Richa Chadha Reveals How Much She Was Paid For Gangs Of Wasseypur, Wishes Artists Get Royalties

Updated: Saturday, July 18, 2020, 17:46 [IST]

Richa Chadha took to her blog to highlight an important issue in the Hindi film industry. She explored the reason for many veteran actors turning destitute during the final years of life, and stated that it has to do with actors not being given royalties for their work. Richa also revealed the amount she was paid for the cult classic film, Gangs Of Wasseypur.

Richa Was Paid This Much For Gangs Of Wasseypur

Sharing that she was paid Rs 2.5 lakh for both parts of Gangs Of Wasseypur, Richa wrote, "And that's alright." She continued, "(Director Anurag) Kashyap took a chance on me, and for that I am forever grateful. I didn't even expect to be paid for a break like that. The film went on to become a cult hit. My continuing career is testament to that."

Hopes The Film Industry Starts Paying Royalties

She added that someone must be profiting off the film's continued popularity. "If I am not wrong, again, (going by rules for residual payments in other film industries) even if I were to earn royalty of this film, (*if I worked under the SAG guidelines, I would get only be getting a small percentage, under different categories capped at a maximum of 6.2 percent)," she wrote.

Cites Examples Of Artists Who Were Left Destitute

She also cited the example of Parveen Babi, who "allegedly didn't have enough money for her treatment in her final years". "I am aware my desire to see all credited departments get their due in terms of royalty is the most unrealistic dream. It just will not happen, at least not in my life time. But since structures all around us are crumbling, perhaps we can build anew from the rubble. Am extolled man has said to turn adversity into opportunity. However, most have conveniently misunderstood this to mean ‘opportunism'. We have a chance. Let's use this pause to evolve," she added.