Bollywood box office boom masks crew's payment and living struggles
Bollywood might be raking in big numbers at the box office, but many of the people behind the scenes, writers, technicians, and makeup artists are barely getting by.
Payment delays are common, incomes have dropped, and Mumbai's high cost of living isn't helping.
Some workers have even switched careers or left the industry because things got so tough.
FWICE handling 400 payment disputes
Screenwriter Roopal Kewalya shared that contracts based on project approvals often keep writers waiting for months to get paid.
Makeup artist Amber mentioned junior crew now earn as little as 2,000 rupees per project (not even counting travel).
The union FWICE is dealing with 400 payment disputes right now, with FWICE President B.N. Tiwari blaming unregistered producers and complicated business models for all these issues, even though Bollywood's earnings grew.