“Exclusive contracts are justified only for anchor-based shows and reality shows where it’s logical to ask a host not to appear in similar shows on other channels. Especially in the case of daily soaps, exclusive contracts are absolutely unnecessary,” says Anu Ranjan, president, Indian Television Academy. “Apart from Balaji, there are not many production houses that have such contracts.”

In most cases, the duration of the contracts in daily soaps varies from one-and-half to three years; the actors are bound by mutually-agreed deals to shoot for a particular number of days in return for a particular amount of daily remuneration. “If an actor wants to quit the show within his contract period, he is expected to serve a six-month notice period,” says Sandip Singh Sidhu, manager, legal, Balaji Telefilms.

And yet, camp-building matters. For instance, Balaji was not harsh on Prachi Desai, who quit the hit serial Kasamh Se to act in a film, Farhan Akhtar-produced Rock On.

“I took the permission of Balaji before signing the film,” says Desai.

“It all depends on the understanding with the production house,” says Shweta Sindhe, who acts in Zee TV’s Parivaar—Kartavya Ki Pariksha. “However, it’s essential to be careful while signing the contract. For instance, I am bound by a six-month contract with my production house, Miditech.”

Production houses point out that even in case of breach of contracts, both parties prefer sorting out the case out of court. “It is a small industry of about 20-25 production houses. People end up working with each other,” says Ranjan.

There are cases where the actors want to back out after becoming more famous than they expected, citing reasons of low remuneration. “In such cases, legal action doesn’t work. If an actor throws a tantrum and refuses to remember lines on the sets, there is not much one can do. Technically, there is no breach of contract, since he or she is reporting for work,” says Manish Goswami of Film & TV Producers’ Guild.

If the contract is long-term, an actor may find himself jobless if the show is taken off air. “Most production houses sign actors till the duration of the show,” says Goswami. However, Balaji, which has a number of shows on air at any point, often signs actors on a monthly payroll. “We have the option of making them act in more than one of our shows,” says Nivedita Basu, chief creative director, Balaji.

The remuneration for actors varies from Rs 3- to Rs 4,000 per day for newcomers and goes up to even Rs 40,000 for established stars. “If the contract is short-term then we have the option of revising our salary,” adds Sindhe.