Those were the days when the entire family would gather with dinner plates and switch on their favourite television serials. They would even get it recorded if they happen to go out of station. The television actors became popular and were not less than any matinee idol in terms of popularity, rating, remuneration. Now with a zillion channels to surf, we wouldn’t know what is happening on our DD. But the good news is the shows are back and are getting top TRPs. As serials from the 80s and 90s make a comeback, the actors and producers get into a royalty row as there is a stupendous growth in viewership.
So it’s hardly surprising that some of them are now demanding a royalty from the profits of this re-telecast. ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ actor ‘Sunil Sinha’, in a Facebook post, wrote that the channel and producer should give royalty money to the actors. “When the government has decided to re-telecast the show, the channel and producer will make money. So when the producer is getting extra money, why not the actors and technicians who have worked hard on the show?” the actor asks. But the producers of these iconic shows have a parallel view on the matter. They say actors sign a contract agreeing that they will not claim any money or royalty upon the re-telecast of the show, which means that they have no legal claim. Certain things are contractual and actors have to abide by it. The producer can recover the money by all means. Also most of the actors are doing pretty well in the industry, and it is not fair to seek a share of the pie.
