Actors find their own ways to make sure they get a fair share of their pay for movies. From profit sharing to co-producing a movie, actors are getting smarter.
Although there is a lot of money involved in making a movie, there are times when actors have to voluntarily waive their fees for a good cause.
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Sometimes the actors join us and refuse to take fees to help the producers financially, and sometimes the film is more important to them than their fees.
Here are 10 times actors shuffled their priorities and chose everything else before money when making these movies. Continue reading!
1. Sonam Kapoor only charged Rs.11 for playing Biro in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
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Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra revealed in his autobiography, The Stranger in the Mirror, co-written by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, that Sonam Kapoor only charged a token amount for her role in his film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He wrote:
“Sonam Kapoor benevolently agreed to play a guest appearance for a princely sum of ₹11 just for her brief portrayal of Biro. She chose to accept ₹11. She made a special appearance in the film. We both shared an amazing trip with delhi -6 before that she told me she only needed 7 days for filming and she praised us for trying to say something so beautiful on the score of this country and the spirit of Milkha Singh. So she wanted to contribute to the film as well. It was very nice of her.
2. Rajkummar Rao did Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped for free.
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Rao spoke to Arbaaz Khan on his chat show Pinch and revealed that some films are more special than others. “Some movies are not for the box office. They are for life. I will leave this world after 50 years or whatever…when people talk about 10 Rajkummar Rao movies, and they talk about Trapped,” a- he shared.
3. Amitabh Bachchan made Black by Sanjay Leela Bhansali “for free”.
A behind-the-scenes shot of Black
In February 2017, Amitabh Bachchan wrote a special blog dedicated to black, which lasted 12 years. He shared that he made the movie for free. “I just wanted to work with Sanjay, after seeing all the other work he had done…And when the opportunity came it was pretty overwhelming. I didn’t take a salary for the film … The mere fact of being part of such a company was enough cachet!
4. Shahid Kapoor agreed to do Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider for free to cover production costsyou
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In July 2014, Bhardwaj shared the news with a tabloid and said, “When he started planning the movie, Shahid and I agreed that he had to make money from day one. But we also knew that Haider was a big movie with a huge budget, an ensemble cast and lavish action sets. Shooting in Kashmir added to the costs. The only way to succeed in our business was if we didn’t burden the movie with our paychecks. We kept the secret between us for a long time, but it finally came out.”
5. Deepika Padukone didn’t charge anything for her debut movie ‘Om Shaanti Om’.
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For Deepika, acting in a film with Shah Rukh Khan was a gift in itself, so she decided to do the film for free.
6. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui only charged Re.1 for his lead role in Manto.
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Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the late Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto in the film, offered to do it just for “Re 1, mostly for Manto and a little” for Nandita. “This is the character an actor would donate an arm and a leg for. But not charging even a small fee is very gracious of Nawaz,” Nandita said in a statement to IANS. Other actors in the film including Rishi Kapoor, Gurdas Maan, Javed Akhter, Rajshree Deshpande, Swanand Kirkire and Ranvir Shorey did the film for free.
7. Salman appeared in Tees Maar Khan, Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani, Om Shanti Om and Son of Sardaar without charging a single penny.
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Even though he is one of the highest paid actors in the industry, Salman has done many cameo roles for free.
8. Legendary actress Meena Kapoor didn’t ask for money for her latest movie Pakeezah, which became a classic.
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Meena Kumari took only Re.1 as a sign of respect for her iconic role in the 1972 film Pakeezah, directed by Kamal Amrohi. Sadly, the veteran actress passed away from cirrhosis of the liver just days after the release. Until today, she is remembered and loved for her role in the film.
9. Nawazuddin Siddiqui charged Re. 1 as token amount for his film Haraamkhor alongside Shweta Tripathi.
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“Nawaz and everyone else on the project worked with minimal money or no money at all. Our project is a passionate project and we did everything to make the film happen. Nawaz loved the script and insisted on volunteering on the film, understanding the limitations of the budget as a whole. He was kind to only charge us 1 rupee literally as a token of his effort. His support and hard work made the film possible! said film producer Guneet Monga in 2017.
10. Despite harsh weather conditions, Irrfan Khan starred in the 38-minute short ‘Road To Ladakh’ for free for Academy Award-nominated and National Award-winning filmmaker Ashvin Kumar
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An emotional Ashvin has revealed he felt ‘cheated’ when Irrfan suddenly disappeared in April 2020. A London Film School dropout, Ashvin recalled, he had no budget to pay for the actor. He asked Irrfan if he could come forward to support the film.
He told a news agency: “I remember when we were in Delhi before leaving for Ladakh, that night Bhai had an accident. He had injured his wrist. He had every reason to back down because I wasn’t paying him, and he voluntarily supported the film. But he said, “I promised you, I’ll keep my words. The more I got to know him, the more my respect for him as an individual grew. He didn’t know at the time that he had altitude sickness, and we found out that once we went to Ladakh. He was sick, with an injured wrist and living in extreme weather conditions inside a tent like all of us. But he didn’t give up. He constantly supported us.
