Tamil cinema veteran Kamal Haasan has issued an open letter to the Indian film industry, calling for unity and collective action amid global challenges stemming from the ongoing crisis in West Asia. In his detailed message posted on Instagram, the actor highlighted the adverse effects of rising fuel prices, energy costs, transport expenses, and production budgets that are putting immense pressure on the Indian film sector.
Rising Costs and Inflation Concerns
Kamal Haasan noted that film budgets are already escalating rapidly, and the situation could worsen in the coming months. He expressed concern that inflation might alter how audiences spend on entertainment, potentially impacting producers, workers, theatre owners, distributors, financiers, and all other stakeholders connected to cinema. The actor warned that if costs continue to rise, the entire ecosystem could face significant challenges.
Protecting Workers' Welfare
The 'Indian' star emphasized that cinema must grow in a healthy and sustainable manner. He stressed that every rupee spent on filmmaking should contribute directly to the film's quality rather than creating an illusion of grandeur. In his letter, he stated, 'Let me be clear. Any correction in cinema economics must never come at the cost of workers' wages, safety, dignity, food, transport, accommodation, or humane working conditions. The burden cannot fall on those who labour the hardest.'
Identifying Wasteful Expenditure
Kamal Haasan pointed out that the real issue lies in unnecessary spending. He identified problems such as poor planning, large entourages, avoidable foreign travel, production delays, and wasteful expenses that do not benefit the film. He wrote, 'The correction we need is elsewhere: in avoidable waste, poor planning, inflated entourage culture, unnecessary foreign travel, production delays, and the growing disconnect between spending and purpose. Why must every love story bloom only in Paris, and every honeymoon end in Switzerland? Romance, fortunately, does not require foreign exchange. Indian cinema, and Indians, deserve a little more confidence in themselves and our beautiful country.'
Call for Industry-Wide Meeting
The veteran actor urged all segments of the film industry to come together for discussions. He invited producers, actors, directors, unions, studios, exhibitors, distributors, OTT platforms, and guilds to engage in a meaningful conversation about the future. He emphasized the need for better shooting discipline, tighter schedules, reduced luxury expenses, energy conservation on sets, and reuse of materials wherever possible. 'Together, we must evolve practical and sustainable operating practices for efficient filmmaking: better shooting discipline, tighter schedules, reduced luxury and entourage expenses, limiting avoidable foreign travel where suitable local alternatives exist, conserving energy across sets and studios, and encouraging sustainable set construction and reuse of materials,' he said.
Kamal Haasan further remarked, 'Extravagance has often been mistaken for scale. But some of our greatest films were made not with excess, but with clarity, discipline, and conviction.'
Leading by Example
Concluding his letter, the 'Thug Life' actor stated that those who have benefited the most from cinema should lead by example. He asserted that protecting cinema economics today is crucial for safeguarding the future of cinema tomorrow.
