Shaid Kapoor: Lights, Camera, Produce.

Name any of the big Bollywood actors today, and you will realize that most of them have dabbled in production at some point in their careers. Some of them have active production houses as well.

In fact, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Pooja Bhatt and Juhi Chawla have been producing films for some time now.

And this list keeps growing. Recently, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma also jumped on the bandwagon. And if rumours are to be believed, the latest actor to join the club is Shahid Kapoor, who indirectly co-produced his 2014 film, Haider (he didn’t charge a fee for the movie).

But now, the 34-year-old is getting to finance a production, and already has a project in mind, which will be directed by his father, Pankaj Kapur.

Trade expert Taran Adarsh says that there are various reasons that prompt actors to take up production, he adds that they are mostly creative. “There are times when an actor wants to do a particular project or role, and he or she can do it more comfortably by being on the producer’s chair. The producer can plan a movie’s release, how to market the film, etc. The control is in his or her hand. The producer can also take creative decisions, which, perhaps, he or she can’t take while acting in a film,” he says, adding that today, all “top actors” are making their own films.

“They know that the film is being sold on their name. So, why would they want to share the profit, or give the rights to another producer, when they can helm it themselves,” Taran adds.

Take the example of Anushka Sharma, who, despite being only 11 films old in the industry, turned producer with NH10 this year. Talking about why she chose to produce the movie, Anushka, in a previous interview to this paper, said, “I want to create cinema because I think I can. I have ideas, and I am someone who can’t talk too much. My actions speak louder than words.”

Trade analyst Amod Mehra, however, frankly opines that actors do it for financial reasons. He says, “Actors turn producers when they don’t get the price that they are looking for. Earlier, producers actually took risks; they put in their own money. But now, most actors don’t take those risks. Since they are acting in their productions, they don’t charge the acting fees. They take a share if the film becomes a success.” Amod adds that actors stand to gain, both as actors and producers. “This way, they also get the branding of being producers. Branding is everything today,” he says.