‘It’s a fake industry’: Kitu Gidwani slams Bollywood over royalties, roles for older women

Renowned figure in the Hindi entertainment sector for over four decades, Kitu Gidwani has observed the industry's evolution firsthand. However, she has strong criticism regarding the treatment of performers, especially concerning royalties, intellectual property rights, and roles for older women. Kitu discussed these issues in an exclusive interview with SCREEN, contrasting the Indian industry with systems in place in the West.

Bollywood operates under its own set of unclear rules, lacking a structure similar to Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild. Kitu explained that unlike in the West, where performers receive royalties and benefits from residuals, Indian performers are left with minimal compensation, often "slogging" for decades without adequate financial returns.

She emphasized the absence of intellectual property rights and the lack of enduring roles for older women in Indian media, criticizing the industry's trend of portraying older women in stereotypical, aging roles. Comparing the West, Kitu highlighted the significant differences in how royalties and residuals are handled. In the United States, actors have unions such as SAG-AFTRA and writers and directors have the WGA and DGA, respectively, which have established systems for residual payments.

For instance, the actors of "Friends" secured substantial backend deals and percentage of syndication profits, resulting in annual incomes of about $3.3 million each. These agreements, negotiated collectively, vastly differ from the situation in India, where performers are not guaranteed such long-term financial security or diverse roles.