Bollywood feels inflation heat, but takes it in stride
Mumbai, July 21 (IANS) Bollywood, India's Rs.96 billion ($ 2.3 billion) film industry, has taken a beating due to rising prices. "The rise in petrol and diesel prices affects the industry. The making of a film involves lot of travelling and with the increased fuel price the budget shoots up. As a result the cost of production goes up," filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani told IANS. Pointing out another adverse effect of inflation, Kiran Shantaram, owner of Rajkamal Studio, said: "When the inflation rate rises, the value of the rupee comes down and dollar goes up. Most of our raw stock like film rolls are imported and as a result the cost of the production goes up." Then, the one aspect over which Bollywood producers have no control is the star remuneration. While the respective craft associations fix the wages of technicians and other workers, stars fix their own prices, which vary depending upon the box-office success of their previous releases. Ravi Gupta, CEO Mukt