‘Ishqiyoun’ Producer Himanshoo A Pathak: If 50 Percent Of Production Cost Is An Actor’s Fee, Then Where’s The Money For Quality?

The evolution of the entertainment industry is a long process. The trends keep on changing every now and then. Web series and OTT platforms are the in-thing which everyone is ready to cash in on. The upcoming web series ‘Ishqiyoun’s producer Himanshoo A Pathak talks about what’s working well in showbiz right now and what continues to be the problem.

“Entertainment industry heavily depends on marketing much like any other industry and content here is short-lived. Hence, it needs to be impactful for the viewers’ at the time of release whether it’s a new daily soap, reality show, web show, or film. Lately, the influencers on digital media are being roped in a lot to promote content. These influencers command an already massive subscriber base and are able to influence easily. So, this is a new trend,” says Pathak.

“Also, content when good, even though there is no VFX etc, they are working. Some examples would be ‘Gullak’, ‘Ashram’, and ‘The Family Man’. The success of Allu Arjun ‘Pushpa’ or ‘KGF’ shows how the audience is adaptive to good content and we do not need faces to make a film hit,” adds Pathak.

In recent films, the VFX has also improved a lot when compared to films 10 years back. “There is also a shift in VFX being used more in the content being made in India, which was not the case earlier. Our quality has significantly improved and we are able to watch some really good films like ‘Baahubali’, ‘Pushpa’, ‘RRR’ or the upcoming release ‘Brahmastra’,” Pathak says.

Talking about the changes he feels should be incorporated into the industry, Pathak opines, “One major change is to cut down on the fees of lead actors which is of paramount importance as then a producer can make more good films. If about 50% of the production cost is an actor’s fee, then where is the money for production quality? A producer starts cutting costs on making them eventually and starts giving into their obnoxious demands too. There is no guarantee of a film’s success with or without big stars, but we should be looking to make a good film on a good budget so that more people can come forward and make good content. Otherwise, we have limited producers and studios who can dream of making high-budget visually good films.”

So what’s the solution that he has on offer? “Actors can be offered a percentage in film production apart from their fees,” concludes Pathak.