Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur, who has worked on movies including Barfi, Haider, and Dangal, recently discussed the Bollywood economy. Siddharth said in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that when prominent performers are involved in huge projects, at least 30–40% of the budget must be set aside for their pay. He did point out, however, that stars are increasingly lowering their upfront costs in exchange for a cut of the movie’s earnings.

“It could be as much as 30 to 40 percent if it’s a big project,” Siddharth said. The same thing occurs in Hollywood. Tom Cruise’s compensation will take up a large portion of the money if he is filming Top Gun: Maverick. But it’s because Tom Cruise is going to give the movie a huge opening. The same is true for our movies. For example, a lot of the economics of a movie are dependent on the presence of Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, or Hrithik Roshan.

He said, “Well, I wouldn’t say salary cuts, but they’re definitely looking at now coming in more on the back end and taking less on the front end,” when asked whether well-known actors were now accepting pay cuts. This implies that if the movie is successful, they will really appreciate it—that is, they will pay less up front and then share in the success. Therefore, it will become more revenue-sharing in the future.

“There’s a component of, obviously, something that’s built into the cost already, which is a fee,” Siddharth said. And then there’s profit-sharing. As a result, the project’s cost may be decreased by lowering the upfront price. After that, everyone benefits from success. Therefore, I believe it is getting more common as time goes on.

The top producer emphasized how profit sharing is becoming increasingly popular in Bollywood and benefits both the producer and the performer.