For many in showbiz, a pay cut is a new norm as the industry tries to recover from its pandemic-led losses. But, according to actor Ronit Roy, it’s not the whole truth. “I have verified information that all the A-listers have doubled their fees, aur gareebon ka paisa kaat rahe hain. This is something very wrong which is happening in our industry,” an annoyed Roy tells us.
“My funda is straight. Agar paisa nahin hai toh mat banao. What is the need? Try making a project when you have sufficient funds. According to me, it is all bulls**t when they try to cut salaries of people who don’t come from such affluent backgrounds. A lightman has to run his house, what will you get by cutting his salary? Pay cut karna hai toh A-lister ka pay cut karo na, why are you trying to just focus on the poor people for it? It is just not right,” rues Roy, who was last seen in the web show, Candy.
These are the things which add to the inequality in the industry, and now can’t be fully justified. “If you look at our Stock Exchange, it has gone up, and everything has become dearer. And you want to cut someone’s pay, how do you expect that person to run his/her house? That is the reason why we have raised the pay of our whole staff,” explains the 55-year-old.
When work came to a halt last year, Roy, who also has a security agency, used his savings to support the families of over 125 employees.
“It was not like I had to sell my house or anything. I just used savings of my life to support them,” reveals the Udaan (2010) actor, adding, “Our elders have taught us that we will not take all these materialistic things along with us when we die, so why get so attached to them. At the time of my financial crisis, it was only Akshay Kumar sir, Amitabh Bachchan sir and Karan Johar who supported me, baaki saare bhag gaye saying, Covid ke baad dekhenge. Now, I think yeh log ₹5000 ya ₹10,000 crore kahan leke jayenge.”
After going through the experience, Roy has understood that the rich people of the industry might have all the diamonds, emeralds and crores to their wealth list, but they have certainly failed the test of humanity, as he wonders, “Ab nahi hua toh kabhi nahi hoga”