Malayalam Cinema Hit by Remuneration Inflation?

Malayalam cinema industry is known for content-driven films. The rootedness, freshness, and the rustic way of storytelling impressed audiences across the nation, paving the way for more visibility for Malayalam cinema. The film industry is often regarded as the industry that delivers big blockbusters on less budgets. Interestingly, things seem to have changed now with the industry taking a commercial route which many think is not viable.

For instance, the actors in Malayalam cinema never hiked their remuneration randomly. They always ensured that the money goes into the production and the cost is visible on the screen. The budgets are tight and often well controlled, resulting in huge profits. But gone are those days, and director Ranjith Sankar calls out this unhealthy trend in his industry.

Ranjith Sankar is an accomplished writer and director of Malayalam cinema who started his movie career with the 2009 thriller Passenger. He is known for Sunny (2021), Pretham (2016) and Ramante Edenthottam (2017) and many more hits. He claims that earlier they used to make a film out of 5 Crore rupees, and for the same, it is costing them 15 crore rupees, where all the money goes for the remuneration.

“The biggest challenge Malayalam cinema is facing today is unsustainable budgets. A film that could be made for ₹5 crore five years ago now often costs ₹15 crore. The alarming part is that a significant portion of this increase has gone towards remunerations. Yes, the market has grown. Overseas collections have improved, and the Indian theatrical market has expanded. But that growth is increasingly driven by content, not by star power alone. Most recent success stories have demonstrated that,” he wrote on Facebook.

He added, “Earlier, a star-led film almost guaranteed a minimum business and a strong opening. That safety net has largely disappeared. Better planning, disciplined production, tighter shooting schedules, smarter marketing and well-planned releases are no longer optional. It’s the need of the hour.”

Malayalam cinema is still known for producing some of the best films on a shoestring budget, but if this unhealthy trend takes over the mindset of some filmmakers, it will create a negative impact on the whole.