Indian cinema has always dazzled the world with its colour and spectacle, but behind the glamour lies an uncomfortable truth: the economics are lopsided. Stars walk away with crores, producers hedge their bets, but most of the crew that actually builds the magic—the cinematographers, sound recordists, editors, spot boys, and set designers—walk home with a one-time paycheck and nothing more.

Once the lights go out on a film, its earnings end too. No royalties, no second innings, no long-tail income. The system is rigged to benefit a few at the top, and silent for the many at the bottom.

A new moment for Indian cinema

That silence, however, is being broken.

The Government of India has rolled out Model State Cinema Regulation Rules to modernise decades-old state laws, streamline permissio

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