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Bollywood actor Imran Khan, who recently returned to the big screen with a cameo in Aamir Khan Productions’ Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos, has sparked a conversation around the film industry’s escalating star fees. In a recent interview with Etimes, Imran spoke candidly about how some actors exploit the system, arguing that soaring salaries often inflate budgets and severely impact a film’s profitability.
Imran Khan slams actors exploiting their film with huge fees
Imran explained that he understands casting decisions based on an actor’s market value and box office pull, especially in big-budget films. However, he feels that some stars are now taking undue advantage of the system. He shared that his uncle, Aamir Khan, has taught him—and that he has witnessed across generations before him—that actors traditionally invested themselves in their films, taking personal responsibility and ownership of the project.
Imran further criticised the current system, saying, “If I have a sense that my film is going to cost ₹30 crore to make, that’s your cost of production. And I say I will charge ₹40 crore. So now your film costs ₹70 crore— ₹30 crore of which is the actual film and ₹40 crore is my personal salary. What is now our route to profitability? And do I care about that? I should care about it. It’s my film. I think if there is potential for the film to be decent, you should take less money upfront. Roll the dice. Take a gamble and bet that the film will do well. If anyone can afford to do that, it’s the star—especially if you’re commanding a salary of ₹40 crore.”
He revealed that this has been Aamir’s approach for every film too and added, “Consistently, this has always been his approach. He has never taken anything close to his value upfront. He takes it on the back end. He will never say, ‘Give me ₹60 crore as a fee’ or ‘Give me ₹75 crore as a fee.’ That is foolishness. You are handicapping your own film. You are exploiting your film and enriching yourself personally at the cost of it. That’s what it is. Essentially, it means you don’t actually have faith or belief in the film.”
Imran Khan’s upcoming film
Imran Khan will next be seen in a lead role alongside Bhumi Pednekar in an upcoming yet-untitled film. The project is directed by Break Ke Baad filmmaker Danish Aslam and is also co-produced by Imran himself.
