Posted:
12 years ago
Yes they get paid for per shift(8-12 hours)
It's an old article but you can read it.
Saas-bahu proves a lucrative formula for women TV actors
reported by Aminah Sheikh Mumbai
In striking contrast to Bollywood where men dominate the pecking order
of the highest paid stars, television appears to be a woman's world.
The highest paid TV actor is Smriti Irani of "Tulsi" fame, who commands,
according to the industry, Rs 1 lakh per shift (the standard mode of
payment in the business), double what the most expensive male TV star,
Ronit Roy, is paid (around Rs 50,000 per shift). A shift varies between 8
and 12 hours a day.
Roy till recently co-starred with Irani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu
Thi , the blockbuster TV serial from Balaji Telefilms. According to the
industry, the top five female TV stars rake in between Rs 30,000 and Rs
35,000 per shift compared to between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000 for the top
five male counterparts.
(Top TV earners)
(Figures in Rs per shift, per day)
Top 5 women
1 Smriti Irani 100,000
2 Shweta Tiwaari 35,000
3 Saakshi Tanvar 30,000
4 Urvashi Dolakia 30,000
5 Mona Singh 30,000
Top 5 men
1 Ronit Roy 50,000
2 Ram Kapoor 30,000
3 Aman Verma 30,000
4 Apoorva Agnihotri 25,000
5 Cezanne Khan 25,000
It is, of course, not necessary for one episode of a serial to be
completed in one shift. High-profile actors work for an average of 10
days a month, while others may work for 15-20 days a month.
"If one is paying a high price for a particular actor, the production
company wants to get done with that actor's shifts first," said an
executive from a leading television production house.
However, when it comes to anchors on TV, the pecking order is different.
Film actor and now TV host Shekhar Suman rakes in Rs 4 lakh per shift.
But Mandira Bedi — the highest-paid female anchor with the tag of being
the first woman anchor for the cricket World Cup on Sony TV — gets Rs
1.5 lakh a day.
The high pay tag for women is mostly because soap operas that dominate
the top 10 rankings in terms of viewership are saas-bahu serials with
women as the central character.
Also, most of the stars that top the list are mainly from Ekta Kapoor's
Balaji Telefilms, which is said to pay its actors 20 per cent more than
industry benchmarks.
"Ekta discovers talent and nurtures it. She determines the rates of
stars in the TV business. Most successful and popular actors today hail
from the Balaji house," said an industry source.
Media experts said actors who have become household names after playing a
part in Kapoor's serials usually charge a premium once they start
working with another production company.