Varun Grover who is celebrated for his work in films like ‘Masaan’, ‘Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar’ and ‘Superboys Of Malegaon’ has worn many hats in the entertainment industry – screenwriter, lyricist and stand-up comedian. His early career saw him contributing to television including scripting for ‘Oye! It’s Friday!’, a talk show hosted by Farhan Akhtar. It was during this stint that he became acutely aware of the stark pay disparity between actors and writers. Reflecting on this in an interview with ‘The Lallantop’, he shared, “After ‘Ranvir Vinay Aur Kaun’, I joined Farhan saab’s ‘Oye! It’s Friday!’ It was during my time there that I realised that there was not much value addition happening from the side of the performer to the material I was writing for them. That was also the first time I got to know how much actors make doing such shows. Even though I had an idea prior to that as well, I did not assume the gap to be so big. But once I learnt about it – maybe it’s false information and somebody told me this only to provoke me; I can’t say for sure – I realised the gap was huge. He was being paid Rs 45 lakh for each episode, while I was earning just Rs 45,000!” Despite the show’s lavish production, Grover found himself earning a fraction of what the lead talent was paid. The extravagant set only underscored the imbalance making him question the industry’s treatment of writers. His experience ultimately shaped his perspective on creative compensation in Bollywood.
