The actor's contract: what to check before you sign

Contracts get signed in a hurry: the role is confirmed, the shoot is next week, the document arrives the day before. Yet it holds the answers to the questions that become impossible to discuss later. Below are the clauses that generate the most conflict.

Scope of work

The production, your role, the number of shoot days and the period should all be stated. A phrase like "the artist shall participate in the shooting of the production" with no number of days means the scope is unlimited.

Check separately whether rehearsals, fittings, look tests and dubbing are inside the scope — these are separate days that often end up unpaid.

Rate, overtime, idle days

• Rate per shoot day and its length. A shift is usually around twelve hours counted from the call time, not from your first shot.
• Overtime — the multiplier and how it is calculated. Without this clause, delays on set are free.
• Half shift, if short days are planned.
• Idle days — whether blocked days without shooting are paid.
• Travel and stay on outstation schedules: who pays and whether travel counts inside the day.

Rights over the material

The most underread section. It sets out the media, the term and the territory. For film and series, a worldwide grant without a time limit is standard. Advertising is different: a defined term and territory, after which the campaign should stop or be renegotiated.

Look also at the clause on using your image to promote the production: posters, trailers, outdoor, social media. It usually sits inside the main agreement, but the wording should be explicit.

For advertising, examine the category exclusivity clause — the bar on appearing for competing brands and the period it runs for.

Payment terms

Specific timelines should be given — "within thirty days of submitting the invoice", not "after completion of the shooting schedule". A clause on interest for delay is rarely enforced but noticeably improves discipline.

Confirm how you are engaged and how you will be paid: as an individual professional with tax deducted at source, or against a tax invoice if you are GST registered. Check that your PAN and bank details in the annexure are correct — a typo there delays payment by weeks.

Appearance and conduct

The contract may bar changes to your appearance during the shooting period: haircuts, colour, tanning, gaining or losing weight. That is normal, but understand that the restriction runs across the whole period, including gaps between shoot days.

Confidentiality and social media clauses are also common — up to a ban on posting anything from set. Breaching them sometimes carries a penalty.

Termination and force majeure

What happens if the production is shelved, postponed or recast. A good contract describes payment for days already worked and for the period you were blocked. A poor one lets the producer walk away at any moment with no consequence.

Scenes requiring special terms

Stunts, water or fire work, animals and intimate scenes are agreed separately, including the presence of an action director or coordinator. The scope of such scenes belongs in an annexure, not in a conversation on the floor.

Short checklist

• Number of shoot days and the period.
• Rate, overtime, half shift, idle days.
• Payment for rehearsals, fittings and dubbing.
• Term, territory and media of usage.
• Specific payment timeline and invoicing method.
• Restrictions on appearance and publication.
• Termination and postponement terms.
• Separate terms for special scenes.

Asking for time to read a contract does not irritate professionals — the people who ask are usually the ones who cause no trouble later. Productions currently casting are in the castings section.