Veteran Tamil Kamal Haasan recently shared an open letter Indian film industryasking everyone to work together in this difficult time, because the world has many problems due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia. He talked about fuel prices, energy costs, transport costs and production budgets, which the Indian film industry is also feeling the pressure of.Kamal Haasan in his long post on Instagram said that film budgets are becoming very high and the situation may become more difficult in the coming months. He also talked about how inflation can change the way people spend money on entertainment. He said producers, workers, theaters, distributors, financiers and others associated with cinema could face problems if costs continue to rise.
Kamal Haasan added that workers should not suffer
The ‘Indian’ actor made it clear that cinema should grow in a healthy way. He mentioned that every rupee spent on filmmaking should help the film itself and not just to create a big look. The statement reads: “Let me be clear. Any correction of the film economy must never come at the cost of workers’ wages, safety, dignity, food, transport, accommodation or humane conditions. The burden cannot fall on those who work hardest.“ Kamal Haasan said that the real problem is unnecessary expenditure. He pointed to poor planning, large entourages, avoidable foreign travel, production delays, and wasteful spending that didn’t help the film.“The fix we need lies elsewhere: in avoidable waste, poor planning, bloated entourage cultures, unnecessary foreign travel, production delays and a growing disconnect between spending and goals. Why must every love story blossom only in Paris, and every honeymoon end in Switzerland? Romance, fortunately, needs no currency. Indian cinema, and Indians, deserve a little more confidence in themselves and our beautiful country,” it read.
Industry wide meeting calls
The veteran actor asked everyone from the film industry to come together for the discussions. He invited producers, actors, directors, unions, studios, exhibitors, distributors, OTT platforms and guilds for a proper conversation about the future. He said the industry should focus on better shooting discipline, tighter schedules, reducing luxury expenses, saving energy on sets and reusing materials wherever possible. “Together, we need to develop practical and sustainable practices for effective filmmaking: better filming discipline, tighter schedules, reduced luxury and surrounding expenses, limiting avoidable overseas travel where suitable local alternatives exist, conserving energy in sets and studios, and promoting sustainable set construction and material reuse.“Extravagance has often been confused with scale. But some of our greatest films were not made with excess, but with clarity, discipline and conviction,” he said.In the end, those who have received the most from cinema must set an example, said the ‘Thug Life’ actor. According to him, protecting the economy of cinema today will help protect the future of cinema tomorrow.
