Arshad Warsi is best known for his roles in comedy-dramas like Munnabhai and the Golmaal film series. In addition to his comic roles, the 56-year-old actor also received much praise for his stint in the thriller series, Asur, which also stars Barun Sobti. Recently, Arshad sat for an interview and spoke at length about his professional life.
If you don't know it already, Arshad worked as an assistant director and choreographer before he debuted as an actor in the film industry. During his interaction with Samdish on his YouTube talk show, Unfiltered by Samdish, Arshad revealed an incident in which he was short-changed by Boney Kapoor's production company.
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Arshad was hired as a choreographer for the 1993 film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, which stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. While discussing the payment gap between A-list celebrities and everybody else, the actor revealed that he was hired to work as a choreographer in the Satish Kaushik film. He said:
"The movie was done, and Pankaj Parasher had been called to do a song. I was choreographing plays and ad films at the time, but Pankaj told Boney Kapoor that he wants me to do the song, so I agreed."
After he was signed for the film, a production person asked Arshad about his remuneration. He clearly mentioned that he would charge Rs.1 lakh. He also discussed needing at least four days to complete the choreography. However, he was given three days. Sharing that he thought the production team would be happy with this feat, Arshad revealed:
"A production guy asked me how much I’ll charge, and I told him Rs 1 lakh is my going rate. He asked me how long I’ll take, and I told him four days at the very least. He requested me to finish the song sooner, because shooting for four days would increase costs. I told him I’ll try my best, and we worked very hard to get the song done, but we finished in three days. I thought that the production would be happy."
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Despite saving one day's cost for the production team, Arshad was paid less than his quoted amount, which was Rs. 1 lakh. He recalled that the production guys had told him that if he had worked for four days instead of three, then he would have got his quoted amount. Revealing that Boney Kapoor might not know about this incident, Arshad said:
"I went to get my cheque, and they gave me Rs 75,000. I said, ‘I just saved you an entire day’s shoot, you should pay me more!’ He said, ‘No, for four days it’s Rs 1 lakh, and for three days it’s Rs 75,000’ I don’t think Boney Kapoor knows about it also."
Further, in the same conversation, Arshad shared that the industry has evolved, and now deals are made on paper instead of word of mouth. He also discussed that, at present, celebrities have lawyers and managers who are responsible for such things.
Prior to Arshad Warsi's revelations, Boney Kapoor got embroiled in a legal matter earlier this year. The matter unfolded when a vendor who supplied equipment for his now-released sports drama, Maidaan, filed a case against him for unpaid dues. The vendor disclosed that the producer delayed his payment of Rs.1 crore for two years. Ultimately, the Court had ordered the producer to pay Rs.96 lakh to the vendor.
What do you think of Arshad Warsi's revelations?
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