Vidya Balan's business manager K S Sanjay explains,"Vidya is known as a reasonably-priced actor. We always knew this was a bubble that would burst and we always charged a fee that was viable for filmmakers. So we remain unaffected it," he says firmly.

Newcomer Sadaa, who has a few Southern hits to her credit and makes her Hindi debut with ‘Khalballi’, elaborates, "If producers ask me to cut down my fees because of the recession, I will surely consider doing so provided the story and director are good enough. The number of films I act in doesn't depend on how much I am paid," she stresses. And Bengal-import Rituparna Sengupta is also prepared for the eventuality of "cut " as she feels it is a global phenomenon and everyone will have to face the brunt.

Veteran actor Farooque Shaikh is of the view that "only the highest-paid actors will be affected" while Sonu Sood, whose ‘Ek Vivaah - aisi bhi’ released recently is open for a pay-cut,"Together we should bail out the industry out of this crisis," he suggests.

While multi-crore, multi-film deals have been put on backburners by corporate companies and it seems like an uphill task for actors, the importance of big stars and grand cinema cannot be undermined. With mushrooming multiplexes all over the country, super stars and super cinema will continue to rule. As of now, we do not know of a single instance where a star has gone back on his contract and corrected his remuneration. No one has been really "cut to size" so far!