Ekta's cost cutting measures.

The producers of David Dhawan's Main Tera Hero have passed a strange diktat of not paying their crew on the days no shoot takes place. This bizarre decision has taken the team by surprise and members, including make-up and hair artistes, are apparently extremely miffed with the producers' stingy ways.

Ekta Kapoor and David Dhawan

The production house's (headed by Ekta Kapoor) last release proved to be a dud at the box office, prompting them to allegedly slash the budget of their upcoming project. A source says, "After the team returned from their schedules in Bangalore and Ooty, they were told about their next Bangkok schedule. They were informed that on the days they wouldn't shoot, they wouldn't be paid."

A unit hand, on conditions of anonymity, says, "We were also informed that the producers will not be paying us our daily allowance. We have to maintain good relations with the makers, so we have no choice but to agree with them." According to insiders, such is the intensity of cost cutting that the makers are apparently recycling some sets that belong to television soaps under the same production banner and are also compromising on crowd shots.

According to Balbir Ward, the president of the Cine Costume Make Up Artist and Hair Dressers Association, the makers should ideally be deducting money from the fat salaries that are handed out to stars and other actors in the film. She says, "We always have to struggle to make ends meet. This new rule is not justified. We can approach the Producers Federation and tell them about it. Deducting money from the salaries of daily wage workers doesn't help producers cut cost." Dhawan and Tanuj Garg, CEO of the production house remained unavailable for comment.