Will other actors follow Vimal's compassion?

The world is full of odd men. Sometimes when you feel like it’s filled with unfair men who lack basic human sensibilities, you come across someone who defies all this. Why all this philosophy, you think? Vimal, whose recently released Vaagai Sooda Va – despite its impressive credentials – did not go particularly well. Some movies go well, some don’t. Even if they are impressively made. But guess what Vimal did? He repaid his remuneration, to the tune of 50 lakhs, to the producer.

Now we know Rajini did it for Baba and distributors and theatre owners came to the streets demanding Vijay pay compensation when his movies bombed one after the other. But what prompted Vimal to do such a rare gesture. That too returning half a crore is not just an easy task.

Earlier, Vimal demanded 50 lakhs for Vaagai Sooda Vaa, even to Sarkhunam who is considered to be Vimal’s godfather since his Kalavani catapulted the actor to stardom. Did he do it because he was not impressed with the movie when he read the script? Or is it just an actor’s attitude of hiking his paycheck because he has become a brand all of a sudden? We never know but we do know is that he got what he
wanted.

And then the movie released. Not that it was a poorly directed movie. Far from it. The movie was meticulously made and every frame proclaimed the hard work went through making of it. It was a political satire and the fact that it unfolded in its own sweet pace probably worked against the movie. And it wasn’t made in a particularly low budget or anything.

It’s often said that actors’ paychecks eat into major portions of a film’s budget. And it is true to an extent. Actors’ paychecks are huge; often the producer is burdened with it. And when a movie bombs, the actor has no big responsibility to bear the brunt. He has other projects to focus on and he has moved on with his life. But it’s the producer and distributors who are at the receiving end.

Vimal’s gesture is considered rare in an industry dictated by egos and tantrums of actors. Nobody wants to pay up for the loss, much less the film’s lead actor. But strange things often happen. And we hope other actors take a cue.

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