The happy news of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, while shooting her film Heroine has made B-Town producers jittery. While some of them are talking to their lawyers about putting in clauses in the contracts to safeguard themselves in a similar scenario, others are reworking existing contracts with their leading ladies.
Especially ones who are in serious relationships like Vidya Balan and Kareena Kapoor and those likely to get married.
Apparently, in the history of Hindi cinema, only one producer has done this. Subhash Ghai had a clause in his contract with Madhuri Dixit stating she couldn't get married or pregnant during the making of Khalnayak, when she was in a romantic relationship with Sanjay Dutt. He feared that she would get married and pregnant and abandon his film half-way through. After that no filmmaker has stipulated such a clause.
Aishwarya's pregnancy has rattled some producers, especially the corporate companies who make films, as opposed to independent producers, and they are now adding new clauses to the contracts for the leading ladies. Here's what the producers had to say...
Mahesh Bhatt
Producers would be foolish to have such a contract suggesting such a clause. It's the leading lady's privilege to get pregnant. In B-Town the real contract is the unspoken one which has more weight. Being a member of the Film Producers Guild of India. I would refrain from this absurd exercise. Having said that I will add that it's the duty of the leading lady to see that she doesn't jeopardise the entire film by pursuing her own personal goals thus causing immense hardship to the producer. The leading lady has to provide the glamour quotient and she can become another entity completely in the eyes of the consumer — from a desirable diva to a new mother — which serves as a body blow to producers. Smita Patil had got pregnant when I was directing Thikana but she never treated herself like a Ming vase. She told me that when domestic helps keep working when pregnant, why couldn't she?
Ekta Kapoor
As a professional I can say all the proper things like yes, we should have a clause and way of compensating the producer but on the personal front as a woman I think it's a big deal for a woman. Pregnancy is a very happy moment for any woman and I can't think like a producer in such a situation. For a woman over 30, getting pregnant is a huge achievement and a moment of happiness. A producer can't come in between. It's like a wow moment for me! Having said that, in the future we will be working on adding the clause.
Vipul Shah
In B-Town, everyone is like a family. I don't know how such a clause will be seen by stars. However, with more and more studio structures coming into film production I feel it will soon become a norm as long we don't violate the privacy of artists because huge money is involved. Not just a clause for pregnant leading ladies but, I feel the Film Producers Guild has to play a much more active role in improving the conditions of producers like Hollywood has control over actors prices and the South industry bans actors who break their rules. Having such a clause or clauses for male and female actors will bring more discipline into the film industry. Anything that derails the process of shooting or leads to financial losses should be discussed and certain guidelines laid down preventing that. As no individual producer has a strong say in the matter, all producers should unite to improve the way we work.
Especially ones who are in serious relationships like Vidya Balan and Kareena Kapoor and those likely to get married.
Apparently, in the history of Hindi cinema, only one producer has done this. Subhash Ghai had a clause in his contract with Madhuri Dixit stating she couldn't get married or pregnant during the making of Khalnayak, when she was in a romantic relationship with Sanjay Dutt. He feared that she would get married and pregnant and abandon his film half-way through. After that no filmmaker has stipulated such a clause.
Aishwarya's pregnancy has rattled some producers, especially the corporate companies who make films, as opposed to independent producers, and they are now adding new clauses to the contracts for the leading ladies. Here's what the producers had to say...
Mahesh Bhatt
Producers would be foolish to have such a contract suggesting such a clause. It's the leading lady's privilege to get pregnant. In B-Town the real contract is the unspoken one which has more weight. Being a member of the Film Producers Guild of India. I would refrain from this absurd exercise. Having said that I will add that it's the duty of the leading lady to see that she doesn't jeopardise the entire film by pursuing her own personal goals thus causing immense hardship to the producer. The leading lady has to provide the glamour quotient and she can become another entity completely in the eyes of the consumer — from a desirable diva to a new mother — which serves as a body blow to producers. Smita Patil had got pregnant when I was directing Thikana but she never treated herself like a Ming vase. She told me that when domestic helps keep working when pregnant, why couldn't she?
Ekta Kapoor
As a professional I can say all the proper things like yes, we should have a clause and way of compensating the producer but on the personal front as a woman I think it's a big deal for a woman. Pregnancy is a very happy moment for any woman and I can't think like a producer in such a situation. For a woman over 30, getting pregnant is a huge achievement and a moment of happiness. A producer can't come in between. It's like a wow moment for me! Having said that, in the future we will be working on adding the clause.
Vipul Shah
In B-Town, everyone is like a family. I don't know how such a clause will be seen by stars. However, with more and more studio structures coming into film production I feel it will soon become a norm as long we don't violate the privacy of artists because huge money is involved. Not just a clause for pregnant leading ladies but, I feel the Film Producers Guild has to play a much more active role in improving the conditions of producers like Hollywood has control over actors prices and the South industry bans actors who break their rules. Having such a clause or clauses for male and female actors will bring more discipline into the film industry. Anything that derails the process of shooting or leads to financial losses should be discussed and certain guidelines laid down preventing that. As no individual producer has a strong say in the matter, all producers should unite to improve the way we work.
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