Actor Mahima Chaudhry recently reflected on how film sets have changed since the 1990s, recalling that contracts were not always standard practice when she entered the industry. Speaking at the Bollywood Hungama OTT India Fest 2025, the actor shared that filmmaker Subhash Ghai was taken aback when she insisted on signing a contract during her debut film Pardes.
Mahima said working environments today are far more structured compared to when she began her career. She pointed out that earlier film sets had very few women in key departments. “When we were there everyone was male. Only the hairdresser was a female. Can you imagine? There was only one woman besides you if it was just a song on set. Today there are a lot of women in production, in makeup, in styling, in direction, even in camera.”
She also noted how actors earlier had to take greater responsibility for their own preparation on set, including bringing costumes and accessories. “I remember on the first day of the poster shoot I carried two suitcases of my own clothes. Although we had done trials for the film, I still brought costumes, accessories, shoes. That is how we were taught to prepare. Today everything is taken care of for you.”
“They took it as an insult if you asked for a contract”
Recalling her early experience while signing her debut film Pardes, Mahima said she insisted on reading the agreement carefully because of her background in advertising, where contracts were standard practice. “There were no rules. There were no laws in place. Now there is a contract. When we were there, there was no contract.”
She remembered that her request for a formal agreement surprised Subhash Ghai at the time. “I was from the advertising world and had done a lot of ads. So when I was signing my first film and I was reading every line that Mr. Ghai gave me, he said just sign it. We really don’t go by all this.”
Mahima added that her insistence on signing a contract was not received well in that environment. “I said today we were supposed to sign the contract and you are going away for a meeting to Madras. He said, ‘Aaj tak maine Dilip Kumar ke saath contract sign nahi kiya, Raj Kumar ke saath nahi kiya.’ They took it as an insult if you asked them for a contract. They said such big people have worked with me and they have not asked me and you come around and you want to have a contract. So that’s how it was.”
The actor’s remarks highlighted how professional practices on film sets have evolved significantly since the 1990s, particularly in areas such as work hours, contracts, and representation of women across departments.
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