Alia Bhatt says stars’ salaries should be reassessed if films perform poorly: ‘All producers are thinking that way’

Actor Alia Bhatt has spoken about stars and if their salaries should be reassessed when their films perform poorly at the box office. In a new interview, Alia said that in the present times, content is the driving force that will bring money to the box office. She also added that ‘stardom comes from the content’. (Also Read | Alia Bhatt correctly names Droupadi Murmu as India’s President this time)

Alia’s remark on flop films and stars comes a few days after her husband-actor Ranbir Kapoor’s film Shamshera fared badly at the box office. Shamshera earned ₹60 crore globally till July 31. The film was made on a massive budget of ₹150 crore.

Speaking with Indian Express, Alia opened up on stars in the modern context, “What makes a star? It’s the love, but there is also a certain kind of star who will bring in the money at the box office. But that cannot happen now without content, ultimately it’s the power of the content that is pulling the audience to cinemas. Of course, there is a certain larger-than-life experience on the big screen which you cannot replace, but the depth of good content standing the test of time is something people should go for, and do go for. So, the stardom comes from the content you give to the people.”

Alia also talked about how much a star earns if their film underperforms or flops at the box office. She said, “I agree that stars’ salaries should be balanced out against the budget of the film. But then, I am no one to tell anyone what they should charge, kyunki main toh choti hun (because I’m young). She also said that there are actors refusing pending fees (or returning money) after knowing that their movies performed poorly. She added, “If you ask me if some reassessing in general needs to happen, I’m sure all the producers are thinking that way… Even a star is thinking that way.”

Alia has several projects in the pipeline including her Hollywood debut Heart of Stone. The upcoming Netflix spy thriller by Tom Harper also stars Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. She will be next seen in Darlings. The dark comedy, co-starring Vijay Varma and Shefali Shah, will also debut on Netflix on August 5.

Alia will then appear in Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra, her first film with Ranbir Kapoor. She will also be seen in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani with Ranveer Singh and Farhan Akhtar’s Jee Le Zaraa with Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif.