‘Why must every love story bloom in Paris?’: Kamal Haasan's appeal to Indian film industry questions production budgets

Tamil superstar and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan released a note on social media keeping PM Modi's recent directive and the West Asia conflict in mind.

Tamil superstar and Rajya Sabha MP Kamal Haasan released a long statement on his social media. Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directive to the country amid the West Asia conflict, the actor questioned production delays and budgets. He also appealed to the Indian film industry to come together and discuss matters before the burden falls on daily wage workers and crew members.

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan had an appeal to the Indian film industry. (AFP)

Kamal Haasan alerts Indian film industry of rising costs

Addressing the film fraternity, Kamal wrote, “The continuing crisis in West Asia is deepening, and the world is facing growing pressure on energy, trade, logistics, and economic stability. India, too, is inevitably feeling the impact of rising fuel, energy, logistics, and production costs. For the Indian film industry, this comes at a time when budgets are already escalating, and market recoveries remain uneven. Rising costs will not affect film production alone. Consumer spending patterns for entertainment may also change in the months ahead due to inflationary pressures.”

He pointed out that the burden inevitably falls on producers, workers, theatres, distributors, financiers and the entire ecosystem, adding that every rupee spent must serve the film and not give an appearance of scale. “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.” Instead, Kamal mentioned that the correction could be done in avoiding waste, poor planning, inflated entourage culture, unnecessary foreign travel, and production delays.

Calls for an industry-wide meeting to solve issues

“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,” wrote Kamal, adding, “I believe this is the right time for a meeting of minds across the Indian cinema industry. I urge an industry-wide conversation between producers, actors, directors, unions, studios, exhibitors, distributors, OTT platforms, and guilds towards an industry-wide dialogue on how we collectively navigate the economic challenges ahead.”

Kamal suggested a solution, “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. Extravagance has often been mistaken for scale. But some of our greatest films were made not with excess, but with clarity, discipline, and conviction.”

He ended the note by pointing out that after a national call for responsible consumption, the Indian film industry must also follow suit. “This is a time for national interest over personal interest,” he wrote, pointing out how they shape culture and thought in this country. He summed it up with, “If we protect the economics of cinema today, we protect the future of cinema tomorrow. With respect and responsibility, Kamal Haasan.”

This comes after PM Modi appealed to the country to reduce fuel consumption, revive work-from-home, buy less gold, avoid unnecessary foreign travel and more. Last seen in the 2025 film Thug Life, Kamal will star in Nelson Dilipkumar’s yet-to-be-titled film with Rajinikanth. He is also filming for Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD sequel with Amitabh Bachchan and Prabhas.