Mumbai, Not loading a film with star fees can decide its survival and that of those involved in its making, says actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh, highlighting that he does not charge a single penny when he features himself in a project backed by your brand.
Deshmukh, who will be making his series debut with "Pill", ventured into film production with the 2013 Marathi film "Balak-Palak" under the Mumbai Film Company. He later starred in “Lai Bhaari” (2014) and “Ved” (2022), both Marathi titles produced by his group.
When asked to comment on the ongoing debate over rising star fees and overhead costs, the actor-producer said: "I'm a producer who chooses me and I don't pay myself, so I'm fine ... I just feel like it's important that you don't burden any movie with an actor's fee because the movie needs to survive and if the movie survives, everyone will survive."
Directed by director Rajkumar Gupta, “Pill” shows the dark reality of the pharmaceutical world of manufacturing drugs from the perspective of medical officials and whistleblowers.
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala under his banner RSVP Movies, the series will start streaming on JioCinema Premium from July 12.
Gupta, known for films like "Aamir" and "Raid," said the total cost of production must "come down."
"The money needs to be spent in the right place. That being said, there also needs to be transparency on the part of the studio or the producer. A lot of times what happens is people don't want to subscribe to a model because they think there's no transparency.
"As an industry, we must all come together to reach another level. We need to make films with a budget that works for everyone," said the director.
Screwvala, known for backing films like “Swades”, “A Wednesday”, “Udaan” and “Uri: The Surgical Strike”, said he chooses to look on the bright side.
"I don't disagree with anything everyone says because when you try to look at the different things that really take the industry to the next level, I think we're at that cusp. So I don't look at the cup that's half empty, I look at the cup that is half full. There are many things we have to do in all areas.
"(But) You can't take just one factor because a lot of things have happened with the cost of production... A lot more production was produced in the last four years and a lot more things were given the green light. It's an ecosystem. When you "When we take the overall ecosystem to the next level, there will always be some anomalies," he added.
In "Pill," set in northern India, Deshmukh will play the role of a doctor named Dr. Prakash Chauhan.
The actor said he worked closely with a dialect coach to get under the skin of the character.
"Mr. Raj was very clear in terms of how he wanted me to be. My first approach was, 'Can I have a beard?' beard.' It wasn't about how he wanted to approach it, but how he could probably fulfill the way he looks at the character in terms of appearance, behavior, body language or the way he speaks.
"In fact, he had a particular dialect. That's why I had a dialect coach on set every day. I used to rehearse my lines to get the diction right. I'm very happy that they, as producers, as directors, They gave me everything that could help me improve as an actor,” he said.
"Pill" also features Pavan Malhotra in a pivotal role.
Deshmukh, who will be making his series debut with "Pill", ventured into film production with the 2013 Marathi film "Balak-Palak" under the Mumbai Film Company. He later starred in “Lai Bhaari” (2014) and “Ved” (2022), both Marathi titles produced by his group.
When asked to comment on the ongoing debate over rising star fees and overhead costs, the actor-producer said: "I'm a producer who chooses me and I don't pay myself, so I'm fine ... I just feel like it's important that you don't burden any movie with an actor's fee because the movie needs to survive and if the movie survives, everyone will survive."
Directed by director Rajkumar Gupta, “Pill” shows the dark reality of the pharmaceutical world of manufacturing drugs from the perspective of medical officials and whistleblowers.
Produced by Ronnie Screwvala under his banner RSVP Movies, the series will start streaming on JioCinema Premium from July 12.
Gupta, known for films like "Aamir" and "Raid," said the total cost of production must "come down."
"The money needs to be spent in the right place. That being said, there also needs to be transparency on the part of the studio or the producer. A lot of times what happens is people don't want to subscribe to a model because they think there's no transparency.
"As an industry, we must all come together to reach another level. We need to make films with a budget that works for everyone," said the director.
Screwvala, known for backing films like “Swades”, “A Wednesday”, “Udaan” and “Uri: The Surgical Strike”, said he chooses to look on the bright side.
"I don't disagree with anything everyone says because when you try to look at the different things that really take the industry to the next level, I think we're at that cusp. So I don't look at the cup that's half empty, I look at the cup that is half full. There are many things we have to do in all areas.
"(But) You can't take just one factor because a lot of things have happened with the cost of production... A lot more production was produced in the last four years and a lot more things were given the green light. It's an ecosystem. When you "When we take the overall ecosystem to the next level, there will always be some anomalies," he added.
In "Pill," set in northern India, Deshmukh will play the role of a doctor named Dr. Prakash Chauhan.
The actor said he worked closely with a dialect coach to get under the skin of the character.
"Mr. Raj was very clear in terms of how he wanted me to be. My first approach was, 'Can I have a beard?' beard.' It wasn't about how he wanted to approach it, but how he could probably fulfill the way he looks at the character in terms of appearance, behavior, body language or the way he speaks.
"In fact, he had a particular dialect. That's why I had a dialect coach on set every day. I used to rehearse my lines to get the diction right. I'm very happy that they, as producers, as directors, They gave me everything that could help me improve as an actor,” he said.
"Pill" also features Pavan Malhotra in a pivotal role.
