If you have crores in your pocket only then enter Bollywood...

Gone are those times when after hearing the voice of a vendor selling fruits in Nashik, Devika Rani, passing by in a car, called him to herself and made him the hero of Bombay Talkies (Dilip Kumar). These tales of the past sound good but today's reality is completely different. To enter today's film industry - whether to become an actor, producer, or distributor - one should step on the path of Bollywood only if one has crores of rupees in one's pocket.

Want to become an actor?

In the last 20 years, there has not been a single actor in the film industry who did not have a strong financial background. Either he or she will be from a rich family or will be a relative of some big personality. The truth about the generation playing lead roles in films or OTT series is that they seem to be new but if you look at their backing, they are from rich backgrounds. It is also true that whoever has come has come after being trained. Ranbir Kapoor is also on the list to take training. The fees of institutes providing acting training range from Rs 8 to 15-16 lakhs. Similarly, there are dance, fight fees, and gym fees. It is necessary to get a photo session done.

For a good photo session, it ranges from Rs. 1.25 lakh to Rs. 5-10 lakh. Then there are the audition fees, secretary's fees, maintaining yourself, and later thinking of becoming an assistant to a big director and learning the work by becoming an apprentice for three years for free. Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranbir Singh, and Kartik Aryan all have worked as assistants with directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali or Karan Johar, then they got a break. Even if I get a break, in an expensive city like Bombay, there will be living expenses for at least three years after the start of the film. The rented house here should be like that of an actor and in a film area, it should be at least Rs 50 thousand per month and a car should also be there. If you add up all the expenses, it goes above crores. And, even if a successful film is found, it takes 10 years for a star to be included in the list of stardom. Along with all this, the expenses of PR and media personnel, parties, etc. continue till the star becomes a star and even after that.

Producer means poor millionaire who keeps everyone happy:

For those who come thinking of enjoying the cinema line, let us tell them that the most innocent creature in the making of a film is the film producer. He forgets the happiness of his personal life to make others happy. The budget of the film itself - the regional one - is above crores. You will be surprised that even the hero of Bhojpuri films demands Rs 50 lakh as his price. The spot boy of this line may also be dying of hunger but when the producer asks him to take him in the film, then listen to his feelings. The demands of every department remain the same. Let us tell you that the top heroes of Hindi films start counting from Rs 100 crores. According to reports, Ranbir Kapoor has taken Rs 125 crore for playing the role of Ram in the new film 'Ramayana', while Kannada star Yash has taken between Rs 80-150 crore for the role of Ravana. After applying make-up, every artist starts giving orders to the producer.

How will you make a film and show it?

People think that when the crop is ready then the farmer will say wow! Even when the cinema crop is ready, it is of no use. Releasing a film is a huge business. Due to a lack of knowledge, many producers get trapped in the web of distributors and exhibitors after making a film, so much so that they have to pay more money and take the film back from home. To release a small film, the producer has to pay Rs 50-60 lakh and then the film is sent to talkies. This is the price of a movie throw. There is also a chain of cinema houses. Here the film gets good and bad theaters due to the arrangement of the distributor and the exhibitor. Before release, the film has to get a censor certificate. The cost of getting the censor done is Rs 70-80 thousand. The cost of making a movie poster is lakhs. Nowadays, a bill of crores is made in the publicity budget according to the cost of the film. The promotional cost of films of stars like Shahrukh Khan, and Salman Khan reaches up to Rs 50 crores.

That means, if you want to work in a film as an actor, it will cost crores of rupees. If you want to make a film as a producer, then you have to have a budget of unlimited crores and if you want to buy and distribute the film, then counting starts from crores only. Entry into Bollywood is not easy!!

-Sharad Rai

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