There are two aspects to consider, noted film critic and industry expert Taran Adarsh remarked in an interview while discussing the prices star Akshay Kumar charges. One, since the producers are prepared to pay that sum, Akshay Kumar is not at fault because he is not pressuring anyone to pay him that sum. Akshay doesn't demand payment from clients; instead, he merely discloses the fee structure. But, things are different now. These amounts were cheap and viable earlier. But now, there is likely not the same level of economic pressure.
He discussed the state of the Hindi film business in the previous year. He said, “I would say that 2022 has been the worst year for the Hindi film industry. I have not seen such a bad phase in the 80s or 90s, even though a lot of piracy used to take place during that time. However, piracy happens even now, but the previous decades were still better than the phase we are in”.
He added, “Films not performing well is a different issue; major problem is that people are not coming to theatres to watch films. Morning and afternoon shows are being canceled along with only 5-6% occupancies in theatres. All these factors bring back to the point that the fees which is being charged is not feasible considering the current situation”.
Taran said, “When a film gets hit, actors take the credibility. But when a film gets flops, the directors or producers are blamed, and release strategy and even the climate are blamed. People never take accountability for the films getting flopped”.
