Ram Gopal Varma defends high star fees, says market and producer decides an actor’s worth

In the ongoing debate surrounding the soaring remuneration of film stars in India, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has offered a characteristically sharp and unapologetic perspective. RGV known for his films like Rangeela, Satya, Company, Shiva, Bhoot and Sarkar has stepped in to remind critics that the economics of star fees are far more straightforward than they appear.

The director, known for his instinctive understanding of industry dynamics, asserted that audiences often misunderstand how salaries are determined and why certain stars command massive cheques. Offering a clear explanation, he said:“People crying about hefty star fees should understand that it is a function of market dynamics based on the producers calculation of how many people will come into the theatre due to the presence of an x face .. it is a simple math of subtracting the making cost from the minimum expected revenue and then bulk of the gap in between will be paid to the star because it’s him who is getting the tickets sold (sic).”




“ Also it’s not the taker , but it’s the giver who should know the worth of the taker and in case he overpays , it is the giver who suffers and not the people who cry about stars being overpaid (sic).” he added.

Ram Gopal Varma is now gearing up for a return to Hindi Cinema with Police Station Mein Bhoot which features Manoj Bajpayee, Genelia D’Souza and Ramya Krishnan. This marks his return to Bollywood after 8 long years; he last directed Sarkar 3 in Hindi with Amitabh Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Amit Sadh. There are talks doing the rounds that RGV wants to make 4 installment of the series with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead, his return though seems confusing to people in the know as his character was killed in the second part.

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