Why do some actors/actresses choose to be producing their own movies?

 There are multiple reasons for actors to turn producers

Firstly the bigger stars become producers to take control over the whole filmmaking process, earn majority share of the profits and keep the IP rights of the film for the future. This ensure that they can make their kind of films and earn handsome profits. Almost all the big stars have produced their own films not equally successful but it means that even if they are not successful they still have their Star Power to work outside their production and make up for the losses. SRK, Aamir, Akshay, Ajay, Salman, Amitabh, Jeetendra, Dharmendra among others and actresses like Hema Malini, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Senon, Tapsee Pannu etc turned producers.

Secondly, many actors turn producer to give themselves credibility by associating with meaningful cinema. There have been actors who may not have done anything substantial in terms of acting but then producing award winning films enhance their credibility and allow makers to give them more serious roles. John Abraham for example was largely considered a non actor till.he produced National Award winning films like Vicky Donor (won him a National Award) leading to collaboration with Shoojit Sircar as an actor in another National Award winning films Madras Cafe. Actress Rimi Sen who is nowhere to be seen now out of sudden produced a National Award winning film Budhia Singh: Born to Run.

Thirdly, actors who either have been typecast in a particular type of role or who wanted to project themselves as bigger stars tend to produce films that they want to work in. Even Ranveer Singh after series of failures put in his own money to showcase himself with Dhurandhar which paid rich dividend to him. Nana Patekar put in his money in making of Ankush, a film that made him a star. But this can be a double edged sword. Rajpal Yadav lost all his savings trying to make a film with him in lead role. Mithun Chakraborty had earlier lost huge money trying to project himself as an A lister with Boxer that flopped. Abhay Deol lost his money and had to sell his flat in making One by Two.

There are some actors who fail badly and decide to produce films to have another avenue of income particularly if they have support from close friends and family. We have Arbaaz Khan producing Dabangg and making millions out of it courtesy the stardom of Salman Khan and he bflllowed it with Dabangg 2 but his other films were not as lucky. Earlier Sohail Khan also milked Salman’s stardom with films like Hello Brother, Auzaar, Maine Pyar kyon kiya, Partner, Ready, Jai Ho etc. Salman also helped his son, a once upon a time actor Atul Agnihotri, who was the producer of Bodyguard. Another flop actor Nikhil Dwivedi who flopped in films like My Name is Anthony Gonsalves and Tamanchey etc eventually turned full time producer with films like Veere di Wedding, Dabangg 3, and recent film Bandar.

Lastly we have out of work actors who are not getting roles who decide to produce films to stage a comeback or remain relevant. Amisha Patel tried to produce a film Desi Magic which got stuck and is still unreleased due to lack of finances. Preity Zinta after years of absence from the silver screen decided to produce a film called Ishq in Paris, which unfortunately failed miserably.

What famous actors actually do their own stunts in movies?

Some actors really do go far beyond normal expectations with stunt work — sometimes to a ridiculous degree. Here are some of the most famous examples:

• Tom Cruise — Probably the modern gold standard for stunt-heavy acting.Hung off a real airplane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue NationClimbed the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible – Ghost ProtocolDid a HALO jump for Mission: Impossible – FalloutLearned helicopter aerobatics for Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Jackie Chan — Legendary for dangerous practical stunts.Often injured himself filmingDid elaborate fight choreography and falls without doublesThe clock tower fall in Project A is famous among stunt performers
• Keanu Reeves — Trains extensively and performs much of his action work.Heavy firearms and martial arts training for John WickKnown for long uninterrupted action takes because he can actually execute choreography
• Charlize TheronDid intense fight training for Atomic BlondePerformed many physical sequences herself despite injuries
• Buster Keaton — Silent-era insanity.Performed extremely dangerous practical gagsNearly got killed multiple timesThe collapsing house facade shot in Steamboat Bill, Jr. remains iconic
• Harrison FordDid many practical action scenes throughout the Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark series despite injuries and age
• Michelle YeohDid major martial arts and wire-work stunts in Hong Kong cinemaFamous for Police Story 3: Super Cop and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Daniel CraigPerformed many physical Bond stunts in Casino Royale and later Bond films, often getting injured
• Sigourney WeaverDid demanding physical work in the Alien series long before action roles for women were common
• Arnold SchwarzeneggerPerformed many practical action scenes in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Predator

A few important caveats:

• Even these actors still use professional stunt doubles for the most dangerous shots.
• Modern productions have stricter insurance and safety rules than older films.
• Sometimes the “they did all their own stunts” reputation gets exaggerated by marketing.

But actors like Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan genuinely earned their reputations — stunt professionals themselves often talk about them with a mix of admiration and disbelief.

How much do Bollywood actors perform their own stunts?

 There are many current actors who tend to perform their stunts like Tiger Shroff, Hrithik, Akshay Kumar as safety measures have increased but despite the safety measures there are chances that a slight mistake can be dangerous.

Akshay will be performing many stunts including a helicopter stunt in his upcoming film Sooryawanshi which he had also done in Sabse Bada Khiladi climax scene where you can see him crossed leg, hanging upside down on the landing skid of the helicopter and lifting Mohnish Bhel (body double).

A few years later while shooting for Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi, he injured his back when he lifted WWE wrestler Brain Lee who played an imposter version of The Undertaker. Bollywood fans think that it was the real Undertaker in the film but it is not so.

Akshay suffered slip disc and was on bed rest for weeks. Later he used to carry a cushion on the sets to support his back while sitting on plastic chairs.

Nowadays there are safety measures taken, still a slight mistake can lead to a major accident.

Actor Inder Kumar fell from a helicopter and was bed ridden for several years.

Today, actors avoid doing their stunts and even the filmmakers don't want to take risk as their investments can suffer.

Image(s) Courtesy: Google