Film stars and contracts - actors speak
Agreements and contracts between film studios and acting talent is a natural progression in today's era of corporatisation in Bollywood. But what are some of the weirdest clauses celebrities have come across when they were all set to sign on the dotted line?
Asin Thottumkal refused to sign Vipul Shah's contract for London Dreams protesting against a gag order which stopped her from giving interviews before the film's release.
Shahid Kapur had to spend a few months in house arrest after being asked to not make any public appearances which would reveal his new look in Vishal Bharadwaj's Kaminay.
As Bollywood increasingly becomes all about contracts and clauses celebrities talk about some of the weird ones they've come across:
"I am very scared of working with any company or any producers that will bind me for a long period of time only with that specific company," says actor Emraan Hashmi.
"I think to do with your looks is obviously for your better so that is something I would not like to get into," says Deepika Padukone.
"Sometimes, you have these clauses where, god forbid, you will have to pay the expenses of the film because of whatever reasons – that is a really scary part. So, you ensure that if for some strange reason I am not well or if I cancel the shoot so please don't get us into that situation," says Arbaaz Khan.
"No, they all are pretty straightforward and are very brief and vague, which is something I would like to change and get a contract that protects the actors. The contract says I so and so be a part of so and so much time, but I keep on hearing that I have signed a contract with Mani, which is a confidentiality clause," states Abhishek Bachchan.
"I feel now things are very professional, entire legal team working on my contracts. So, if I don't like a clause before it comes to me, my legal team kind of cuts it out. I feel newcomers are the ones who have to cater or pander to these clauses," says Shilpa Shetty.
"To be very honest with you, I never read my contracts and I give it to my lawyers to read and they sort it out," says Arjun Rampal.
Pushing off contracts to their lawyers is all fine as long as they're not doing the same with their scripts too!
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