India’s entertainment industry is worth $27 billion. It produces nearly 2,000 films a year across 15-plus languages. Celebrities ride private jets and command fees that run into hundreds of crores. But just below this glittering surface, a parallel reality exists. It is unglamorous, unprotected, and increasingly desperate. A recent survey by The Top India has finally put numbers and Bollywood workers faces to it.
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The Survey: What 1,000 workers actually said
The Top India survey, conducted by speaking with more than 1,000 industry professionals, found that many workers are struggling with reduced work opportunities and major salary cuts. A large number said they are either getting very little work or being paid far less than before. Many claimed that even when projects are available, payments have dropped by nearly 50 to 60 percent compared to earlier years.
The survey findings suggest the biggest impact is being felt by people working behind the camera, those who rely entirely on project-based income and daily production schedules to support their families. Professionals including assistant directors, lightmen, makeup artists, camera operators, spot staff, editors, production assistants, costume teams, equipment suppliers, gym trainers attached to actors, and character artists are among those reportedly struggling.
These are not peripheral figures. They are the industry’s engine. Nobody films a scene, lights a set, or dresses a star without them.
Wages cut in half, costs through the roof
The arithmetic of survival for Mumbai’s entertainment workers is brutal. Most production houses and casting offices operate from expensive locations such as Andheri, Juhu, and Bandra, where rent prices remain extremely high. Even a basic apartment in these areas can cost nearly ₹50,000 every month.
Set against this, the pay these workers receive has collapsed. AICWA (All Indian Cine Workers Association) confirmed there has been no significant increase in wages over the past two decades. Post-COVID, wages were slashed further. Many workers were earning half their previous income.
As of 2025, the average annual salary for a junior artist in India is ₹26,670 which is roughly ₹2,200 a month. Rent alone in Mumbai is twenty-three times that figure. The math does not work. It has never worked. And nobody in power has moved to fix it.
2 to 10 days of work a month
Intermittent employment is not the exception here. It is the norm. AICWA states that many workers get only 2 to 10 days of work per month, leaving them unable to sustain their families.
Many technicians and support staff are reportedly dipping into savings, borrowing money from friends and relatives, taking up temporary side jobs just to manage rent and household expenses. Some have returned to their hometowns after failing to find consistent work in Mumbai.
The dream city, for thousands of these workers, has become a slow financial punishment.
The OTT slowdown made everything worse
The collapse of content spending has poured petrol on a fire that was already burning. While 2023 saw 218 films released, 2024 saw only 137. Even more concerning, only 10 films from that total managed to break the ₹100 crore mark.
Netflix, once known for its prolific Indian output, reduced its originals from 10 in 2023 to just 5 in 2024. Hotstar cut back from 17 original titles to 11 in the same period.
OTT platforms have slashed their film acquisition budgets by 40 to 50 percent, becoming far more selective. Satellite rights have lost over 50 percent of their value as TV viewership drops. Films that once sold for ₹20 crore now barely fetch ₹10 crore.
A stalled project affects not just actors, but hundreds of people linked to it; costume vendors, set workers, camera rental agencies, and transport operators. When one film does not go on floors, it is not one person who loses work. It is hundreds.
No contracts, no security, no recourse
Workers are employed without formal contracts leaving them vulnerable to arbitrary dismissals. They lack any legal recourse in case of disputes, which fosters climate of fear and instability. Because the film industry is classified as an “unorganised sector,” protections that most other workers take for granted, provident fund, medical coverage, gratuity, simply do not exist here.
Salaries are often delayed by months or even years, forcing workers into debt and financial distress. Some workers never receive their wages at all, despite repeated follow-ups. The absence of structured payment mechanism compounds their misery.
Many freelancers say they are now waiting months to receive dues for work. For those living paycheck to paycheck, these delays create greater, greater stress.
In January 2025, AICWA, a union with over one lakh members, wrote to Prime Minister Modi, calling for the industry to be classified as an “organised sector” and for legal mandates to be introduced for contracts, provident funds, medical aid, and gratuity. No formal response has been made public.
When the work kills you
The most chilling part of this picture is what happens when things go truly wrong. The AICWA letter highlighted inadequate basic facilities on shooting sets, including fire safety and security arrangements, which lead to frequent accidents and even fatalities.
Stunt rig man Elumalai lost his life on sets of ‘Sardar 2’ in 2024 after sustaining injuries from fall. Stuntman SM Raju died on the sets of the Tamil film ‘Vettuvam’ during a high-risk sequence.
Stunt payments range from as low as ₹2,500 in South Indian circuits to ₹5,000-₹6,000 in Mumbai. For risking their lives. Most stunt artists work on a freelance basis, with no formal contracts, fixed income, or medical benefits.
When a worker suffers an on-set accident, no compensation is paid to their family. In many cases, producers and production houses suppress such incidents entirely.
It took Akshay Kumar, not any government body or production association, to respond. He quietly funded health and accident insurance for over 650 stunt performers, providing coverage of ₹5 lakh to ₹5.5 lakh towards hospitalisation and accident-related expenses. A private actor filling a gap that an entire industry and government apparatus should have closed decades ago.
Women workers: An extra layer of indignity
Female workers face everything male workers face, plus more. There is a lack of changing rooms, especially during outdoor shoots, forcing women artists to change in vehicles or nearby unsafe areas, compromising their dignity and safety.
This is not a fringe complaint. AICWA raised it formally, by name, in a letter to the Prime Minister of India in 2025. It is standard practice on shoots across the country.
The industry generates enormous revenue. Celebrities post about gratitude and hustle. Awards ceremonies celebrate craft. And yet, behind the glamour of India’s entertainment world lies a large workforce struggling through one of its toughest phases in recent years. The spotlight remains on red carpets and blockbuster announcements, but thousands of people working behind the camera are fighting a much more personal battle.
Until the industry is reclassified, workers are given contracts, wages are regulated, and set safety is enforced by law, not charity, the crisis will continue. Quietly. Behind the camera. Out of frame.