Actor Arshad Warsi looked back on being taken for a ride by Boney Kapoor‘s production company many years ago, when he was hired to work as a choreographer on a movie with a tight budget. He was asked if he could complete four days’ work in three, thereby saving the production valuable money. But when he accomplished the task, he was paid less than his quote.
Appearing on the Unfiltered by Samdish YouTube channel, Arshad spoke about the huge pay gap between A-list stars and everybody else, and said that this practice is harming the industry and needs to be stopped. In the same breath, he also said that he doesn’t interfere in these matters himself, and believes in the mantra of live and let live. Recalling an anecdote about the film Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Arshad said, “The movie was done, and Pankaj Parasher had been called to do a song. I was choreographing plays and ad films at the time, but Pankaj told Boney Kapoor that he wants me to do the song, so I agreed.”
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He continued, “A production guy asked me how much I’ll charge, and I told him Rs 1 lakh is my going rate. He asked me how long I’ll take, and I told him four days at the very least. He requested me to finish the song sooner, because shooting for four days would increase costs. I told him I’ll try my best, and we worked very hard to get the song done, but we finished in three days. I thought that the production would be happy. I went to get my cheque, and they gave me Rs 75,000. I said, ‘I just saved you an entire day’s shoot, you should pay me more!’ He said, ‘No, for four days it’s Rs 1 lakh, and for three days it’s Rs 75,000’.”
Arshad said that his interactions were restricted to the production guy, and that he never spoke to Boney Kapoor about it. “I don’t think Boney Kapoor knows about it also,” he said, adding that the industry has changed for the better since then, mainly because deals are made on paper. “We have contracts now, everything is written down. There are lawyers and managers now,” he said. About assistants on film sets still being underpaid, Arshad said that they often come with the intention of learning, as opposed to making money.
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