Debate: If Artist Exists A Film, Who Should Bear Losses?

The recent controversies in Bollywood have once again brought some of the old but unresolved debates into the limelight. The exit of Ranveer Singh from Farhan Akhtar’s much hyped “Don 3”, and the backing out of Paresh Rawal from Hera Pheri 3, a film in which he’s the main character, has shocked the industry big time. With both films entering the production stage, these sudden withdrawals are causing significant financial damage to the producers.

However, at the heart of this debate lies the creative freedom that an artist needs. They say that cinema is a creative field, and if the director/producer’s vision is not aligned with that of the actor, surely the latter could walk away from the film. If the script is not as promised, opting out is the only option for artists. However, producers argue that these sudden withdrawals cause huge financial losses, planning issues, and the procurement of dates for other artists turns out to be a headache. This has become the hot topic in the industry right now.

If we look into film history, these types of conflicts are not new, as recently we have seen Vishwaksen walking out of Arjun Sarja’s Seetha Payanam, after shooting for a couple of days. Then we’ve also seen Ranveer Singh walking out of Prashant Varma’s movie after the test shoot. However, when the scale of an investment is huge, surely the walking out of heroes is not just related to the advances they took, but the domino effect they will have on other aspects of the investment. With corporations taking over cinema, delays and exits are likely to cause more losses than expected.

Ultimately, the blame cannot be thrown at a single side in this case. If an artist exists before signing or before the production costs are incurred, it will be within their legal limits. If he exits mid-way through production, then there should be bylaws that would compensate the producers well. Otherwise, accountability and creative freedom both won’t be sustained. After all, filmmaking is a business that depends on mutual responsibility.