‘How much more will you suck the system dry’: John Abraham slams actors over inflated fees, ‘mental’ entourage costs

Actor John Abraham has taken offence to his fellow actors in the Hindi cinema ‘sucking the system dry’ with their inflated fees and ‘mental’ entourage costs. In the past, filmmakers Karan Johar and Farah Khan have also raised the issue of actors’ rising entourage costs. Now, John has added to the debate by urging actors in the Hindi film industry to change that. (Also read: John Abraham admits to feeling ‘objectified’ because of his physique: ‘There is a huge audience who wants to see that’)

John Abraham on actors’ fees

In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, John was asked to comment on ‘heroes asking for ₹100 crore per day and their stylists’ demanding ₹2 lakh per day’, and the actor called it ‘mental’. John added, “It’s already hurting Hindi cinema. At this point in time, we shouldn’t be paying people to act in films because we don’t justify those huge budgets, the huge fees that we get paid. We can’t load a film with entourage costs as well. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know if actors are thinking this way or is it their agent making them think differently. I don’t get that space. I understand you are put in a bubble, but you can’t be so daft. You need to get out and see the real world. If people are blowing sunshine from your backside, you need to wake up and smell the coffee. As an industry, we are really suffering.”

The actor then shared advice for his fellow performers in the Hindi cinema. He sharply said, “Actors should admit that we are down the deep black hole, and actors should go to the backend and work on the film. Actors should say that if the films make profit, we make profits because we have earned our millions. How much more will you suck the system dry? But again, you can’t clap with one hand. There are producers who are willing to pay those obscene amounts as well.”

The debate about actors’ fees and the rising budgets of films in Hindi cinema has been ongoing for a few years now. Lately, the non-performance of many big-budget films at the box office has put it back in the spotlight.

John Abraham’s upcoming work

John will next appear in The Diplomat, an action thriller directed by Shivam Nair. In the film, John plays an Indian diplomat who tries to repatriate an Indian girl from Pakistan, where she was presumably forced and deceived into marrying against her will. The film is slated to be released in theatres on March 15.