six-seven assistants and how their salaries are putting extra burden on the makers.
Nayanthara Brings 6-7 Assistants
K Rajan says that every actor has five-six assistants and admits that the actors need three to four members like hair-dressers, make-up artists, costume designer and a personal assistant. He points out Nayanthara bringing six to seven assistants to the sets and putting the burden of their salaries on the producers.
Expenditure of her Assistants' Per Day
The veteran filmmaker says, "Nayanthara will be accompanied by 6-7 assistants. Each of their salaries ranges from Rs 7-12 thousands per day. I have heard about these salaries from the people I know and I am sure it is true. The expenditure of her assistants come around Rs 75,000-80,000, per day."
"Imagine she works for 50 days and now you calculate the total expenditure of her assistants. The producer has to shell out those amounts on the salaries of the actors' alone. Now, add the driver's salary and diesel charges to it," K Rajan fumes.
Caravan Expenses
Talking about other expenses, the 78-year old says, "A big film needs 8-9 caravans on daily basis. The charges, per day, ranges from Rs 9,000-10,000, per caravan. It means the producer shells out Rs 1 lakh a day and at least Rs 1 crore for a film on caravan expenses alone,"
Blaming the actors for the culture, K Rajan says, "MGR or Sivaji Ganeshan never used caravans in their lifetime. I agree caravan needs to be given for important members of a film, but today everybody wants it,"
He then targets how actors demand the producers to clear their dues before the dubbing for their characters and claims that the producer is the only one who will be struggling to recover their investment, while the actors move on without worrying the fate of the producer.
So, he requests the directors to make movies with moderate budgets and actors to take reasonable remunerations so that the producer-distributor gets some profit in the end.